This is not a matter of "questionable views" and "questionable acts" but of despicable actions and their lingering impact on society and it's a matter of degree. These despicable acts are not questionable. They are regarded as despicable, unacceptable, and unlawful by a civilized society. I think ripping people from their homeland; subjecting them to abject conditions while shipping them here; considering them animals and bartering, trading, and treating them as such is equally barbaric to what Hitler did because the principles guiding the actions are the same. In your example, Sanger's negative impact on society does not measure up.
--by being a descendant of Zachary Taylor), but I totally understand how others can be offended by the statues. I'm not averse to having Confederate statues removed but preserved in a museum so they can be given proper context. (In fact, that's what Lee's great-great grandson has also suggested.)
I come from old southern stock on my mom's side (I'm actually a cousin of both Robert E. Lee and George Custer--yes that one
I find the idea of sanitizing history by removing swaths with which we don't agree too Orwellian to be palatable: "He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past." I don't think putting monuments in a museum with the proper modern context is a bad thing, but I think trying to stamp out the reality of the Confederacy is dangerous: how can we continue trying to move forward and heal the repercussions of an evil if we try to forget it existed?
I do wonder where "the line" is, though. I would argue that it's employing inappropriately anachronistic morality to disavow historical figures because they weren't in line with current social norms--how could they be, living hundreds of years ago? Washington, Jefferson...are we really going to tear down our founders? England reveres Elizabeth I, yet she executed Catholics for their faith.
Another example is Martin Luther King, Jr. He was a serial philanderer and vehemently spoke out against what we would call LGBTQ rights today. Yet we take all that in stride because he lived decades ago, when "LGBTQ" didn't exist in the parlance as a social justice issue, and the advances he made for African Americans are enough to balance out his shortcomings.
It's a fraught issue. I worry about "selective memory" in regard to some historical figures but not others, and I think trying to wipe away monuments to all our "gray area" figures (which, honestly, is most of them to some degree) is ill-guided and intellectually immature.
I come from old southern stock on my mom's side (I'm actually a cousin of both Robert E. Lee and George Custer--yes that one
I find the idea of sanitizing history by removing swaths with which we don't agree too Orwellian to be palatable: "He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past." I don't think putting monuments in a museum with the proper modern context is a bad thing, but I think trying to stamp out the reality of the Confederacy is dangerous: how can we continue trying to move forward and heal the repercussions of an evil if we try to forget it existed?
I do wonder where "the line" is, though. I would argue that it's employing inappropriately anachronistic morality to disavow historical figures because they weren't in line with current social norms--how could they be, living hundreds of years ago? Washington, Jefferson...are we really going to tear down our founders? England reveres Elizabeth I, yet she executed Catholics for their faith.
Another example is Martin Luther King, Jr. He was a serial philanderer and vehemently spoke out against what we would call LGBTQ rights today. Yet we take all that in stride because he lived decades ago, when "LGBTQ" didn't exist in the parlance as a social justice issue, and the advances he made for African Americans are enough to balance out his shortcomings.
It's a fraught issue. I worry about "selective memory" in regard to some historical figures but not others, and I think trying to wipe away monuments to all our "gray area" figures (which, honestly, is most of them to some degree) is ill-guided and intellectually immature.
Matata, I agree with you that every single thing about slavery is despicable. My thought was that you cannot put the whole blame onto one man, or even several men. Whereas, you can attribute much evil directly onto Hitler. Much of Sangers motivation for everything she wanted to do came from her erroneous and ugly views about African Americans. A good solution would be, as you and others have said, to put the statues in a museum. I believe that is where you would find a statue of Sanger as well. It does seem like a very good solution. There you can tell the story of the good and the bad and let people judge for themselves. Putting a monument in a town square seems to be only dividing us.
It sounds good on paper; however, rape, murder, pillaging, conquering, and labeling/treating other human beings as barbarians/animals existed before the Civil War and continues today. Sometimes the only thing we learn from history is how easy it is to repeat it.
You make some very interesting points. So much of US (and canadian too) history is very white washed. I remember going to NOLA and visiting "Oak Alley" plantation. We thought we were going to get a history lesson on the plantation but also the slaves, how that went when they were freed, etc, as this was one that was still going during that time. Nope. They talked about how GREAT the slave owners were, they talked about the history of the house, how long it took to get built, etc. They completely skirted over any mention of the slaves, their story, etc. I was actually very disappointed. We paid to hear the plantation's story, and they literally only talked about the white parts of it.
Matata, I agree with you that every single thing about slavery is despicable. My thought was that you cannot put the whole blame onto one man, or even several men. Whereas, you can attribute much evil directly onto Hitler. Much of Sangers motivation for everything she wanted to do came from her erroneous and ugly views about African Americans. A good solution would be, as you and others have said, to put the statues in a museum. I believe that is where you would find a statue of Sanger as well. It does seem like a very good solution. There you can tell the story of the good and the bad and let people judge for themselves. Putting a monument in a town square seems to be only dividing us.
“If you want to remember our history. If you want to use it as a teachable moment. Then you should erect accurate symbols of the time and the reason why 600,000 Americans died.” -- Heather Beaven. Excerpted from https://flaglerlive.com/111326/confederates-pt/
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