Yes, the Southern states seceded because they wanted to be able to keep slaves. Let’s not shove that under the rug. (This is an excellent diary that lays out the history:)
http://www.dailykos.com/...
Let’s also not give a pass to the other side of the conflict, including the draft riots in New York City, the scandal that rich men in the north could pay someone to take their place to fulfill the military service requirement, the guerrilla warfare conducted on families in border states like Missouri who were not engaged in combat but who were illegally imprisoned for being related to men who were.
And last, let’s acknowledge the unhealed wound inflicted on South Carolina and Georgia, in particular, by William T. Sherman’s “march to the sea,” where the Union army pillaged, burned and killed livestock and occasionally civilians both white and black. That destruction could be compared to Nagasaki and Hiroshima…or My Lai. Just because the victor perpetrated these war atrocities does not make them acceptable.
Please continue below the fold.
I am no fan of the stars and bars or the people who defiantly fly it as a symbolism of racism or so-called “white supremacy.”
But these arguments over the flag and over the causes of a 150-year-old war dilute the argument. This distraction over a symbol unleashes the bigotry and prejudice against the South and those who live there. Name-calling and broad stereotypes are unjustified on either side.
Slavery was bad for our country, North and South, and for our ancestors, black and white. It’s no longer legal, but the spurious justifications for it still float in the air. One reason, I think, is because it’s hard to persuade “good ol’ boys” to lay down the flag when they still feel attacked.
I have yet to see an explanation of why the North went to war. Lincoln didn’t release the Emancipation Proclamation until the war had been going on for nearly two years.
I think it would be accurate to say that the actual soldiers who did the fighting killed each other because they were forced into it. Most of the soldiers in the Confederacy were not holders of vast numbers of slaves. Most of the soldiers in the Union were not avid abolitionists. They were fighting for their homes and their country. One comment I’ve seen in the last few days has stuck with me: Both sides were fighting for rich men who sought to profit from their sacrifice.
The Charleston 9 and their families should be our example. They publicly forgave the accused attacker. And black and white Charlestonians have come together to mourn the loss of community leaders.
Charleston is where the Civil War began, where the first shots were fired. Could it also be the place where this war over race ends? Could we just see each other as God’s children and quit trying to justify past injustices?
You do not heal by continuing the battle.
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." Martin Luther King
"I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear." Yeah, same guy.
Wednesday, Aug 16, 2017 · 3:35:01 PM +00:00
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lagibby
I wrote this diary two years ago. I would say “nothing’s changed,” except that, in many ways things have changed for the worse.
We must repudiate white supremacists and their hatred. And we must follow Dr. Martin Luther King when we do so:
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
By this quote I mean that we must not play into the hands of those who would manipulate white supremacists through fear. It’s like approaching a cornered bear or dog — if they feel threatened, they will attack. There has been way too much bear-baiting lately, too much taunting of people whose heads have been turned by the spurious claims of white supremacy.
We have many good role models for countering this (frightening) upsurge in white nationalism and white supremacy. For example, a quote I read somewhere online citing Robert Dole in his nomination speech, Aug 15, 1996:
The Republican Party is broad and inclusive. It represents many streams of opinion and many points of view.
But if there's anyone who has mistakenly attached themselves to our party in the belief that we are not open to citizens of every race and religion, then let me remind you, tonight this hall belongs to the Party of Lincoln. And the exits which are clearly marked are for you to walk out of as I stand this ground without compromise.
Now, the rest of Dole’s speech is filled with Republican ideas of self-reliance rather than sharing for the common good. But he was unequivocal in this statement. And at the time he and other Republican leaders understood the necessity to at least appear to oppose racism and religion-based discrimination.
My point is that name-calling attacks against people who live in the South or people who voted for Trump will backfire if they simply reinforce their feelings of being embattled.
White supremacy is wrong. Hateful acts like a torch parade around a church where a worship service is being held are despicable. It will take all our intelligence and compassion to counter this movement. We need to be careful not to join the bear-baiters.