In the wake of the events in Charlottesville– especially in the wake of the White House’s reluctance to name and blame those responsible and yesterday’s return to a defensive insistence on the equivalence of “both sides”– it has become much more difficult for Trump apologists to deny what has been obvious to many of us since well before the Presidential campaign: this needy, damaged ignoramus desperately needs to feel superior to others, and the “others” he feels most superior to are minorities.
His entire campaign was a none-too-veiled appeal to bigotry. His base is populated with “alt-right” figures–Klansmen and Nazis like David Duke who enthusiastically endorsed him and whom he refused to repudiate. As a recent column in the Guardian noted,
Duke, in Charlottesville on Saturday, told the USA Today Network: “We’re gonna fulfil the promises of Donald Trump. That’s what we believed in, that’s why we voted for Donald Trump, because he said he’s gonna take our country back.”
Neo-Nazis and the so-called “alt-right” have been a crucial part of the Trump base. Critics have noted the nods, the winks, even the Republican national convention speech, with its giant screens and logos that bordered on fascist parody.
Trump’s bigotry, and especially his racism, is neither new nor recently adopted for reasons of political expediency. This is a man who has been sued for refusing to rent apartments to blacks, who flogged “birtherism” in order to delegitimatize a black President, and who has filled his administration and the White House with unapologetic white supremacists.
Trump’s attorney general is Jeff Sessions, who has long been dogged by accusations of racism. His chief strategist is Steve Bannon, who once proudly said of Breitbart News: “We’re the platform for the alt-right.”
Trump’s deputy assistant is Sebastian Gorka, who has worn a medal awarded to the Hungarian group Vitezi Rend, linked by some to Nazi collaborators. Gorka said last week: “It’s this constant, ‘Oh, it’s the white man. It’s the white supremacists. That’s the problem.’ No, it isn’t … go to Sinjar. Go to the Middle East, and tell me what the real problem is today. Go to Manchester.”
A president’s actions and words can only do so much, but they can create a climate in which certain groups, attitudes and mindsets flourish. Trump, 71, will not switch course now, for as Michelle Obama once observed: “Being president doesn’t change who you are. It reveals who you are.”
Paul Krugman’s Monday column in the New York Times, titled “When the President is UnAmerican” is worth reading in its entirety; it is impossible to disagree with his conclusion.
These days we have a president who is really, truly, deeply un-American, someone who doesn’t share the values and ideals that made this country special.
In fact, he’s so deeply alienated from the American idea that he can’t even bring himself to fake it. We all know that Trump feels comfortable with white supremacists, but it’s amazing that he won’t even give them a light tap on the wrist. We all know that Putin is Trump’s kind of guy, but it’s remarkable that Trump won’t even pretend to be outraged at Putin’s meddling with our election….
Whatever role foreign influence may have played and may still be playing, however, we don’t need to wonder whether an anti-American cabal, hostile to everything we stand for, determined to undermine everything that truly makes this country great, has seized power in Washington. It has: it’s called the Trump administration.
I will repeat what I have said previously: when Trump’s poll numbers finally hit bottom and stop their slide (when the people who held their noses and voted for him because they couldn’t bring themselves to vote for Hillary or desert the GOP have deserted him), the extent of American bigotry will be starkly obvious.
Trump’s loyalists are America’s White Nationalists, Nazis and racists. We’re about to see just how many of these despicable people there are.
And what are we to do when those despicable people turn out to be our friends, our neighbors and our family members?
What is happening to our society is heartbreaking on a personal level as we question who these people really are who we had always thought we knew but now see that we knew not at all. I am outraged at what is happening to my country, but I am sickened at what is happening to the very fabric of the nation… all of the personal relationships being shattered.
