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Protestors in Durham, NC bring down Confederate monument

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but muh propertyyyyy
No need to be cheeky. I'm sure you understand the difference between tearing down a confederate statue, and some douchebag in a ski mask smashing random car windows.

There's debate to be had regarding the limits of protest, but this isn't really the thread for it. What was done here was hands down a good thing for the community, and hopefully we see more of this trash being torn down in the future.
 
Nice job!

A bunch of enthusiastic college students putting their effort together for the good.



We have a monument to the War of 1812 here in Toronto you may find inspiring:

8DBIJEg.jpg

yesssss

oh wait

my country was on the other side of that conflict

still, let's use this as a base
 
I mean it's pic with a toppled statue boiling it down to "feelings."

So I'm not sure if it was meant to compare toppling history like that vs tearing down worship monuments of people that enslaved humans.

I just find it a powerful symbol, something you find again and again in history. It is a form of catharsis that appears during times of revolution or upheaval. I'm not American so probably aren't as emotionally raw, so I can see why you may have read more into it.
 
Honestly, I think it belongs in a museum like this more than it did before.

HXMi8Gu.png


It was historically insignificant before, not like it was built anywhere close to when the war actually happened. But now it means something. That bent over piece of crap means something now, just not what the people who built it wanted it to. I hope this is the start of a trend.
 
I understand it, up to the point of kicking the statue.

That's dumb as hell.

Haha, I thought the same. Corny.


But anyway, shit was boss up to that point. Bravo, hope it happens everywhere.

Yeah, it is exactly dumb: that's a little example of what mass gatherings can do to you when your adrenaline kicks in. In this case it is absolutely not a bad thing, it's very positive. I can imagine if you asked the guy afterwards why he did that, once he's out of the protest, he'd be a little bit embarrassed at the concept of kicking the fallen statue, but still proud of the fact he was actively showing a disdain for White supremacy.

Honestly, ever been in a big march or a protest? Not condescending here, genuinely asking because I got swept up in hysteria the first time I went on a march against tuition fees back when I was at university. That much shared mentality, positive (at least to your own views) feeling, and the physical act of being out and demonstrating can sweep even the more cautious off their feet in a fit of excitement. Absolute props to anyone and everyone who goes to these things to keep peoples' heads clear. You see here the most innocent example of over-excitement in a march, whereas that same charge, or buzz, is used by the likes of the Right actually encourage violence.
 
i dont get the "put it in a museum" calls. we have enough confederate artifacts, we don't need random statues taking up room in the back of museums gathering dust.
Like 90% of these aren't even of historical value, they exist for white supremacy.


We have a monument to the War of 1812 here in Toronto you may find inspiring:

8DBIJEg.jpg

Not gonna lie, this wouldn't look out of place in front of a toy store lol
 
The city goverment etc... should decide if they want to bring these down. Protesters taking them down is not a good idea.
Gave them a chance and it's too late now. Guess they should've decided to take down their bullshit statue earlier, brah.
 
I really do want them to come down, but I do think they belong in history museums to allow people not to ever forget about that heinous time period.

I wonder if they can bring down that Robert E. Lee statue, but its pretty huge.

there's already plenty of museums that have artifacts from the actual period of time of the Civil War.

these statues are unnecessary
 
This didn't happen in a vacuum.

This is going to make the coming rallies and protests that much more violent and emotionally charged. I understand the excitement, but this is going to push the already radicalized further towards the terrorism we saw this weekend. More violence will be justified because "we can't let them have another one" and "we're now under physical attack."

Is escalating violence unavoidable at this point? I guess that's what I'm asking, because that's what this is going to do, and I'm sure the people protecting these statues are thrilled to have the opportunity.

Thoughts?

Jesus christ, a Nazi launched a terrorist attack by driving his car into a crowd of people killing a woman, and you're asking if violence is unavoidable.
 
The laws slow down progress sometimes. This will save the city the cost of having to pay someone to remove it. It's practical this way.

Well done!
 
Feels good to watch, but I worry about retaliation. The main argument for keeping these statues is that they're "historically important" or for "Confederate heroes". I think that's bullshit, but a mob of people tearing these down plays right into the "See! They're the violent ones, and they're trying to wipe out our history!" argument. Once again, that's bullshit, but people believe it. It will infuriate them and give evidence to the racists and Nazis that they can use.

