“He Said – She Said”
Removal of Civil War Monument
By Kerlande Patterson
and Don Valentine
He Said: There is no way I could condone the removal of Reverend King’s monuments because he was imperfect. His impact on American history is indisputable. There is no secret he was an unfaithful Christian to his marriage.
Just like he had warts Thomas Jefferson and the great statesman Jefferson Davis had their blemishes. They along with a plethora of the founders of the country owned and abused slaves. How can you justify eradicating the history of George Washington or Robert E. Lee?? How do you validate changing our history because it was not all pleasant?
She Said: Robert E. Lee fought for a rebellion that was treasonous. This period of time you casually refer to as historically unpleasant was the seminal era of the original American Sin. How can you argue against the removal of statues honoring men who fought to preserve a heritage built on the abuse, destruction and murder of human beings? Most monuments in the South were erected during the thick of the Jim Crow era as way of reminding black people of their place in society. After the landmark Brown vs. Board of Education ruling the Klan surrogates had a point to make!
He Said: We would do a disservice to future citizens by obfuscating the evolution of our country. This is part of mine and your heritage. All you want to acknowledge are the good things. Our memory should only be about landing on the Moon, winning World War II or creating the internet?
She Said: We ought to take lessons from Germany’s handling of Adolf Hitler’s heritage. You will not find a statue of him in Germany.
The Confederacy was fought for the right to own slaves. This is not a debatable issue. That is not a heritage anyone should be proud of. The monuments were put in place to commemorate traitors who fought for a pro-slavery rebellion movement. Just like roaches they “Got To Go”!
