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Louisiana Removes Confederate Monument

Started by SGOS, April 24, 2017, 11:54:44 AM

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SGOS

http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/24/us/new-orleans-confederate-statues/
Quote(CNN) â€" In the dark of night, workers wearing masks and tactical vests arrived Monday at New Orleans' Battle of Liberty Place monument to take it down.

Police snipers were positioned on nearby rooftops, according to The Times-Picayune newspaper, and the trucks and equipment used in the operation had company names covered by cardboard and black tape.

The controversial removal was the first of four scheduled relocations of Confederate memorials in the city, despite weeks of opposition from pro-monument groups and threats against workers. It came as some Southern states celebrated Confederate Memorial Day, although Louisiana is not among them. State government offices in those states will be closed in observance of the holiday.

The Battle of Liberty Place monument was erected in 1891 to mark a deadly fight between members of the "Crescent City White League" -- a group opposed to the city's biracial police force and state militia after the Civil War.

Police barricades protected the workers, who removed the Battle of Liberty Place monument piece by piece. The security measures were taken after several contractors received threats....
But this one bit of irony struck me as funny:

QuoteThe event incited cheers and applause from some people in the crowd while others engaged in heated discussions.

"This should be a celebration but instead this is done clandestinely. They got the workers who are taking it down dressed in black jackets, helmets and their faces are covered, to us that's cowardice, [like the ku klux klan] " one person there told CNN affiliate WVUE-TV.
The bracketed part of the comment was added as my own observation.  We can't actually tell the commenter's stance, but there must have been some serious threats to conduct the removal this way, and that part isn't so funny.

Baruch

Maybe General P T Beauregard isn't ready to restart the war against the Federal government?
Ha’át’íísh baa naniná?
Azee’ Å,a’ish nanídį́į́h?
Táadoo ánít’iní.
What are you doing?
Are you taking any medications?
Don't do that.

Atheon

When will they realize they lost the Civil War? Imagine the US having statues to the leaders of the losing side of other wars, like WWII.

I do understand the idea of preserving history, which is why these statues are going to be placed in museums.
"Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful." - Seneca

Hydra009

Strange that they had to do it under the cover of night with police barricades and sniper support.  Granted, the contractors had been threatened, so it makes sense to take some precautions.  But going that far seems a bit excessive.  IIRC, South Carolina's confederate flag got taken down in broad daylight.

Gawdzilla Sama

Quote from: Hydra009 on April 24, 2017, 09:15:30 PM
Strange that they had to do it under the cover of night with police barricades and sniper support.  Granted, the contractors had been threatened, so it makes sense to take some precautions.  But going that far seems a bit excessive.  IIRC, South Carolina's confederate flag got taken down in broad daylight.
You're thinking rationally again. :wagsfinger:
We 'new atheists' have a reputation for being militant, but make no mistake  we didn't start this war. If you want to place blame put it on the the religious zealots who have been poisoning the minds of the  young for a long long time."
PZ Myers

SGOS

Quote from: Hydra009 on April 24, 2017, 09:15:30 PM
Strange that they had to do it under the cover of night with police barricades and sniper support.  Granted, the contractors had been threatened, so it makes sense to take some precautions.  But going that far seems a bit excessive.  IIRC, South Carolina's confederate flag got taken down in broad daylight.
I thought the same thing, but then I don't know the seriousness of the threats.  And I've even considered the possibility that there haven't been any threats, but that some other government agenda is afoot.  There was no mention of the local government asking the Feds for help, but if they have to do it at night wearing stealth technology, with snipers on the rooftop, it sounds like either an overreaction or a sensationalized media event.

Not that the situation must necessarily be equated with anything that happens in South Carolina.  It may be entirely different.  But it does kind of remind me of fundamentalist Christians pretending to be victims whose rights to discriminate, subjugate, and just plain hate are being ripped from the Christian value system, and that they must wail and gnash their teeth in despair.

But it may be more of an attempt of local government to send a message to America: "Do you see how important monuments of our glorious white supremacist past are to our most fervent patriots?  We, as government officials willingly comply of course, but just remember, our citizenship is well armed and doesn't forget.  So just beware.  The South will rise again."