Hopefully the response is relegated to angry tweets and not violence.

I get what you're saying about retaliation, but I mean, they already killed someone on Saturday for these statues.

And really, if you equate a statue being brought down to a woman run over and killed, well, you were never really on our side to begin with.
 
I really do want them to come down, but I do think they belong in history museums to allow people not to ever forget about that heinous time period.

I wonder if they can bring down that Robert E. Lee statue, but its pretty huge.
They can still put them in museums even if they've been torn down, blown up, cracked, misshapen or whatever else people rightfully do to them. I actually like that idea better anyway.
 
I really do want them to come down, but I do think they belong in history museums to allow people not to ever forget about that heinous time period.

I wonder if they can bring down that Robert E. Lee statue, but its pretty huge.

This one can still be in museums, it just has a completely different purpose and meaning now. Some may be better preserved in the future given that cities wake up and realize people are tired of seeing this shit proudly displayed in 2017 and have them professionally removed.
 
Like 90% of these aren't even of historical value, they exist for white supremacy.


Not gonna lie, this wouldn't look out of place in front of a toy store lol

yeah. i mean i can understand something like Robert E Lee stuff making sense in a museum, but this random statue from Durham NC? meh.

Although...


Honestly, I think it belongs in a museum like this more than it did before.

HXMi8Gu.png


It was historically insignificant before, not like it was built anywhere close to when the war actually happened. But now it means something. That bent over piece of crap means something now, just not what the people who built it wanted it to. I hope this is the start of a trend.

this actually makes sense and i agree with this. put it in a museum, but not as a confederate artifact.
 
Majority of Confederate Monuments were put up as ways to intimidate black population and to make a statement against people who were actually in favor of equality. It was a way for the KKK and other groups to say fuck you. Its why even in states that were part of the Union we see confederate Monuments go up as recent as 2010.

Exactly. This shit isn't about commemorating history but instead respecting the white supremacist ideals of the Confederate States of America. Usually, these statues were paid for by white supremacist organizations led by the descendants of slaveholders, a class who lost their human property yet suffered no serious political consequences for their inhumanity.

Any honest Confederate memorial, which truly respected the boys sent to their death by the CSA, would recognize that they died to preserve the system of slavery. And the hundreds of thousands of dead Confederate soldiers ought to be remembered alongside the tens of millions of African Americans who worked and died in the rice swamps and cotton fields and coal mines for no other reason than to make a profit for white people.
 
This didn't happen in a vacuum.

This is going to make the coming rallies and protests that much more violent and emotionally charged. I understand the excitement, but this is going to push the already radicalized further towards the terrorism we saw this weekend. More violence will be justified because "we can't let them have another one" and "we're now under physical attack."

Is escalating violence unavoidable at this point? I guess that's what I'm asking, because that's what this is going to do, and I'm sure the people protecting these statues are thrilled to have the opportunity.

Thoughts?

If this enrages Nazis to commit further violence, it will show them to be the scum they are rather than simply having a "difference of opinion." They are already intent on genocide, they are simply trying to infiltrate public institutions and public discourse. Let them show themselves.
 
This didn't happen in a vacuum.

This is going to make the coming rallies and protests that much more violent and emotionally charged. I understand the excitement, but this is going to push the already radicalized further towards the terrorism we saw this weekend. More violence will be justified because "we can't let them have another one" and "we're now under physical attack."

Is escalating violence unavoidable at this point? I guess that's what I'm asking, because that's what this is going to do, and I'm sure the people protecting these statues are thrilled to have the opportunity.

Thoughts?

Is there a way to transport the alt-right, nazis, anarchists, and ISIS into an alternate world so that the people remaining can hate each other in a normal way while we study the wars on their other world as if they were lab rats?
 
They all need to come down.

These people act like they are the true patriots, while honoring traitors. "But muh heritage!"

Is NOT something to be proud of.

An insurrectionist movement that nearly destroyed this country. Because the majority had decided "You know... literally owning them is fucked up when you can get them trapped into an endless cycle with business. Costs more, but they think they're free."

It's fucking 2017.

Those statues should be in the Traitors to Country and Cause Museum.

