@The Harbinger of Ferocity
Heya, fellow southerner chiming in here.
Some context first, on a personal level, I was very much raised in the history of the South. My family from my father's side has deep roots here in Virginia, particularly Petersburg, where they have donated artifacts to the battlefield museum out there (called "The Crater" near the military base Fort Lee). Hell, my great uncle was even able to recover slave receipts from when my family owned slaves. I have grown up hearing, and for awhile, believing in the narrative of "Robert E. Lee was the good southerner" or "It wasn't about slavery, it was about state rights, differences in economies, " ect. (Much like how you mentioned, Harbinger). But as I grew older, read more about the Civil War, and most importantly lived among its decendents, I can firmly say this now. My real, honest opinion on this alt left witch hunt:
The North should have utterly and totally annihilated the South, destroying every facet of our culture, our traditions, and our values.
Slavery was incredibly ingrained into our society, our culture, and how could it not? The South's entire economy was built upon slavery, period. Sure, that doesn't change the fact that there were plenty of other factors that played into the cause of the war, but that doesn't change the fact that we enslaved human beings.
And, in all reality, the war never really did end. An Armistice was signed, sure, and all military action slowly came to a halt, but the South hadn't really lost per say. That culture of racism did not end with the civil war, nor with the civil right movements of the following century. Still, to its core, the South remained unchanged. Those statues are certainly a great example of it. Robert E. Lee, for example, could have been an incredible man. Personally, I think his legend has been pretty hyped up over time, but even if we assume that every tall tale about his honor or sense of duty is to be believed, at the end of the day, he still fought for a government that genuinely believed that one human being was superior over another simply due to the color of their skin. One that went as far as enslaving human beings for the sake of cheap, disposable labor.
The cherry on top of all of this is that most of these statues are not history, at all. Many were put up in the 1920s and 30s as a means of protesting civil rights and being reminders of whose really in charge of the communities of the south. These men are traitors, plain and simple. Men who, regardless of their personal reasons, ultimately supported a regime that fully institutionalized slavery, on a mass, industrial scale.
However.
This does not mean we can't learn or remember our ancestors. This does not mean I should feel "ashamed" for what they did, and this does not mean I like the people or the reasoning behind taking down these statues. We should be taking them down not out of spite of one side, but as a way to finally move the fuck on, to recognize it's dark history and take a strong step in the right directing. We don't need statues put up by some racists assholes as a means of protest to remember the civil war. My hometown has a massive fucking crater to remember it.
It really is a damn shame that this was initiated by some SJW bullshit panic as we have far more important issues to deal with then some fucking racist pieces of stone and metal, but frankly, if people really have moved on from the past, accepted its mistakes, and truly want to pursue a future of equality, then nobody should give two shits about this stuff being torn down. I love Southern food, the accents, and the farm, small town lifestyle, but all these things do not need those statues to continue on. All of this started because those lazy fucks in the North went too easy on us, and failed to truly rip out the racist heart of the South.
So yeah.... Somehow as a Southerner I still found a way to blame the Yankees about something, even if its total annihilation. XD
(also sorry for any grammar errors/typos as I sort of just barfed this rant out on my phone.)
Heya, fellow southerner chiming in here.
Some context first, on a personal level, I was very much raised in the history of the South. My family from my father's side has deep roots here in Virginia, particularly Petersburg, where they have donated artifacts to the battlefield museum out there (called "The Crater" near the military base Fort Lee). Hell, my great uncle was even able to recover slave receipts from when my family owned slaves. I have grown up hearing, and for awhile, believing in the narrative of "Robert E. Lee was the good southerner" or "It wasn't about slavery, it was about state rights, differences in economies, " ect. (Much like how you mentioned, Harbinger). But as I grew older, read more about the Civil War, and most importantly lived among its decendents, I can firmly say this now. My real, honest opinion on this alt left witch hunt:
The North should have utterly and totally annihilated the South, destroying every facet of our culture, our traditions, and our values.
Slavery was incredibly ingrained into our society, our culture, and how could it not? The South's entire economy was built upon slavery, period. Sure, that doesn't change the fact that there were plenty of other factors that played into the cause of the war, but that doesn't change the fact that we enslaved human beings.
And, in all reality, the war never really did end. An Armistice was signed, sure, and all military action slowly came to a halt, but the South hadn't really lost per say. That culture of racism did not end with the civil war, nor with the civil right movements of the following century. Still, to its core, the South remained unchanged. Those statues are certainly a great example of it. Robert E. Lee, for example, could have been an incredible man. Personally, I think his legend has been pretty hyped up over time, but even if we assume that every tall tale about his honor or sense of duty is to be believed, at the end of the day, he still fought for a government that genuinely believed that one human being was superior over another simply due to the color of their skin. One that went as far as enslaving human beings for the sake of cheap, disposable labor.
The cherry on top of all of this is that most of these statues are not history, at all. Many were put up in the 1920s and 30s as a means of protesting civil rights and being reminders of whose really in charge of the communities of the south. These men are traitors, plain and simple. Men who, regardless of their personal reasons, ultimately supported a regime that fully institutionalized slavery, on a mass, industrial scale.
However.
This does not mean we can't learn or remember our ancestors. This does not mean I should feel "ashamed" for what they did, and this does not mean I like the people or the reasoning behind taking down these statues. We should be taking them down not out of spite of one side, but as a way to finally move the fuck on, to recognize it's dark history and take a strong step in the right directing. We don't need statues put up by some racists assholes as a means of protest to remember the civil war. My hometown has a massive fucking crater to remember it.
It really is a damn shame that this was initiated by some SJW bullshit panic as we have far more important issues to deal with then some fucking racist pieces of stone and metal, but frankly, if people really have moved on from the past, accepted its mistakes, and truly want to pursue a future of equality, then nobody should give two shits about this stuff being torn down. I love Southern food, the accents, and the farm, small town lifestyle, but all these things do not need those statues to continue on. All of this started because those lazy fucks in the North went too easy on us, and failed to truly rip out the racist heart of the South.
So yeah.... Somehow as a Southerner I still found a way to blame the Yankees about something, even if its total annihilation. XD
(also sorry for any grammar errors/typos as I sort of just barfed this rant out on my phone.)