good luck on removing trump. the republicans would rather slime our nation for,their agenda. its a conscience with little moral code. if the right side of the isle was to make a stink,they would have done it,last month..seems our country can go to war with its self,again,and congress would muddle the details on how were their still going to screw the working class for wall streets needs,and this can be precussor to martial law,in such a way,it gelds the freedoms we have fought for in legimate ways. the money,law and corperations are getting some much needed help out of this,its called suppression. we can fight all we want,now its a matter of what trash congress passes in the mean time..ive given up on writing the rightwing assholes from northdakota, tired of generic answers to questions that mean something to the questions and needs of americans. its a full scale assult on the american public by congress,and we have gotten no response in congress,only what congress wants,and this war in the streets is just a distirbance to the law. if we have elected people who support this mess, then rememeber we only have whats left of our voting rights… vote the bums out…….if they in congress see this as just another day at the office,maybe they need a front row seat at the mayham.if congress doesnt reconize,and puts the blame on the people,,,,,,,, we need to make a real stand and unsettle their money sick mind with some reality. maybe some town hall meeting accusing them of blaintanly destroying the constitution of our country by ignoring a president who doesnt bring people together,but is dividing the people..left,right,doesnt matter here,were devided,both sides of the people who built this nation,with,,our lives… this man should have never made it to the voting booth. what does it take to shake the halls of congress to make this parasite get out of that dump.as he calls it… its time to renew some connections here. in sure the fbi will be making people who attended those demonstrations into a file. in sure suppression will only prevail to further demonstrations. if cites wish to provide a place to protest,then rules must prevail. no guns,weapons,and one side of the street. police are far fewer today,due so called tax cuts.and their overworked to a point of doing stupid shit. we can condem,we can provide. but we must never lose site of what this nation is. the president is out of line,out of touch and we are not heard.. if congress refusses to act, they are elected,and we can make a stand…
If you’re white or have friends who are white and know people who voted for Trump, here’s something to understand.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AXl9XAckLY
The DNA of the body politic is FASCIST. It has infected the VAST majority of white Americans. Trump, the Klan, etc. are only the surface. There has been NO treatment other than futile attempts at the surface.
Michael Moore and others like him only fight at the surface. It’s much more safer. If you were really effective, you would never be on BROADWAY. You would be lucky to be alive.
After his despicable press conference yesterday it is my hope that the leaks from inside his circle will increase and that the FBI will work harder and faster to expose him and his fascist cabinet members. They must all be eliminated from their positions of power.
As Voltaire commented many, many years ago. “Illusion is the FIRST of all pleasure.”
I have to think that Trump’s impunity is fading. He continues to undermine himself with his racist statements and ignorance. It becomes clearer daily that he doesn’t have any interest in the office of President, he just wants to BE president. His supporters are getting hard pressed to find a reason (other than racism) to continue to support him. Congress is in duck and cover mode for now, but as the tide of public opinion shifts and they continue to refuse to stand against Trump, they have to recognize that their odds of keeping their well-paying, lobbyist-funded jobs with superior health care are fading.
Those of you who watched Trump’s “press conference/speech” yesterday in it’s entirety; think back as I did to those old newsreels from WWII and Hitler’s “press conference/speeches”. If you view them as normal political commentary, whether you agree or disagree with the content, your are a Fascist…simply in the closet. Neither of these dangerous men represent “normal” political views or humanity or behavior on any level.
This will probably result in anger and disagreement from many on this blog but…I support leaving the Confederate statues in place. Like it or not; they were the Confederate STATES OF AMERICA (self-proclaimed but never recognized as a nation by any other nation) against the political views of the United States of America. Then it was southern Democrats against northern Republicans; today it is southern Republicans against northern Democrats. Both are AMERICANS against AMERICANS and as Theresa pointed out “I am outraged at what is happening to my country, but I am sickened at what is happening to the very fabric of the nation… all of the personal relationships being shattered.” We are already part and parcel of what happened before; during and after the Civil War (also known as the War of Northern Aggression which the south is still fighting) and WWII, neighbor against neighbor, friend against friend, family member against family member…with open carry laws in too many states.
I retain memberships in national organizations who have the capacity to legally fight for me, using my membership dues. I speak out privately and publicly; this is NOT surface fighting and it sure as hell is NOT safe.
Does anyone know how Israel is reporting the fracas in Charlottesville? Here the riots have edged out news of conflict in the settlements.
Jo Ann,
Good for you, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League.
