'Rioters in California Tear Down Statue of Ulysses S Grant...)

[Radagast]

I don't think it's reasonable. Just wondering why statues of black men would get knocked down.

In some cases it seems to be because they fought for the United States.

For example, I'm guessing that's why the monument to the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment (a black Union regiment in the civil War) was attacked.

 

[MehGuy]

In some cases it seems to be because they fought for the United States.

Maybe.. sometimes it's hard to tell what is going in some of these protestors heads. Might just be "mistaken identity" like that one thread in The Kitchen Sink section.

 

[MehGuy]

For example, I'm guessing that's why the monument to the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment (a black Union regiment in the civil War) was attacked.

I was just thinking of that.. oh no.. it was attacked? Could possibly be a pro-white group who did it. During times like these anger is going to pour out from multiple sources.

 

[MehGuy]

I was just thinking of that.. oh no.. it was attacked? Could possibly be a pro-white group who did it. During times like these anger is going to pour out from multiple sources.

Sounds like it was just graffitied. Good.. I don't want to see that monument displayed during the ending of Glory to be ruined.. : (

 

[Radagast]

I was just thinking of that.. oh no.. it was attacked?

It was attacked during a BLM protest in Boston, along with the George Washington Statue, the 9/11 memorial, and the Soldiers and Sailors Monument.

And, no, it wasn't attacked by a "pro-white" group. It was attacked by BLM rioters.

 

[MehGuy]

It was attacked during a BLM protest in Boston, along with the George Washington Statue, the 9/11 memorial, and the Soldiers and Sailors Monument.

And, no, it wasn't attacked by a "pro-white" group. It was attacked by BLM rioters.

Looking at that one case it probably was BLM. Was just giving possible reasons cases of statues of black people might be vandalized. I don't have any problem blaming BLM. Political correctness isn't really something I cherish or strive for.

Although from looking at that one monument at least, graffiti isn't the end of the world. Difference between smashing something and spraying "BLM" and whatnot.

 

[SoldierOfTheKing]

BLM mobs cannot tell the difference between Frederick Douglas and Nathan Bedford Forrest. In Portland last week, they even tore down a statue of an elk. An elk.

 

[Oompa Loompa]

Oh come on.. give them some credit.. lol.

Credit given. It is sad how predictable the left is.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2020/07/06/frederick-douglass-statue-rochester-attacked/

 

[MehGuy]

Credit given. It is sad how predictable the left is.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2020/07/06/frederick-douglass-statue-rochester-attacked/

Did they find out who did this? Do we know if it was someone from the left? I cannot read it because of a paywall.

 

[Tinker Grey]

Did they find out who did this? Do we know if it was someone from the left? I cannot read it because of a paywall.

The article says that no arrests have been made and that the investigation is on-going. (If you right-click on the link, you can choose "Open link in incognito window". Then you can read the article. This is sometimes referred to as a "soft paywall.")

 

[cow451]

Will the burning of $50 bills be next? (Jackson wasn't too popular either with NDNs.)

Note to Yankees and Yankee Sympathizers: cow451 will gladly help tear up or burn all paper memorials to that awful drunk President, US Grant. Please pm me and I will give you a deal.

 

[Oompa Loompa]

Did they find out who did this? Do we know if it was someone from the left? I cannot read it because of a paywall.

Here is another link from CNN.

Frederick Douglass statue toppled on anniversary of his famous speech - CNN

 

[Oompa Loompa]

Note to Yankees and Yankee Sympathizers: cow451 will gladly help tear up or burn all paper memorials to that awful drunk President, US Grant. Please pm me and I will give you a deal.

Okay...as long as I keep al the Jeffersons and Benjamins. Naturally I will ensure they are disposed of properly.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

I see some misconceptions happening in this thread.

To clarify some things, they didn't tear down the Grant statue out of "ignorance of history", or because "it's a reflection of how bad education is in inner city communities", or because "it was an honest mistake and they assumed it was a racist statue".

They did it with purpose.

When asked, the protesters gave the reasoning that it was due to the fact that he married into a slave-owning family. That doesn't sound like people who "just weren't properly educated on history" made a mistake or "just didn't know who Grant was"

Society, as a whole, needs to quit walking on eggshells about it (or making excuses for it) and playing with kid gloves and just call it what it is, a symptom of "cancel culture".

I used to accuse the right-wing folks of 'slippery slope conspiracy theories' when they would often say that "this won't stop with confederate statues". I was wrong on that one... (even though I still support the removal of confederate statues)

It's become pretty evident that American history and the entire system, a whole, is in the crosshairs of many leftists (not to be confused with liberals...I consider myself to be mostly liberal on the issues...there is a difference)

The Grant thing isn't a mistake, just like the Mathias Baldwin one wasn't a mistake...there have been many media narratives that suggested that the Baldwin one was an honest mistake, which I took at face value at first. However, in digging deeper, the reason that one was targeted is because Baldwin was a "colonizer", as noted by what they spraypainted on his statue. He was an abolitionist, but the reason for the particular group of protesters targeting his statue (the consensus seems to be that one was Antifa and not BLM) was because he was wealthy locomotive tycoon who descended from the Baldwin family, which was one of the families that originally colonized land once held by Native Americans in New Jersey.


My question would be, how many degrees of separation would one need to have from a racist or person engaging in unethical activity to get themselves out of the crosshairs? Obviously it's not 1-2 (or they wouldn't have gone after Grant), obviously it's not 3-4, or they wouldn't have targeted Baldwin.

If a person has a Great-Great-Grandfather who did something racist, would that eliminate them from being "statue-worthy?"

 

[cow451]

Here is another link from CNN.

Frederick Douglass statue toppled on anniversary of his famous speech - CNN

To be clear, no word on the perps, so can't blame left or right.

 

[SoldierOfTheKing]

If a person has a Great-Great-Grandfather who did something racist, would that eliminate them from being "statue-worthy?"

This much we can say for certain - being a white male is enough to eliminate anybody from being "statue-worthy".

 

[Oompa Loompa]

To be clear, no word on the perps, so can't blame left or right.

Fair enough. We can come back to this when more details emerge.

 

[cow451]

This much we can say for certain - being a white male is enough to eliminate anybody from being "statue-worthy".

We've controlled the "monument" business for nearly 250 years. That's a pretty good run, don't you think?

 

[wing2000]

BLM mobs cannot tell the difference between Frederick Douglas and Nathan Bedford Forrest. In Portland last week, they even tore down a statue of an elk. An elk.

I was gonna say the statues all look the same......

 

[Eight Foot Manchild]

My question would be, how many degrees of separation would one need to have from a racist or person engaging in unethical activity to get themselves out of the crosshairs? Obviously it's not 1-2

I would argue that marrying into a slave-owning family and thereby taking part in the ownership is zero degrees of separation, not one or two.

I don't see this as a "slippery slope". I see it as being consistent. I've even run into neo-Confederate apologists using the argument themselves, "well if you're going to tear down statues of slave owners, why not Yankee slave owners too??".

To which, after some time thinking on it, I have to say...yeah, why not? What do we actually lose, in doing so, in removing these idealized versions of people from the past? I have a visceral and emotional reaction to the idea, but as yet, I can't find a real reason in me to oppose it. Maybe I will, though. I remain open.