Still Rising Again after All These Years 0
In a long and thoughtful post, F. T. Rea considers recent decisions in New Orleans, Baltimore, and Austin to remove certain monuments to the Secesh, as well as the Virginia legislature’s efforts to prevent such action in Virginia. (Rea hails from Richmond, where Monument Avenue is the site of many memorials to those who fought to preserve and propagate chattel slavery.)
If you are not sure why there’s so much fuss about statuary, his article is well worth your while..Here’s an excerpt (emphasis added):
(snip)
Most of the monuments honoring the Confederacy that stand today in at least 20 states were put in place during the late-1800s/early-1900s. It was an era in which Lost Cause misinformation was being promulgated by stubborn sympathizers of the Confederacy. Plainly, they sought to paint over the haunting politics of the Civil War. Which was a propaganda campaign, if there ever was one.
Fast-forward to 2016: Whether it’s in Richmond or New Orleans, propaganda cast in bronze is still propaganda.
One more time: When you hear someone glorify the “Lost Cause,” ask him or her (though it’s almost always a him) to explain precisely what exactly was the cause that was lost.