Americans need to start saying the simple truth: this president is a neo-Nazi sympathizer.
But, the real question is what will the other Republicans do? They can condemn Trump’s remarks all they want, but talk is cheap. Will they take some action to solve the problem? Require the FBI to investigate and report to Congress regularly on the white nationalist/supremacist movements? Or will they just continue to weep crocodile tears?
Walter,
“Will they take some action to solve the problem? Require the FBI to investigate and report to Congress regularly on the white nationalist/supremacist movements”
A few years ago, Congress voted to cut off funds to investigate white nationalist/supremacist movements. That’s kept the Southern Poverty Law Center in business as the only “watch dog” with NO BITE. Better than nothing?
Marv; I am proud to be a long time supporter of the South Poverty Law Center, while I do not support all issues they serve. The same is true regarding my support of the ACLU.
Please STOP connecting me to the Anti-Defamation League; I have told you a number of times that I know little about them and what little I do know, I do NOT support them in any way.
Jo Ann,
Please STOP connecting me to the Anti-Defamation League; I have told you a number of times that I know little about them and what little I do know, I do NOT support them in any way.
The Southen Poverty Law Center has been partners with the Anti-Defamation League all these years going back to the early 90’s. How do you think the SPLC became so financially powerful? They’ve had the financial supporter list from the Anti-Defamation League.
The ADL does some good work. They just don’t fight anti-Semitism. Because if they did, certain powerfull members of Congress will attempt to cut off funds to Israel, as George Bush attempted back in 1991.
Since it’s my 80th Birthday today, I thought I would celebrate it with a little bit of truth before the “ship of state” is completely SUNK.
Quote of Karl Popper after fleeing the nazis:
Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them.
The mask has come off the as the Nazi Flag and Confederate Flags were paraded together. The Confederate Flag represents slavery.
The first Vice President of the Confederate States was, Alexander H. Stephens and he said. “Our new government is founded upon exactly [this] idea; its foundations are laid, its corner-stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race, is his natural and normal condition. This, our new government, is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth”.
The idea that the Confederate Flag and these statues are somehow a part of a benign “heritage” like pecan pie or grits to totally bogus. The Confederate Flag and the Generals of the Confederacy represented the preservation slavery. The Confederate statues need to come down.
With all the ‘hate’ going on in the US, I decided last evening to locate the documented hate groups in Indiana. Found 26 documented hate groups that exist in our state as per the Southern Poverty Law Center’s definition of a hate group,
“All hate groups have beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics.
This list was compiled using hate group publications and websites, citizen and law enforcement reports, field sources and news reports. Groups that appear in the center of states represent statewide groups.
Hate group activities can include criminal acts, marches, rallies, speeches, meetings, leafleting or publishing.”
https://www.splcenter.org/hate-map
OMG,
“Does anyone know how Israel is reporting the fracas in Charlottesville? Here the riots have edged out news of conflict in the settlements.”
Go to http://www.Haaretz.com. The Israeli government is now admitting to the dangers of Donald Trump and the deep anti-Semitism in the U.S. Now will come attempts to CORNER THE ISRAELIS between the US Far Right and there long time Israeli enemies.
All of this will further destabalize the U.S. situation as American Jews become “FROZEN”as was the unfortunate case in Nazi Germany.
@OMG, “Does anyone know how Israel is reporting the fracas in Charlottesville? Here the riots have edged out news of conflict in the settlements.”
From the Jerusalem Post, 8/16/17, “Israeli politicians slam Trump’s Response to Neo-Nazis”. The article at this link: http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Israeli-politicians-divided-in-response-to-Trump-press-conference-502562
Louie; please add to Alexander H. Stephens’ beliefs (copied and pasted below), those of Trump, Pence, Bannon, Sessions, et al, and be sure to include their additional list of defectives to the “negro”. Women, Jews, Muslims, LGBTQs, Democrats, poor who need not be educated, all immigrants…and the list goes on. How will this history making election and all the repercussions be written for our future generations? What is the difference between removing Confederate military statues and Texas rewriting history books to portray slavery in a positive light; free transportation all those Africans here to waiting jobs, homes, food, clothing and medical care? Erasing truths and rewriting it and removing statues will take generations to make it “truth” for our descendants down the line. Rather like burying the investigation results of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in the archives for 100 years…till no one left alive will remember that ugly chapter in our history as it actually happened.
