The one story in last night’s election in Virginia that went against the Dems was the issue of Civil War Memorials. By a two to one margin the people of Virginia liked their artifacts. The Dems win means that the statue issue wasn’t as high on the minds of Virginian’s as was the direction of the country. That’s good for our side, but it also means that our candidates are going to be bludgeoned with that fact throughout the south in the next election. I think we can neutralize this conundrum.
What I would like to ask of anyone interested, is to suggest compromises. Both as a way to solve a problem or try to convey ideas or explain the perils of taking on fights you can’t win. We have a situation with the statues to fix a problem, that of honoring the memory of slavery and thereby demeaning the lives of millions of still repressed citizens. In public areas, like courthouses and police depts. the stigma of slavery continues. Perhaps citizens could create panels or departments to determine which statues could be relocated. The Feds and state Govs could designate public lands for the purpose of teaching the history of both sides of the Civil War. This could be done with the understanding that both sides of the equation get equal coverage, sort of like a Dollywood for stagnant pigeon droppings.
I’ll start. I suggest that we prioritize what and where there is acrimony because of a statue. Is it too close to a court? I think court houses may have the highest density of statues, each of them hypocritically laughing at the descendants of slavery as they come looking for justice. Those statues should have a priority for their relocation. Second priority statues would be town squares and central parks, here there needs to be some injury before any demand to divest from their pigeon bombing practice areas, but all statues need to have a balance of truth in telling the story of slavery.
That’s it, simple enough. What do you think? Melt down all the statues and build a bridge over the swamp? I wouldn’t want to walk on it? Seriously, is there a compromise that the people here can suggest for a solution that would be agreeable to a majority? If so, I’d love to hear it.