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Monument removal
Aug. 16th, 2017 11:58 amThe best summary I have seen so far is Ok folks, here’s what REALLY happened in Charlottesville – and what everyone is missing.
On a more "removed" level (i.e., leaving aside the media frenzy, disgusting slogans and violence from both sides &c), I think there are two things to contemplate.
First, who are the people commemorated in the monuments? Confederate generals, like Lee and Jackson were exceptional warriors and generals, children of their times, and, probably, no more reprehensibly racist than their Northern or Southern contemporaries. Removing their monuments because they were racists is absurd - like removing Aristotle's statues because most of his Physics was nonsense.
Second, what do the monuments represent? Most were constructed in the early 20th century in an attempt to reconcile with the past within the flawed Lost Cause framework. If today they insult the sensibilities of most people, they could be moved to museums.
Note that there are no monuments to Hitler's Field Marshals in Germany. Neither to Rommel (who was, allegedly, a decent person, although, apparently, not such a great general), nor to Manstein (who was a Nazi and a brilliant strategist). Moreover, personally, I am quite disgusted that Manstein was "buried with full military honours".
On a more "removed" level (i.e., leaving aside the media frenzy, disgusting slogans and violence from both sides &c), I think there are two things to contemplate.
First, who are the people commemorated in the monuments? Confederate generals, like Lee and Jackson were exceptional warriors and generals, children of their times, and, probably, no more reprehensibly racist than their Northern or Southern contemporaries. Removing their monuments because they were racists is absurd - like removing Aristotle's statues because most of his Physics was nonsense.
Second, what do the monuments represent? Most were constructed in the early 20th century in an attempt to reconcile with the past within the flawed Lost Cause framework. If today they insult the sensibilities of most people, they could be moved to museums.
Note that there are no monuments to Hitler's Field Marshals in Germany. Neither to Rommel (who was, allegedly, a decent person, although, apparently, not such a great general), nor to Manstein (who was a Nazi and a brilliant strategist). Moreover, personally, I am quite disgusted that Manstein was "buried with full military honours".