“The first Vice President of the Confederate States was, Alexander H. Stephens and he said. “Our new government is founded upon exactly [this] idea; its foundations are laid, its corner-stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race, is his natural and normal condition. This, our new government, is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth”.
Jo Ann,
“The first Vice President of the Confederate States was, Alexander H. Stephens and he said. “Our new government is founded upon exactly [this] idea; its foundations are laid, its corner-stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race, is his natural and normal condition. This, our new government, is the FIRST, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth”.
Who are we kidding? You gotta say it like it is. Thanks.
Apartheid in South Africa was the Second.
And nowTrumpism is the Third.
Wow! Isn’t this just great?
Again, thanks for all of this. If these conversations, however differing but enlightening make me have some hope. At least they are conversations not screaming matches and violence.
Now, aside from the obvious mess this president has plunged us into how must his precious daughter be feeling right now, knowing her father just gave his approval for those in Charlottesville chanting, “Jews shall not replace us”? She must be so proud; or maybe she really is. She probably knows what is really in his heart.
Dear Ms. Kennedy,
As I look at it, having watched the process of this last election cycle and the way the vote was wrested from the hands of the People (again!) I can only speculate that the rats that were so prevalent in previous administrations are still there quietly working in the background infiltrating our Police, the government bureaucracy, city, county and state government… it is true. It is proving more true every day – the danger signs have been there all along – the scheme of this mindset is finally trying to make its power grab. This isn’t just ‘nazis’ this goes clear back to the doctrine of ‘manifest destiny’… the whole Eurocentrism of Anglo-Saxon-Franco – Europe. And it is all based in ‘christian foundations’… where they get their foundations from is not Christ for sure!… we are in the soup Sheila! we are now formally – in the Soup! But the real question is – where does it all go from here?
Manuel; how observant of you and thank you for speaking out. I worked for the City of Indianapolis beginning under Mayor Richard Lugar in 1972, through the bright progressive years of Mayor Bill Hudnut and into the beginning of the Republican Goldsmith downhill slide into the current all encompassing swamp (left in 1994). The Goldsmith years were a microcosm of the Nixon administration. Gov. Mitch Daniels placed former Goldsmith staff and appointees high in his administration as did Republican Mayor Ballard, followed by Gov. Mike Pence. How many of them accompanied Pence to Washington, D.C.? I doubt we will ever know but as you said…we “can only speculate that the rats that were so prevalent in previous administrations are still there quietly working in the background infiltrating our Police, the government bureaucracy, city, county and state government…” Thank you for this reminder to those of us in Indianapolis and Indiana who remember.
I remember (seems like just yesterday) that Hillary “It’s my turn to be President” Clinton was arrogantly talking about “deplorables” and how they were going to lose their jobs when she was elected and coal mining was destroyed. This was just a minor part of her attitude, which strikes me as biased and prejudiced and would encourage violence, as it DID when she lost. Hillary and Donald? Not a lot to choose from in terms of bias and prejudice, except she was more careful how she said it. Better Drama coach?
When they have no sane arguments, they always turn back to Hillary as if her behavior was equal to Trumps. Pathetic.
Sitting quietly in my home office and reading today’s comments, I’m wondering is it possible for the US to exist with such a growth spurt in the ‘Us vs Them’ mentality? Have we become so intellectually lazy that we seek a group connection in life to feel whole, must we align ourselves with ‘one identity’ against ‘another identity’ to function as individuals, can we individually exist without a group alignment, has politics become our new civil religion?
