General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Is it possible to destroy everything of Confederate origin? [View all]Warpy
(114,585 posts)Trying to do so would put us on the same footing as ISIS, trying to destroy everything that predates Islam. Destroying monuments doesn't erase the past. Destroying language doesn't erase all hard feelings.
Most of those monuments were placed by people honoring friends, neighbors, and family who died in that war. They have nothing to do with perpetuating racism, only with honoring the sacrifice of people they loved who died trying to perpetuate the past beyond reason.
Being reminded of the Civil War should always make us uncomfortable, no matter which side our families were on, which side lost, which side won, and what the idiots among us think about it. It was a terrible period that nearly destroyed us.
For that reason, all those monuments erected in the years after the war should stay.
However, the flag of treason should not fly from state buildings.