Wellsy wrote:But in what sense are the statues of the 20th century synonymous to these? I think one has to drill in on the specifics or one is relying on an intuition of similarities of them simply being old. Not much is lost by changing some names of buildings and removing relatively recent statues and isn’t comparable than trying to destroy all semblance of the past. If anything it seems these statues are part of a forgetting of the civil war where we see distortions of the confederacy and the civil war being heavily based in political struggles between free and slave states. The institution of slavery weighs heavily upon the US. The past is never dead as it is ever present and we see the struggles continue in different form even in the symbolism of statues. It of course is an ambivalence in even the valorized founding fathers who themselves profited from the institution of slavery. So maybe one might try to argue in individual cases the ambivalent character of some figures. But not all are necessarily redeemable and we should ask why we one to valorize certain figures and this points to the tension of them representing the past ideals of white supremacy. We always look to the past to clothe our ideals and aspirations. Though of course we take a new form even in using old imagery for our own.
I think the issue around the statues speaks to the prominence of the ideas of the confederacy and its hold in the south as they were able to be erected in spite of being the traitorous losers of the civil war considering the notion that history is written by the victors.
The history of the USA is horrible with respect to slavery and what followed. The approach of black leaders has been to keep the history fresh and alive at all times. It has become a pseudo-religion to remember slavery in a manner similar as to how Christians celebrate and remember the crucifixion of Jesus. The destruction of all monuments is a bit contradictory in this context.
I understand that people are offended by the statues. However, in a strange sense this is good. In the old days things were so terrible for black people that they did not have time to worry about statues. Now that things are better the statues have become intolerable.
OK, lets destroyed all statues and monuments including those to Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. What happens next? Does that solve the problems of disenfranchised black Americans?
I always see massive contradictions in the new non-racist movement. And the contradictions can only be explained in the context of religion.
Virtue is more to be feared than vice, because its excesses are not subject to the regulation of conscience.
Adam Smith