Marv in essence says that we are talking about everything but the fact that we have descended into a fascist state, as evidenced by history,fractious rhetoric, Supremacy riots etc. I hope (and I think he hopes) that he is wrong; that while we may be on the road to fascism we have not yet arrived, and this is not merely a matter of verb tense. It behooves us to step back, take a deep breath, and understand that a very decided minority is waving Nazi and Confederate flags and engaging (so far) largely in fisticuffs with the exceptions of the one woman and two police officers killed, which are three too many, and tragic as that may be, this altercation in Virginia does not have to describe our future among the clear headed. There were, after all, hundreds of millions of Americans who did not participate in the Virginia brawl, and who strongly disagree with the minority’s racist views.
So am I an apologist for a laisse faire look at such riots and a blind advocate for the status quo in which our attention is diverted to fighting one another and not the continuing theft of our treasury by the rich and corporate class? Hardly. I have been in dozens of marches and have endured many middle fingers during the course of my anti-fascist and anti-Wall Street marches, but I for one am not in favor of dismissing the present clash with a label of fascism or even racism as a precipitating factor. It is rather, I think, a deep and entrenched fear of loss of dominance by one sector of our society to another. Some of us cannot live with the idea that we are en route to becoming the new Brazil, a tan republic, but numbers don’t lie – politicians do.
JoAnn,
I am quite shocked that you support leaving the confederate statues in place, as they are a strong symbol of the South’s fight to maintain slavery. It just doesn’t seem to mesh with everything I have come to understand about you through this blog.
What has really surprised me about many of the statues celebrating confederate Civil War heroes is that many of them have been created and erected within the last 50-75 years. Why on earth are the southern states still choosing to honor men who fought to enslave other human beings? Those southerners, in my opinion, need to stop fighting a battle that they lost. I could go on and on, but I imagine many of us feel the same way.
BSH; maybe it is “safety in numbers” that is guiding us now, it is terrifying to believe each of us is alone in this nightmare from which we cannot awaken. My next door neighbors and I were alone with our “Bernie for President” and my “Pence Must Go” yard signs among those ELEVEN Trump signs. One “Hillary” yard sign and one window decal on an SUV. He attached my new Rainbow flag to my old flagpole and hung it from my front porch for me; we laughed as we wondered if we would get a reaction. So far, the Trumpsters have kept any reactions they might have to themselves. We have our “Andre Carson for Congress” yard signs ready to post…will I be strong enough to put my “Pence Must Go” sign back out? I hope so; hope is all any of us have these days regarding anything political.
Nancy; will their names be obliterated from history books, too?
If Ryan, McConnell and the other Republicans in Congress were true patriots, they would condemn Chump by name, specifically, instead of generic objection to racism, Nazi principles, White Supremacy, etc.. They won’t because their first priority is to deliver tax breaks to their millionaire and billionaire friends and big Pharma, big Insurance and medical device makers, they want environmental protections gutted, they want to repeal Obamacare and to reverse as much of President Obama’s legacy as humanly possible. Our hope lies in Republicans doing the right thing. That’s why I don’t have much hope, to be honest. The day will come when it will be necessary to impeach the fat orange blob. I’m doubting they’ll do it unless they already have gotten what they really want when the time comes.
