Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Confederate Statues, History, and Racism

Some of my thoughts on Confederate Statues, history, and racism. 

Racism is wrong and sinful.  Period. 

Racism on any side or from any racial group is wrong and sinful. 

Falsely charging someone with racism is also a serious wrong. 

The violence, injuries, and murder in Charlottesville, Virginia over the weekend is unjustified, wrong, and should be punished. 
The Confederate Statues and Memorials should stay and be protected.  They are part of our history and heritage.  They teach multiple lessons.  We should not cleanse and whitewash our own history.  

Those who are offended by Confederate Memorials - maybe that is part of the price you need pay for multi-culturalism.  Allowing these Statues helped in bringing a divided country together again.  Tolerance should work both ways.  

Confederate Statues should even be allowed to be established today. 

Get rid of other people’s Statues and Memorials, and you should not be surprised when one day others get rid of your Statues and Memorials.  How about being respectful and tolerant to both sides? 

On the other hand, Union Statues (Civil War era), Black Leaders Statues (liberal and conservative Black Leaders), other Ethnic Statues and Memorials should also be freely allowed (and are).  After all, we are a diverse, free society. 

A few ideas for statues of Black leaders:
Frederick Douglass
Booker T. Washington
Harriet Tubman
Ida B. Wells
George Washington Carver
John Jasper
Martin Luther King
S. M. Lockridge
Clarence Thomas
Thomas Sowell
Walter Williams 
Condoleezza Rice

The recent controversy at Charlottesville, Virginia was marred by hate and violence on both sides.  The murder by a White Supremacist should be punished to the full extent of the law. 
 The media needs to more fairly cover all sides.  

Vandalism of statues and memorials, no matter which side, should be condemned and prosecuted. 
Law Officers should vigorously uphold the law and arrest criminals, whether they be on the left or on the right; especially in riot situations.  

A couple of quotes I find interesting: 

“The hard left seemed as hate-filled as alt-right.  I saw club-wielding ‘antifa’ beating white nationalist being led out of the park.” 
-Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times, on the demonstrations in Charlottesville, VA.  

 “What about the politicians such as the city council who voted to remove a memorial that had been in place since 1924, regardless of the possible repercussions? How about the city politicians who issued the permit for the lawful demonstration to defend the statue? And why didn't the mayor or the governor see that a powder keg was about to explode and stop it before it got started?”

“I denounce bigotry and racism of every form, be it black, white or any other. My prayer is that our nation will come together. We are stronger together, and our answers lie in turning to God.”
 -Franklin Graham, Samaritan’s Purse, on Charlottesville, VA.  

Christians need to love, be an example to, and witness to racists and extremists on all sides. 

-David R. Brumbelow, Gulf Coast Pastor, August 15, AD 2017.


Other articles in lower right margin.  

2 comments:

  1. My brother. If you have a few moments of your time I would love to talk with you privately. pastor_rob@cbbaptist.org

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  2. I wrote this response to Lydia at SBC Today regarding this issue. If you go over to the snark-infested (note spelling) waters at SBC Voices, please feel free to use any or all of it without attribution. I do not post at SBC Voices anymore.

    Here in the great state of South Carolina, we have a little experience with controversial Confederate symbols. In 2000, the year the Battle Flag was removed from the State House dome to the Confederate Monument, a law was passed known as the Heritage Act. This law forbids the removal or relocation of any war monument, Native American or African American heritage monument anywhere in the state on public property without a 2/3 vote of both houses of the state legislature. It also prohibits the renaming streets and buildings on public property named for a historic figure without the 2/3 legislature vote. The best thing about this law is that it prevents local entities for removing monuments at the whims of temporary media-stoked public opinion shifts without wide support. This is how the Battle Flag was removed from the State House grounds 2 years ago.

    The law is now preventing PC movements to rename Tillman Hall at Clemson University (Tillman was a Governor of SC and a US Senator in the late 19th century) because he was a racist. It is also preventing the renaming Wade Hampton High School in Greenville, because Hampton was a general in the Confederate Army.

    Ken P.

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What do you think?