Originally Posted by Lisnaholic (Post 1864074)

When I first saw a news item about a Charlotteville statue and a group protesting its removal, I didn't imagine how things would escalate.

There's no turning back the clock, but imo the decision to remove Robert E. Lee's statue was a mistake from the start. After all, many people commemorated in statues have caused death and destruction; should they all be taken down? If anything, in multi-cultural societies, we should be putting statues up and if people are uneasy about glorifying Robert E. Lee, wouldn't it have been better to strike a balance by adding a statue of Frederick Douglass or some local equivalent as well?

Sad and alarming on lots of levels, the spiral of violence in Charlotteville has also obscured the original issue.

Originally Posted by Janszoon (Post 1864080)

Why was it a mistake? Lee lead a treasonous army that attacked and killed thousands of members of the US military, that's not typically something we memorialize here.

Originally Posted by The Batlord (Post 1864082)

I could give a **** about the Confederacy, but they're still the South's ancestors and they bled and died for their homes and families and country and whatnot, same as any US soldier in any other war, so I see no reason not to commemorate the soldiers themselves.

Originally Posted by Janszoon (Post 1864085)

The difference is that their war involved killing members of the US military. They don't deserve a memorial any more than Timothy McVeigh does.

Originally Posted by The Batlord (Post 1864087)

They were still our people and served as honorably or dishonorably as an member of the US military. And comparing Confederate soldiers to Timothy McVeigh is the kind of flippant, Northern disdain that makes Southerners want to fly the Stars and Bars in the first place. It's also the same attitude that leads to Republicans calling Democrats socialists and Democrats calling Republicans racists. Do you really think it's a constructive way to look at things?

Originally Posted by The Batlord (Post 1864087)

They were still our people and served as honorably or dishonorably as an member of the US military. And comparing Confederate soldiers to Timothy McVeigh is the kind of flippant, Northern disdain that makes Southerners want to fly the Stars and Bars in the first place. It's also the same attitude that leads to Republicans calling Democrats socialists and Democrats calling Republicans racists. Do you really think it's a constructive way to look at things?