• Nobody@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    If the confederate monument was installed in the 19th century, I’ll hear the history argument.

    If it was installed as an overtly racist response to civil rights movements in the 20th century, that shit is racist as hell and needs to disappear from public lands.

    • Ech@lemm.ee
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      10 months ago

      Nah. Tear 'em all down. The history can be left to the written word, detailing how they got destroyed. They don’t deserve any monument trying to extoll their “glory”. Rubble-ize them and put up memorials to the slaves in their place.

      • cynar@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        A collage/university in the UK (unfortunately can’t remember which one) dealt with a similar problem well. It had statues of the founders out front. Unfortunately, they made their money from the slave trade. There were calls to destroy the statues. They instead, moved them to a small, half forgot garden in the back. As well as their original descriptive plagues, some more were added, explaining how they made their fortunes, and the various moral failings we now see in them.

        It seems to me like this struck a good balance. It acknowledged the good they did, while emphasising the bad. Failing to recognise both good and bad can occur in individuals is often how history can repeat itself.

        In short, don’t destroy them. Instead, stick them at the back of a museum to the horrors of slavery, half forgotten, except for their crimes.

        • stoy@lemmy.zip
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          10 months ago

          I like this approach, if we destroy the physical object, the history books will have less impact for future generations.

          Add info about what horrible things they did, remove them from their place of honor, and put them in an alcove of shame.

      • Rodeo@lemmy.ca
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        10 months ago

        No. Preserve them in museums as a reminder of what can happen.

        History should never be destroyed, but that doesn’t mean it has to be celebrated.

        • mindbleach
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          10 months ago

          Right: ideally, nothing that a human being put effort into deserves to be lost forever.

          Even if some of it belongs at a somber museum… maybe behind a little wall.

        • MindSkipperBro12@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          History can and should be destroyed if we ever wish to move forward as a species. We can’t let idiots hold us back.

          • maniclucky@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            Perhaps, but it should be measured. Discarding harmful traditions and such is good, forgetting what we did wrong is bad. I think museums are a great place for these. We certainly don’t care for human sacrifice, but that doesn’t stop us from putting ritual daggers on display from ancient civilizations. No sense in forgetting something important and having to learn it all again, and large objects that stand as a monument to bad decisions can be subverted to a good cause.

            With big bold letters that say “SLAVERY IS BAD” for any museums located anywhere that uses the phrase “War of Northern Aggression”.

      • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        I vote we melt them down and recast them into statues/memorials for civil right’s people. at least the bronze ones.

        maybe even southern civil right’s people.

      • mindbleach
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        10 months ago

        I’ll make an exception for Stone Mountain, just because it is the largest work of its kind. (And should remain so.) All the plaques and lookout points can say ‘here’s a neat thing made by assholes.’

        Anything that can be put on a truck, though? Honk honk, let’s go already.

    • TehBamski@lemmy.worldOP
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      10 months ago

      That was a fun read. Haha.

      I’d like to see what the properly backed up statistics of the Republic States vs the Democrat States are not days.

    • ME5SENGER_24@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Everything to do with the confederacy, except from teaching about the civil war, should be banned in the US. That flag they love, ban it. Statues, rip them down. Locations named after conspirators, rename them. The civil war was an attempt to destroy the US and divide it in two. They lost, fortunately. All associations to the traitors they were should not be allowed. People who claim “it’s my heritage” heritage of what exactly? That you’re white? Your skin says that. That your family was racist? Not a good quality to be flaunting and something you should probably come to terms with.

      • maniclucky@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        I think the better action, over a blatant violation of the 1st amendment, would to push back ourselves instead of trying to get the government to break its own rules.

        Anytime someone uses the phrase “War of Northern Aggression”, pointedly correct them in saying “(American) Civil War”. Anytime they spout “states rights”, amend them with “to own humans and demand other countries return the people they want to enslave”. Rock the damned boat and use the 1st amendment how it should be. They are not protected from other people having disdain for them for being stupidly proud of atrocities. And you know what, being proud of being descended from racist slave owners is not a protected class. Just saying.

        The government shouldn’t suppress speech. But we can certainly give them consequences for being assholes.

        • Bytemeister@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          “War of Nothern Aggression” - Started by the confederates firing on Union soldiers at Fort Sumter.

          “State’s Rights” - If you leave the Union, you’re no longer state in the Union with rights in the Union.

          “Not about Slavery or race” - Articles of Confederacy first and foremost highlighted white supremacy and the servitude of negroes.

          “It’s my heritage” - Fuck off. If you actually knew your heritage and history, you wouldn’t be loud and proud about it.

  • Facebones@reddthat.com
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    10 months ago

    I wish I saved that meme I saw responding to “confederate statues are my heritage” with “destroying the confederacy is MY heritage”

    EDIT:

  • zeppo@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Sure is weird how these people are obsessed with being traitors and also think they’re patriotic.

    • Ech@lemm.ee
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      10 months ago

      “thE PArtY oF LIncoLn” waves the flag of his enemies

      - these fucking idiots.

      • ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        It’s hilarious to me that redneck conservatives love to wave the flags of the Confederacy and the Nazis - the recipients of the two biggest beatdowns in US military history. Losers in every sense of the word.

    • SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca
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      10 months ago

      Well the are historic in that they’re a part of the history of oppressing black people that continued after the Civil War. But doesn’t seem like history someone in the South should want to celebrate.

  • original2@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Is yankee offensive? I am british and have called americans “yanks” for the past 10 years at least… Should i stop or is it ok?

  • saltesc@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Imagine you go back to the 1860s and you see a cohort of this capacity start something. No wonder they got their arses kicked.