Monuments
I have to admit the whole controversy surrounding the confederate monuments is annoying to me.
To be clear, I love history. I love taking the kids to museums and teaching them about how people used to live. My husband was a history major in college and we are always pulling examples from history to demonstrate how this type of event has happened before and pointing out how it was resolved or got worse.
That being said, I have no issues with the removal of the confederate monuments.
Most of those I have looked into are being moved to museum properties where they will be displayed along with documentation about the monument and explaining the history behind them. Those which are not being moved to another display location are being put in storage until something can be arranged. None of them are being destroyed.
Another thing to consider is WHEN these monuments were errected. Most were commisioned in the era of Jim Crow laws. This was a time when there was a big push for equal rights for people of color. These monuments have an inordinate number in regions where people looked unfavorably towards this movement and the monuments were seen as proof that the people who were idolized would not support equal rights.
Is it any wonder that those same people of color would view these monuments as signs of oppression?
Now when considering all written above, something else to consider is the fact that communities errect and later decide to remove monuments all the time. That is why there is already a system in place for this process. If the people in those communities vote to remove a monument, either because the ideals of the community have changed or because their interpretation of the monument has changed, then that is their business. Most of the big protests l, of which I am aware, were caused by those seeking to "protect" the monuments. The counter protests have largely, though not entirely, consisted of people from the local community and churches.
My opinion is that we let the local communities decide how THEY view the monuments and the rest of us keep our noses out of it.
Typed on my phone, apologies for typos.