Emancipation Park

By Mikaprok for SouthFront

As we all know a couple of weeks ago small town in Virginia became a focal point of the Great Evil. Charlottesville got overnight the status of a legend.

Since April 2017 there’s been permanent discussion on Robert E. Lee monument status. It could be seen as an overrated and overreacted dilemma, if there weren’t so much local renamings and statues’ demolishions across the country in the last two years.

This particular bronze rider caused a grotesque carnival.

A month ago the police dispersed tear gas and water from the cannons over the seasonal workers dressed in white caps, pretending to be KKK. Some time after the memory erased this travesty, the march Unite the Right was announced.

All of a sudden neatly sheared hipsters filled the streets of Charlottesville. In this evening the fire was both in hearts and on sticks with metal knobs.

Simultaneously the Antifa movements were prepared for its event. On Saturday right and left were nearby and collision was unavoidable. There are two points, which I would like to say in connection with this.

First one: How it happened, that a hero of the civil war Robert E. Lee became the symbol of the KKK?

The answer is: accidentally, as part of the complex history of the American South.

Within the framework of the local education system of the United States, history textbooks have reedited at minimum three times during the long XX century.

For example, until the 1950s and 1960s, when the last generation of the “American dream” citizens was being taught in schools, the southern states (Texas, Virginia and South Carolina) practiced teaching not only federal history, but also gave some information about their native land.

The generals of the Confederation Lee, Jackson and Stuart were considered as heroes of their states.

After all, there was no single country at the time. Brothers in arms defended their own lives, being in the minority. They fought and died not because of the ideals of the slave trade, which by that time was already going to the past, but because of the redistribution of power and land ownership.

As usual.

There are no good and bad sides. It is ordinary armed conflict in the world history.

Since that history is written by the winner, and all the sins are attributed to the dead loser, then in addition to all the moral aspects, it was decided to bury the generic stain of Americans – slavery with the southern history.

In the 1980s, history textbooks of the South appears as a emanent “Django Unchained” and the North as a democratic philosophical idyll.

All today’s perturbations have been growing from that moment.

The decision was made long ago, and it is pointless to resist it today by brute force.

Another question arises: why not go further?

The monument of Confederate President Davis in New Orleans was demolished, and what should we do with the founding fathers Jefferson, Washigton and Adams? What to do with American universities founded by well-known slavers, big businessmen and in the same time eugenics enthusiasts, whose names can still be found in every major city in the United States?

There are a lot of questions.

Now the answer is: “Historical pros from the founding fathers outweigh the disadvantages, so we need to save their memory. They laid the foundations of our world that appreciated their contribution. “

This is a very weak option for the explanation, suggesting a revision of the ideological conclusions in the near future.

E.g. in 5 years it will be necessary to demolish Lincoln (by any given reason), then they will find an excuse and take it down.

The memory of those who are falling today from the pedestals, time will erase as well as those who pull them from there.

There is no another option.

Now the second thing: what is currently doing so-called “right-wing” organizations in the United States is an organized provocation.

In a relatively free and democratic society we need a clear confirmation that nobody needs a given Robert E. Lee standing in city center.

They’ve created a scandalous proposition opposing the dismantling, so that everyone had a complete sense of the legitimacy of such actions. Cause “nazis” defend it.

For example, in Louisiana people chose the other way and passed a law in the seat of Parliament that any innovations in the names or monuments are possible only after a general state referendum. This slowed down the process and served as a strong position.
2000 men on the streets with card boards is called cosplay, not a legal statement.

After all, everyone understands the final result of such actions. And it follows.

Just before the Saturday performance residents of the city had questions concerning Robert E. Lee, then after torch march it’s all clear: “Fascists and their symbols should go to the past.”

Now Lee Park around the empty pedestal will become Emancipation Park. Funniest thing.

The mayor of Baltimore, referring to the events of August 12, has signed a decree on the removal of all the monuments of the Confederates outside the city and place them in the cemetery of the Confederate soldiers.

The same thing was done by the mayor of Lexington, Jim Gray.

Another head of the city from the Kentucky promised to revise the local monuments and remove unattractive ones.

Under suspicion now Confederate brigadier general John Castleman. In spite of all his merits, including those services to the North after Civil War, his place in history is questionable.

In general, the word “fascist” in relation to these clowns is gradually replacing the more neutral “nazi” in the public field. It’s alarming symptom, since the freedom of speech extends to the latter, but not to the former.

And this is the main problem of “new right”: they do not have a lawyer and defender in Washington.

They turned up to be just another small and noisy group, representing by the way majority of population. The fashion comes and goes. Real values are eternal.

They, unfortunately, have nothing to do with water cannons, tear gas and even a monument to Robert E. Lee.