Quote:
Originally Posted by JonInKC
Washington, Jefferson, et al didn't fight against slavery because they were PRO-SLAVERY. They were perfectly fine with owning slaves.
So if we're going to be consistent in this overly binary way of classifying people as "good" or "evil", let's keep that in mind.
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It's probably inaccurate to describe Washington as "pro-slavery." Accepting of slavery up to a point is probably closer.
But regardless, that's still not the point. People are not being honored for being "good" or "evil." They're being honored for what they did for their state or their country. There's nothing binary about it—the salient question is "Why did we build monuments or memorials to honor this person?"
Monuments were built to honor Washington and Jefferson for the many positive things they did relative to the establishment of the country and its government,
despite the fact that they owned (and in Jefferson's case, severely mistreated) slaves. The monuments to them were not built to honor their role in the preservation of slavery. And in the case of Jefferson, I would argue that the monuments to him were built to honor his vision for the country—"All men are created equal . . . ," etc.—which we now acknowledge compels recognition of the rights of
all people even if Jefferson himself did not fully appreciate that.
The monuments to specific or generic Confederate soldiers were built to honor their role in a war that was about preservation of slavery, as well as to send a message about continuing white supremacy.
Apples and oranges.
Hybrid Mode