Fuck this shit. Bring down that crap!
 
good.

The NC GOP basically made it impossible for Cooper or cities to remove the monuments. Fuck it.

These are majority black and majority progressive cities. Go fuck yourself and your hate.
 
This didn't happen in a vacuum.

This is going to make the coming rallies and protests that much more violent and emotionally charged. I understand the excitement, but this is going to push the already radicalized further towards the terrorism we saw this weekend. More violence will be justified because "we can't let them have another one" and "we're now under physical attack."

Is escalating violence unavoidable at this point? I guess that's what I'm asking, because that's what this is going to do, and I'm sure the people protecting these statues are thrilled to have the opportunity.

Thoughts?

Let them come at us, and we'll fight back with 10x the strength. Enough cowardliness, enough "calls of unity", enough meeting in the middle crap. They made their point last weekend, they killed someone and injured dozens all because of one of these stupid statues. They stand for the extermination of anyone who doesn't follow or meet their ideology. Let it escalate and let's end this shit once and for all.
 
This didn't happen in a vacuum.

This is going to make the coming rallies and protests that much more violent and emotionally charged. I understand the excitement, but this is going to push the already radicalized further towards the terrorism we saw this weekend. More violence will be justified because "we can't let them have another one" and "we're now under physical attack."

Is escalating violence unavoidable at this point? I guess that's what I'm asking, because that's what this is going to do, and I'm sure the people protecting these statues are thrilled to have the opportunity.

Thoughts?
The mistake here is assuming white supremacists need a justification to commit violence.

A woman already fucking died because of these shitheels.
 
Like 90% of these aren't even of historical value, they exist for white supremacy.




Not gonna lie, this wouldn't look out of place in front of a toy store lol

100% aren't for historical value.

The only thing 'historical' about this shit is learning from the mistakes of the past, anyone that reveres it as 'part of their heritage' hasn't learned jack shit.
 
They were chanting the phrase Green Day came up with right?

I particularly liked guitar guy's casual dropkick and pissed off pigtail girl going all out.

I say we find out who the statue was of, and then replace it with the Union equivalent. Like, if it was Lee, replace him with a Grant statue.
 
This didn't happen in a vacuum.

This is going to make the coming rallies and protests that much more violent and emotionally charged. I understand the excitement, but this is going to push the already radicalized further towards the terrorism we saw this weekend. More violence will be justified because "we can't let them have another one" and "we're now under physical attack."

Is escalating violence unavoidable at this point? I guess that's what I'm asking, because that's what this is going to do, and I'm sure the people protecting these statues are thrilled to have the opportunity.

Thoughts?

Those Nazi inanimate objects are probably hiding in their tool sheds.
 
good.

The NC GOP basically made it impossible for Cooper or cities to remove the monuments. Fuck it.

These are majority black and majority progressive cities. Go fuck yourself and your hate.

and this is why it's absolutely more than okay. if the majority of these people in these cities want them gone, but are hamstrung by confederate sympathizing republicans (although I repeat myself) then this is the only way to do it.

after all, it is their city.
 
Not gonna lie, this wouldn't look out of place in front of a toy store lol

I think that's kind of intentional, I recall reading about it "Coupland's memorial challenges us to make sure we're not reducing the war to a battle between toy soldiers." It's not just about the war of 1812 it about revisionist history.
 
They were chanting the phrase Green Day came up with right?

I particularly liked guitar guy's casual dropkick and pissed off pigtail girl going all out.

I say we find out who the statue was of, and then replace it with the Union equivalent. Like, if it was Lee, replace him with a Grant statue.

Commemorating slaves is better imo
 
If you're worried about retaliation and escalation a nazi hit an innocent woman with a car and killed her, injuring 19 others in the process, and police were either fine with it or scared because they were outgunned by a literal militia.

Keep your concern trolling to yourself.

Nigga is surrounded by white faces down here. I see them getting angrier and more armed on an almost weekly basis. This shit getting even hotter means me and mines are in greater danger. And I get the strong impression that it'll be people like me that get the brunt of it in comparison to a lot of people making this argument (hell as a Southern nigga, I already get the worst). Now, I a'int saying stand down, if only because I for damn sure a'int, but this general non-concern over escalation, is fucking bullshit. Like come the fuck on
 
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