Monumental decisions
Published July 22, 2015
Editorial by Burlington Times-News, July 21, 2015.
Monday marked a confluence of two matters both related to Confederate monuments. One happened in Alamance County. The other at the General Assembly in Raleigh. One came up only recently; the other was discussed by lawmakers months before the recent racially motivated massacre in Charleston, S.C., pushed this issue of Civil War flags and monuments to a tipping point in not only the South but the national consciousness.
Both, of course, sparked controversy. Both are deserving of comment. Here goes:
? The Alamance County Board of Commissioners presented a united front Monday when confronted with citizens on both sides of the argument about whether the Civil War monument at the Court Square in Graham should be removed. They weren’t for it.
We believe that’s the right call even though there is no denying that for black Americans the Civil War conjures images not of history or heritage, but injustice.
Even though he did not call for the statue’s removal, the words of speaker John Thorpe echo, and we urge people to listen. “Many wonder why African-Americans don’t believe in the justice system of this great county. It’s because we are immortalizing and paying homage to the people who died only to oppress those who were servants under someone they called ‘Master’ in front of the place justice is rendered.”
The war is a part of history. We feel it should be neither celebrated nor mourned, but studied and remembered. Monuments and historic markers aid in this tricky endeavor. There is a clichй that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. May we never repeat this atrocity.
? On the other hand, it was bad form by the Board of Commissioners and Chairman Dan Ingle to provide a decision on the issue before members of the public had an opportunity to speak. Doing so sends a message that no matter how extraordinary the argument on either side, the board’s collective mind was already made up. This is frustrating for anyone appearing before the board on Monday and thereafter.
? Too many people equate good manners, respect and doing the right thing with political correctness. Not all proposed changes have anything to do with political correctness.
? Michael Graves, who said via the media that he wanted to seek removal of the monument, did not speak during the hearing but mentioned “veiled racist comments” by those who did speak when the meeting concluded. He should’ve addressed the gathering.
? We still believe the Confederate flag has no place on government buildings or spaces but that individual citizens can do as they wish, just as they did during a peaceful rally Saturday in Graham. We also observe that publicly waving the flag does send a strong message, whether that’s the intention or not. Decades after the South surrendered, and the flag was long gone, hate groups brought it back as a symbol to send a message of fear and intimidation to black Americans. The flag’s image has been corrupted in the minds of a majority of Americans white and black outside the South and to many inside the South.
When people wonder why corporations may not wish to locate here, think about the message our community sends.? While we’re at it, though, we want to salute those who rallied in Graham Saturday for conducting a peaceful public demonstration free of incidents or rancor. Too often that isn’t the case these days.? We like David Wright’s idea to place a second monument in at the courthouse noting the lynching of former Graham councilman Wyatt Outlaw, a black man, on Feb. 26, 1870. This merits further discussion.? The state House vote in of a bill prohibiting the removal of “objects of remembrance” from public property deserves more debate and common sense. We strongly believe it’s not up to the state to dictate to local communities what can and can’t be removed from its properties.And now, could we talk about something else for a while?http://www.thetimesnews.com/article/20150721/OPINION/150729792/15233/OPINION/?Start=2
July 22, 2015 at 7:40 pm
Norm Kelly says:
Truth. Honesty. Accuracy. All to be praised. All worth striving for.
All often forgotten by 'major media' outlets. All ignored by leftists, democRATS, liberals, and those who choose to oppress people based on the amount of melanin in their skin.
Take this statement for example: 'Decades after the South surrendered, and the flag was long gone, hate groups brought it back as a symbol to send a message of fear and intimidation to black Americans.'
Who were those hate groups? Well, the KKK was right there. But who was the major group leading the push, who decided to raise the flag over state houses across the south? Who had the power to control whether it became a symbol again? Yup. That's right. You know your history. It WAS THE DEMOnCRAT PARTY! By and large, the proponents of raising the flag, the group that voted to place the flag on state houses or grounds, the group that partnered with the KKK was the Demons. This is the same group that did everything they could to prevent the 1960's era Civil Rights legislation from passing. This is the same group that paid black mothers if the father wasn't part of the family. This is the same group that today continues to tell us that blacks are incapable of surviving without the help of kindly, loving, paying, demons!
So, what's changed since demoncrats raised the flag? Not much. They still think of blacks as inferior. They still think of blacks as incapable. They still think they need to pay blacks to garner votes. And too many blacks accept the drivel put forth by demons! Even their supposed leaders, like the local rev buffet slayer, repeat the talking points memos put out by the democRAT party leadership. Without thought, these 'leaders' tell blacks that they are disenfranchised from voting because they have to provide a government issued picture ID. Why do so many blacks accept this garbage?
Probably because they hear it so often, from so many places. And media type allies of the demons tell them garbage like 'hate groups' raised the flag, absolutely for the sole purpose of covering for their demon allies! Libs, demons, unions, media-types all working together to make sure as many people as possible are ill-informed, mis-informed, or not informed at all. Witness Billary's email deletion!