Dont limit the worst of trump’s base followers (pun intended) to the unstable trump thugs who show up at rallies. Over the last week, the local Women’s Republican ladies club kept showing up on my FB page. Why? I had never been to theirs. They wanted to announce that they had invited an extremely wealthy stock fund broker to speak at their annual meeting – a person of extreme right views, who had funded some council members to try and take over our county. They succeeded until they nearly ran it into the ground and were thrown out by a nearly unanimous vote – in a county in WA state that runs about 50-50, Dem-GOP. (After being tossed out, some of them went to DC to work for trump.) After the GOPladies had planted themselves in my newsfeed for several days running, I finally posted a comment and argued with them, on their speaker choice, on the basis that wealth does not equal ethics – a gentle understatement in this case. I made no headway. I gained no converts. The ladies were determined to always insist on ladylike language (I used my best Jane Austin-ese, so they would be able to understand me.) and to defend their choice on the premise that great wealth means “a lot of people like and admire you”. Scrolling down their page, full of ladylike gushings on polite subjects, and apparently blind admiration for their leader in chief POTUS, Lars Larsen, local right wing nut cases, and looking at their, almost to a woman, blonde pictures – just an occasional brunette, not a POC to be seen, I was dismayed. There was never a mention of civil rights, ecology, womens rights, equal rights, the health of the Columbia River, science, ethics. None of the big serious, existential questions of our time were broached, even though they told me that they were independent women who “thought for themselves.” They appear to be an uncritical bunch of cheerleaders for their alt right leaders. Even though I was aware that many educated, professional, economically comfortable people voted for trump, I was making the assumption that they were probably the very people who were now regretting their decisions, and falling away, leaving slack jawed, armed to the teeth, troglodytes in charge – and that was the nazi base trump was so obviously speaking to, between the lines in his statements, and outright in his tweets. I think my assumption was partly wrong. I think there are a lot more of these mostly wealthy conclaves of “well bred” flower of American womanhood, steel magnolias, than I imagined. And they haven’t been touched or dismayed by the racist fascist rhetoric, because, under the polite demeanor, and never expressed, except in euphemisms, to the “right” people, in private, they are, indeed, trump’s base too. Go check out the Republican ladies clubs social media pages in your area, and see if you see the same things I did. That base is broad, and however much you dress them up, they are very ugly.
As of last Friday’s Gallup pole, Republican support for Trump was still at 79%. It is inching downward, but it is a long way from tanking. My Facebook feed is full of false equivalencies posted by people who have entangled who they are with this horrid presidency. Add to them the people who believe that all politics are moral – the ends justifies the means – and we are looking at little chance that the Republican party will ever reign in Trump.
JoAnn,
I don’t think their names will be obliterated from the history books, but having history books that tell the factual ugly truth about our history is needed.
Just because they are a part of our history (a terrible part of it) does not mean that they should be honored with statues in public parks and/or on government property.
Can you explain to me your thoughts on why you believe they should be kept standing?
President Lincoln welcomed all southern states back into the Union; no Confederate officers or their troops were arrested or punished as traitors. They were all simply allowed to return home however they could get there, if they had homes to return to. The statues around Indianapolis have unfamiliar names which, years ago I used to try to learn who they were, what they did to deserve a statue. How many southerners, especially children question who those statues are? I just believe they are part of our history and far too much ado is being made over removing them. What if the south continues controlling this country through Trump, Bannon and Sessions and they decide to, as Trump pointed out, remove George Washington and Thomas Jefferson memorials and statues? President Lincoln’s wife, Mary’s, family were slave holders and southern supporters while she was strongly abolishonist but she “padded” bills to refurbish the White House to have money for clothes. She sold one of his speeches which was vital to remain secret till he reported it to Congress, to a reporter to make money; President Lincoln covered up her treason which was also treasonous.
What is being accomplished by removing statues of southern generals when we should be concentrating on removing our current treasonous White House residents and entire administration. Is this another Republican tactic to distract us from what is actually going on today?
@JoAnn, as I wrote much earlier today, I am concerned about the increasing ‘Us vs Them’ mentality that seems to have consumed political conversation. In fact, when I read a comment from Nancy that appeared to question your ‘loyalty’ to whatever cause she’d associated with your participation on this blog, I realized the inherent danger of placing people in nice tidy identity boxes. Litmus tests for loyalty to a cause are both divisive and unworkable. The potential for ensuing witch hunts simply is too great.
JoAnn,
Lincoln tried to heal the nation after the war; that was a very positive thing.
We don’t write names out of history books; that would be a Stalinist thing.
But what country raises statues to people who were traitors, even if they were forgiven?
These statues were not meant as “remembering” war heroes, but rather as affirmation of white supremacy, Jim Crow, segregation and basic bigotry. They are recent, not long established from the Civil War era.
Removing statues is fighting the bigot in the White House. We are capable of multiple actions and in this case, showed opposition to racism is showing opposition the our Racist-in-Chief.
@Len Farber, many would like to contact you at your link on Sheila’s website; however, your name appears to be linked to an out-of-date source – http://www.indyvanguard.net
This site can’t be reached.
The webpage at http://www.indyvanguard.net/ might be temporarily down or it may have moved permanently to a new web address.
