Workers in Charlottesville, Virginia, placed a large black tarp Wednesday over a monument to Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that was the site of violent protests earlier this month.Officials in Charlottesville, Virginia, have found black fabric big enough to shroud two controversial Confederate statues — and the covers could be in place by week’s end, the City Council clerk said.Hunting down fabric swaths large enough to drape over the monuments of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson had proven tough, the clerk, Paige Rice, told CNN.
But by Wednesday morning, the shrouds were on their way, she said.“The drapes have been ordered and may be in place by the end of the week, pending department resources to properly secure them at both statues,” she told CNN.At a heated meeting Monday, the Charlottesville City Council unanimously voted to cover the two statues in black.The vote was meant to signal the city mourning the death of Heather Heyer, who was killed August 12 when a car plowed into a crowd of counterprotesters who’d gathered to oppose a rally of white nationalist and other right-wing organizations.
Since when do statues mourn? The people of Charlottesville simply were not asked. The only discussion was at a council meeting this week. No advance notice. Unilateral decisions were made.
There was never discussion about removing Stonewall Jackson, to my knowledge.
I expect the City Council needs to take a long hard look at the deeds to the land both statues are on. Can Charlottesville afford the lawsuits?
How long will the shrouds stay? No one knows. I supposed shrouded statues might attract an unsavory element just as well as enshrouded statues.
What a shame.
Whether or not you agree with Baltimore’s removal of Confederate statues they did it the right way. Within a week or so of the vote they were removed overnight.
The longer this takes, the worse it can get. Trump, Stewart and Sawyers play to their respective bases like the three witches in Macbeth. All they do is stir up more trouble.
Robin Hood,
There are a couple playing to their base in cville also. Different base, different song, but still stirring up trouble.
There was never discussion of Jackson. I believe cville has over-stepped.
I also expect that Baltimore wasn’t dealing with a deed as specific as the ones in cville. I do believe they mention the word perpetuity.
MoonHowler,
I have a hard time getting sentimental about anything but the Confederacy will never qualify for my sympathies. Rhett Butler said it best in Gone With The Wind:
“Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.”
You see, my attitudes piss everyone off. I hate that war because, in my opinion, absolutely nothing was worth the loss of life, hardship, property loss, and divisiveness of that war. I think both sides were totally stupid.
Now, having said that, I tend to blame the men. Women couldn’t vote nor could slaves. People were drafted from both sides.
I think today that war serves as a good lesson to everyone about bullshit and bluster. As for slavery, I can’t imagine owning another human being. That is a real stretch for me to even think about.
As for Union, I don’t see a lot of difference in the colonies leaving England and the states leaving the Union. It was all revolution.
What isn’t being discussed in any of this is Reconstruction. People couldn’t help where they lived. Conquored nations need some sort of hope. I think their generals probably served as hope because most people sure didn’t have any money and were often under-nourished for decades. Non-slave owners (most of the people) suffered just as much as the slave holders in the aftermath.
I don’t know. I tend to not judge people in the past by 2017 standards. I think most of those ordinary folks were just trying to make some order out of the chaos that had descended on them. I never met any Civil War vets. I am sure they were long gone by the time I came along but I did know people who were live during the civil war. I was too young to have a conversation with them. I consider all those old people just victims of circumstances, rather than “the Confederacy.”
I think when you look at people as people rather than as a government, its a lot easier to have some sympathy. I feel sorry for people whose world is being blown apart, whether its people living in Confederate Virginia, Syria, Bosnia or any one of those African nations that has seen such horrible upheaval.