Support NeoGAF

[Crimson_Echidna]

We must never forget our horrid, racist past, or we are doomed to repeat it.

As opposed to people repeating it anyway while the statues are still up.

 

[TalonJH]

This argument makes no sense to me. You and others argue that they have no historical value then go on to say why these statues were put up which to me sounds like something that might give them historical value.

As always I am for taking them down, putting them in a warehouse, and letting experts decide if they are worth keeping. Based on what I have read most of them wouldn't make the cut, but a handful might be worth keeping around in a museum.

The statues themselves are revisionist. They literally have engraving like calling the civil war, "war of northern aggression" and at say things like this:

The monument was built in 1891 but the inscription was added later in 1932.

The statues are literally fake news and spin.


Understand that I'm fine with a few going to museums and they already have a long as they are provided context. Nothing will be lost if the majority are scraped.

 

[Dash_Riprock]

The "but what about history" arguments are getting really, really tired and a little suspicious, tbh.

If they were man enough to just come out and admit they admire these racist cunts, I could respect them (slightly).

But no, they're too cowardly for that and try to play the intellectual card.

Pathetic.

 

[tonysidaway]

I love the fact that, with all these statues of bearded mid-Victorian generals coming down, the context-sensitive advertising algorithm has decided it's time to try to sell me beard grooming products on this thread.

 

[facetheslayer92]

When you hear "brother vs brother" for the Civil War, Maryland really is a great example. There was a spot on Culp's Hill in Gettysburg where the 1st Maryland regiment (Union) defended against the 1st Maryland regiment (Confederate). Here's a link to a battlefield monument that describes the battle between them: http://gettysburg.stonesentinels.com/confederate-monuments/confederate-unit-monuments/2nd-maryland/

Very neat story. If any CSA monuments deserve to be left standing it's this one.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

Map added by AFP:

https://twitter.com/AFP/status/897793820821118977

For the uninitiated, the early 1910s-20s were were the height of KKK activity in the south after Plessy v Ferguson and WWI in particular. Birth of a Nation was the rallying cry. Their appeal was white supremacy, anti-catholicism, anti-Semitism, limited immigration, and (you guessed it) stronger law enforcement.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plessy_v._Ferguson

http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/ku-klux-klan-twentieth-century

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Birth_of_a_Nation

The KKK grew to around 5 million members by around 1920. So of course they wanted representation of "the good ol days". Hence the erected statues and monuments across the south.

Not hanging the traitors and destroying their self-image as good people haunts us to this day.

 

[Falchion]

This is a great move by city leadership. Just do it.

 

[Maxinas]

Good. Remind those idiots what happens to traitors.

 

[ModBot]

We have a bunch of confederate monument threads right now along with other Charlottesville threads; I think probably the AP news thread about how Charlottesville causes acceleration of monument stuff is the most general purpose one we have right now. Kudos to Baltimore, obviously. Just trying to keep the front few pages of OT clean so that people can discuss this stuff and other stuff.