Did you mean http://www.indyvanguard.com/?
@Len Farber, some would like to contact you at your link on Sheila’s website; however, your name appears to be linked to a website that no longer exists. http://www.indyvanguard.net
JoAnn,
Thanks for explaining your reasoning in support of the confederate statues. I, of course, fully support their removal because they were created to honor men who fought to protect the southern states that seceded the union and fought to maintain slavery of human beings of color. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I was surprised to learn that most of them had been created in the past 50-75 years. To me, this means that the south still can’t get over their loss and has refused to fully be a part of the “United” States of America.
Regarding BSH’s use of the word “loyalty” to a cause, I hope you did not take my comment in that way. I was merely saying that I have come to know you as someone who supports equal rights and that is why I was shocked that you believe statues that symbolize fighting in favor of slavery should remain standing. BSH should not have taken the liberty of putting the word “loyalty” into my mouth.
I fully agree with Len Farber’s 5:10 pm comment regarding our country’s history.
BSH “@JoAnn, as I wrote much earlier today, I am concerned about the increasing ‘Us vs Them’ mentality that seems to have consumed political conversation. In fact, when I read a comment from Nancy that appeared to question your ‘loyalty’ to whatever cause she’d associated with your participation on this blog, I realized the inherent danger of placing people in nice tidy identity boxes. Litmus tests for loyalty to a cause are both divisive and unworkable. The potential for ensuing witch hunts simply is too great.”
BSH, I agree with you on the identity boxes. I believe that in that respect, many people find it is much easier to simplify in order to more easily form opinions. Considering as many points of view as possible along with weeding through fact and fiction takes time and effort. As far as I know, Critical thinking is not an inherent trait in humans, so forming opinions based on emotion and personal experience seems the quickest and most satisfying way to go. McLogic if you will.
Len; I am well aware of President Lincoln’s many attributes, he is my favorite president. My comments regarding the problems with his wife were to show that, as well as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson who owned slaves, President Lincoln had a few skeletons which Trump, Bannon and Sessions could use to add his name to their list of possible tributes to remove.
Nancy; possibly one reason I feel as I do is because when I was first married, in 1955, I lived for almost one year in Fredericksburg, VA, known as The Most Historic Town in America due to Revolutionary and Civil War history. Walks through the town in all directions displayed historic statues, plaques, memorials, buildings with historic significance. Hugh Mercer’s Apothacary Shoppe where many Revolutionary war plans were made. There was a barn where slaves were held till they were auctioned off, the slave block remained, the cannon ball from the Civil War Battle of Fredericksburg still buried in the front of the beautiful brick church downtown, the Confederate trenches where they fought, two cannons still on the battlefield. Our landlady owned most of the town; she and her mother had been responsible for restoring Kenmore, the home of George Washington’s sister Betty and her husband Col. Fielding Lewis. She took me there with her often; walking the floors where that family and George Washington had walked is an experience you always carry with you. She also took me to George Washington’s mother’s home and we walked on the beautifully maintained terraced yard near the river. This is all part of the history attached to those statues; it is the history of southern Americans and still part of our history. If they can be removed so can the statues of our historic figures here in the north.
And; if Confederates were considered as traitors being Democrats, what are the Republicans today?
JoAnn,
I can understand your reverence for memorials to our country’s history and can appreciate your thoughts and desire for wanting them to be preserved. I view the contributions to our country by Washington and Jefferson to fall into a different category of history than the leaders of the south in the Civil War. Even though Washington and Jefferson were slave owners they were also integral to the creation of our country’s government and freedom from British rule. It is good to know that we can agree to disagree without judgement for the other’s opinion. Over the past several years as I have learned more and more truth about how this land was brutally stolen from the native Americans this knowledge has taken a toll on my view of our history. The lies that I was taught about our history and our so-called Heroes throughout my years of school have changed me. The sad thing is that our history books are still teaching those same lies to the future leaders of our country.
BSH – I apologize, but I seem to still be having problems with that website – I hope to get it back up, but my webmaster has moved on, so this may take a while.