Analysis of a Robert E Lee quote about slavery seems pertinent to today's conversation

[Yonnie3]

15. Ha! I was worried someone might think I was condoning them.

I certainly didn't mean to imply that you condoned them, nor did I get that impression.

There is a local person who I talked to years ago who claimed that his family were gentlemen farmers who lost it all in the Civil War. His hate for the north was palpable and seemed economic. It seemed as if he was reciting something he had heard many times in his life.

There is a group of locals who families lost land to the NPS. These people are descendants of British mercenaries who were abandoned after the revolutionary war. They settled in the mountains because that was what was not claimed. Their resentment is still voiced and is also economic in nature. They never owned slaves, but just scratched out a living. They also seem to have a low opinion of northerners.

I'm sure all of the folks in the above anecdotes ascribe to the Lee/Jackson worship and feel superior because of their race. I've never heard them rationalize their racism. I am amused to see their grandchildren in interracial marriages.