But that's the problem with the media.  No one actually knows what's going on, and accurate information is hardly the business of the media.  So here we all sit, either getting our noses out of joint over things that may not even be real, or constructing alternate scenarios that  explain how anything in print is probably just bullshit.  But we live in the Cuckoo's Nest, so it all seems natural, and sometimes even important.

Hydra009

My first guess is overreaction to alleged threats.  Though based on the severity of the threats, it could be understandable.

But to a confederate "patriot", this all looks very different.  The image of faceless, jackbooted government thugs ripping up lingering traces of the noble Confederate past against the wishes of the local populace readily lends itself to juicy propaganda.

SGOS

Quote from: Hydra009 on April 25, 2017, 09:11:47 AM
My first guess is overreaction to alleged threats.  Though based on the severity of the threats, it could be understandable.

But to a confederate "patriot", this all looks very different.  The image of faceless, jackbooted government thugs ripping up lingering traces of the noble Confederate past against the wishes of the local populace readily lends itself to juicy propaganda.
Yeah, it's like "1984" except somehow backwards.  The purpose of the jack booted thugs is to interfere with the other jack booted thugs, while the purpose of the proletariat at large is to simply purchase goods and services, and to stock pile canned goods, hard drives, and firearms for when the system collapses.

Gawdzilla Sama

While my redneck cousins are a bunch of blowhards most of the time I wouldn't put it past them to get into a shooting match like the possible scenario in this situation. They make incredibly bad decisions on a routine basis. (The first of which was being born, I do believe.)
We 'new atheists' have a reputation for being militant, but make no mistake  we didn't start this war. If you want to place blame put it on the the religious zealots who have been poisoning the minds of the  young for a long long time."
PZ Myers

Shiranu

Quote from: Hydra009 on April 25, 2017, 09:11:47 AM
My first guess is overreaction to alleged threats.  Though based on the severity of the threats, it could be understandable.

But to a confederate "patriot", this all looks very different.  The image of faceless, jackbooted government thugs ripping up lingering traces of the noble Confederate past against the wishes of the local populace readily lends itself to juicy propaganda.

One of the companies was fire-bombed earlier this week for being allegedly involved in the process of taking it down and there have been multiple protests, according to NPR. Doesn't seem like much of an over-reaction to me.
"A little science distances you from God, but a lot of science brings you nearer to Him." - Louis Pasteur

Hydra009

Quote from: Shiranu on April 25, 2017, 11:54:00 AM
One of the companies was fire-bombed earlier this week for being allegedly involved in the process of taking it down and there have been multiple protests, according to NPR. Doesn't seem like much of an over-reaction to me.
I didn't know that.  Nvm, then.

Jason Harvestdancer

I guess now the Civil War didn't happen.
White privilege is being a lifelong racist, then being sent to the White House twice because your running mate is a minority.<br /><br />No Biden, no KKK, no Fascist USA!

Mike Cl

Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?<br />Then he is not omnipotent,<br />Is he able but not willing?<br />Then whence cometh evil?<br />Is he neither able or willing?<br />Then why call him god?

Jason Harvestdancer

Well, people have dug up civil war dead and reburied them in unmarked graves, taken down monuments everywhere, etc.  Soon there will be no trace of the civil war.  At that point, since all remnants have disappeared then it will not have happened.
White privilege is being a lifelong racist, then being sent to the White House twice because your running mate is a minority.<br /><br />No Biden, no KKK, no Fascist USA!

Mike Cl

Quote from: Jason Harvestdancer on May 14, 2017, 01:01:02 PM
Well, people have dug up civil war dead and reburied them in unmarked graves, taken down monuments everywhere, etc.  Soon there will be no trace of the civil war.  At that point, since all remnants have disappeared then it will not have happened.
That would be nice.  In Alabama (when I was there), the Civil War never happened--it was the War of Northern Aggression.  I think the North was far, far too easy on the defeated Confederates as it is.  Wiping away all trace of the Confederacy would be a great thing!  In my book, Robert E. Lee was a traitor not a hero.
Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?<br />Then he is not omnipotent,<br />Is he able but not willing?<br />Then whence cometh evil?<br />Is he neither able or willing?<br />Then why call him god?