Take down the confederate statues and let’s stop memorializing the men and women who fought to preserve slavery and leave them in the past.
A lot of people are getting upset about people wanting to take down historical monuments. I’ve thought deeply about this and I think it’s a good idea to remove Confederate statues and this is why:
- No one is asking anyone to change history or erase the Confederacy from history. They are simply asking us to stop memorializing them.
- Comparing confederate statues to other racist historical figures isn’t fair. For example, Geoge Washington may have sadly owned slaves. But he distinctly fought for his basic understanding of freedom and an independent America. Not specifically for the right to own human beings.
- The confederacy was unwavering in changing their understanding of human dignity. They literally fought to their deaths over their right to own a human being. Owning slaves was at the core of the South’s fight against the North.
- The confederacy lost. Slavery was abolished. And yet people continue to cling to their faces, ideologues, images, names, etc. as symbols of white supremacy and racism. I don’t see that happening with George Washington’s image.
- People who killed their fellow countrymen so they can own human beings do not in any shape or form deserve to be memorialized. And especially not to have their names and faces showcased all across the US.
Let’s take them down. Instead, let’s memorialize people who have fought and died to unite America. And make sure all people are treated with dignity and respect instead of those who did the exact opposite.