After the violent protests in Charlottesville, many of the Confederate statues that have been up since the Civil War are being removed. Some argue that these statues are made to represent the history of the country and to honor those that fought for what they believed in, but many see them as statues representing racism and the dark past of slavery.
This issue has been boiling under the wraps for a few years since Dylann Roof murdered 9 African- Americans to try and start a "race war". This issue just resurfaced the other day, where White nationalists protested to have the Robert E Lee statue removed. Many were injured in the counter protest to this and one was even killed. These statue removals are not required by any orders from the president, but by the decisions of the governors
Many state governors are giving their opinion on this topic. Check out this CNN article to see what statues are coming down:
http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/15/us/confederate-memorial-removal-us-trnd/index.html
A statue in Birmingham, Alabama has already been boxed off, and people are taking it as a removal of the statue, the state of Alabama is actually suing Birmingham for doing this. Watch the video on this topic to get a better look at what they are doing.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/birmingham-covers-confederate-monument-49247435
Discussion Questions:
- Do you guys think that the statues should be removed or stay up? Why?
- What is your guys' reaction towards these very violent protests that are continuously going on?
- Which side do you stand on? Nationalists or Supremacist? Why?
- What else do you think President Trump will have to say about this topic in the future?
I think the statues should be removed because of the chaos and violence they are creating. Yes, these statues represent our countries history and honor heritage but they also symbolize America's dark history of slavery. They are offensive and are creating violence like the recent incident in Charlottesville. We need to reduce violence and terrorism and having these statues up this will not happen. "By having these statues we are not destroying, hiding, or sanitizing history. We are honoring our history through this relocation," said Lexington, KY mayor. I agree with this statement and feel like if they are relocated to a safer place where protests will end but still keep the historical significance,some problems in our country can potentially be solved.
ReplyDeleteTo finish my answer, I think Trump will continue to say its disappointing, and tell us that he will make America great again, even though that's not the case. Trump already responded and blamed both sides for the terror in Charlottesville. He made a statement that caused people like Mitt Romney to say he should apologize for remarks that caused 'racists to rejoice'. Many people, especially politicians have been upset with his response and are disliking his actions after the violence in Charlottesville. So, this could mean Trump will keep his statement and continue to blame both sides, or apologize and realize who's at fault.
DeleteWhile many believe these statues to be dark representations of our country, I think these statues are still a reminder of how our nation was shaped to today. I believe that these statues should stay up. Some people want these statues to be taken down since the time in which they were made included slavery, but for me these statues are a constant reminder of the mistakes we've bounced back from. After the civil war, an amendment was added to the constitution stating that slavery was abolished. It is because of these moments in history that prevented us from having slaves from then to now.
ReplyDeleteI think the statues should not be taken down. These statues were built to commemorate our country’s history. The statue of Robert E. Lee definitely sparked controversy due to him being a Confederate general (side of wanting slavery), however, I believe having a statue like the one of Robert E. Lee is a great reminder of how much our country has overcome. I don’t understand why people resort to violence when trying to prove a point. We are America and should be civil. If things like this continue to happen, the United States may find itself in another civil war: Liberals vs. Conservatives.
ReplyDelete