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SomethingNew

(279 posts)

31. My middle road:

Sun Jun 4, 2017, 07:51 PM

Jun 2017

You can generally condemn a man for an overwhelming bad fault (fighting for states that were going to war for slavery) without ignoring any positive qualities he may have possessed.

Lee was on the wrong side of history and it should have been apparent even at the time. That said, like all of us, he is more complicated than that.

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The Myth of the Kindly General Lee. [View all] Cattledog Jun 2017 OP

General Lee had a propensity to crash, too Brother Buzz Jun 2017 #1

You win the thread. LOL Lib Jun 2017 #27

Plus, of course, he was a traitor to his country. PoindexterOglethorpe Jun 2017 #2

More complicated than that NobodyHere Jun 2017 #13

It's always been presented as complicated, and that PoindexterOglethorpe Jun 2017 #14

Yes, yes, and yes. CanisCrocinus Jun 2017 #15

Thank you. PoindexterOglethorpe Jun 2017 #17

Yet the Union armies ended up pillaging and looting NobodyHere Jun 2017 #18

And that excuses the beliefs and actions (and the apologism for) white Southern history how? YoungDemCA Jun 2017 #23

Are you blaming Lee for starting the Civil War? Yupster Jun 2017 #28

No, I am not blaming him for starting the Civil War. I know perfectly well he did not start it. PoindexterOglethorpe Jun 2017 #32

That should have been decided in court Yupster Jun 2017 #26

I prefer the Specific Lee. Lint Head Jun 2017 #3

I prefer the Sara. Scurrilous Jun 2017 #5

And nobody doesn't like Sara Lee. Lint Head Jun 2017 #10

Yoo hoo. It's me. My name is Pinky Lee Achilleaze Jun 2017 #12

but specifically, which one? virtualobserver Jun 2017 #9

Christ did not have slaves. delisen Jun 2017 #4

And they would say you are performing mental gymnastics. Mariana Jun 2017 #25

Lee owned slaves. That's all I need to know to condemn him. Hoyt Jun 2017 #6

B-b-but he was a NICE to his slaves! He treated them well! YoungDemCA Jun 2017 #19

Lee was professional army Yupster Jun 2017 #29

Lee still owned slaves, himself (up until 1852) and his spouse. Not releasing them, "dragging feet" Hoyt Jun 2017 #30

So you condemn all the founders of the country. former9thward Jun 2017 #33

Actually, I do have a problem with men who talked of freedom & liberty and went home to beat/rape Hoyt Jun 2017 #34

I will wait until you list the perfect people. former9thward Jun 2017 #36

Beating and raping of slaves is hard to overcome with other "virtues." Hoyt Jun 2017 #40

Fine, who are the perfect people? former9thward Jun 2017 #41

Once one owns slaves and beats/rapes them, they are just Charles Manson of Timmy McVeigh to me. Hoyt Jun 2017 #42

adams and franklin owned slaves, who knew dsc Jun 2017 #35

So they were perfect in their lives? former9thward Jun 2017 #38

I never said that dsc Jun 2017 #39

That is a heritage to be ashamed of, not celebrated Generic Brad Jun 2017 #7

A lot of their descendants aren't honorable people either to be honest. YoungDemCA Jun 2017 #21

"Tribe and race over country is the core of white nationalism" UTUSN Jun 2017 #8

What other war could he fight besides a conventional war? A guerrila war KingCharlemagne Jun 2017 #11

It wasn't his decision anyway Yupster Jun 2017 #24

It's funny. If you try to Google up an image of General Lee, MineralMan Jun 2017 #16

Lee only did one thing that makes him worthy of remembering. When he surrended and lost, he quit FSogol Jun 2017 #20

Fuck the neo-Confederates, fuck the "Lost Cause", and fuck the WHITEwashing of this evil history. YoungDemCA Jun 2017 #22

My middle road: SomethingNew Jun 2017 #31

He was an odd duck in many ways. GallopingGhost Jun 2017 #37

"when half the country rose up in rebellion in defense of slavery" billh58 Jun 2017 #43