The ironic thing is, Robert E. Lee was an infinitely better man than any of the scumbags causing trouble. Yes, he did fight for the Confederacy and therefore remains on the wrong side of history. But he's more complex than that. I've read a few biographies on him. This man was an excellent father and husband, and believed in the concept of honor. He also denounced slavery a number of times, and his primary motivation was protecting Virginia.
So, in my own view, Lee is not the symbol of white supremacy some make him out to be. I understand that you want to lessen racial tensions strum, we all want that. I think we all want to see a day where this stops and people can live as people, without fear or oppression.
But taking down old Confederate statues doesn't do anything to address that problem. It just makes people feel good about something that means very little. It's trying to put a band aid on a gash. If people were really serious about addressing the modern day issues and legacy of the old south and racism, they would take a different approach.
Well, for what it's worth, Robert E. Lee, himself, was opposed to the South trying to glorify or memorialize itself. Here's an article about it:
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/read...erate-civil-war-memorials-20170515-story.html
But, I learned that about Lee many years ago. The statues are not history. History is actually unique to the minds and understanding of every individual. Collectively, we try to get on common ground with our interpretations.
I also agree that taking down statues doesn't make racial prejudice go away. However, on some level, I'm beginning to realize that the remnants of that ideology and the general attitude- that black people are inferior to white people- will eventually have to be eliminated if we ever hope to experience a better situation between the "races." I don't have all the answers. I gotta believe that when any black person sees a Confederate monument, there's at least the possibility that they could pause and and reflect on what that statue possibly symbolizes to them- someone who descended from the race of people who were treated as property for a few centuries. That doesn't mean they will react violently and demand that their personal failings in life is the fault of that statue's existence. But, it's not helping.
And, when I see German swastika flags, I may eventually start imagining my great uncle in the Battle of the Bulge who came back home a shell of himself because of what he saw and endured fighting the Nazi ideology in 1944 and 45.
I do NOT want the right to carry flags, display flags, and even shout your love of the Confederacy and even loving Adolf Hitler, to be banned or censored EVER! But, we have come to revere memorials in a different context. As I said earlier, I don't attach visceral feelings toward them. At least, I don't think I do. Truth be told, I can control my thoughts, not my feelings. When I see them, I don't automatically "think" anything. I've seen them my whole life. I might think something different if there were a statue of King George III, or Charles Manson. I'm not a very good barometer for typical human perception anyway. I'm odd and need to use that as a disclaimer every time I speak.
