The petition complains that the Confederate flag was removed because it offended black people through its historic association with slavery and white supremacy, and laughably asserts that the African-American Monument, designed by sculptor Ed Dwight, provokes the same outrage for whites.
Nearly 40,000 South Carolinians have signed a petition to remove a slave memorial.
While the rest of the US is dealing with the difficult guilt created by Black Lives Matter, my sister and her husband live comfortably in a state where racism still reigns and where the locals all too easily romanticize the history of a city with a racist history as bad as one can imagine in German cities (below).
After threats to boycott the Palmetto State, the confederate symbol, long used
as symbol of white pride, was moved in 2000. It moved from flying over the statehouse dome to fly at a Confederate Soldier’s Monument on the grounds.
A monument to the state’s black history was built the following year as part of the legislative agreement over the tribute to the Confederacy.
My Brother in Law, Bill Quick is Commodore of the local Power Squadron in Charleston SC. Here is how the Squadron describes their city: ” Experience the genteel feel of the old South in our gracious city of antebellum homes and sprawling plantations. Our unique Lowcountry cuisine and dozens of delicious restaurants make Charleston a southern foodie destination. Enjoy warm southern hospitality, buy a sweetgrass basket, savor Lowcountry shrimp and grits at a downtown restaurant, or ride a horse-drawn carriage for a slow-paced tour of the Historic District. Or stroll along the Battery and see the harbor and Fort Sumter in the distance. Or take a 2.7 mile hike or bike ride across the Arthur Ravenel bridge over the Cooper River from Charleston to Mount Pleasant and Patriot’s Point, the home of the retired aircraft carrier USS Yorktown. Charleston Harbor is an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean (or, as is locally believed, where the Ashley and the Cooper Rivers come together to form the Atlantic Ocean). Charleston was frequented by pirates in pre-Revolutionary days, including the famed Blackbeard (Edward Teach), who blockaded the harbor with a fleet of pirate ships in May 1718. In October 1779, the British planned an attack on Charleston, which they intended to use as a base for further operations. Marching upon Charleston via James Island, as well as from inland, the British cut off the city from relief, and began a siege on April 1. The Continental army was compelled to surrender the city and its 5,000 troops on May 12. Fort Sumter Fort Sumter, 2009 Fort Sumter is located at the entrance to Charleston Harbor, on an island just off the eastern tip of James Island. The Civil War began at 4:30 a.m. on April 12, 1861, when Confederate artillery opened fire on this Federal fort; the Union forces surrendered 34 hours later, and would try for nearly four years to take it back before succeeding. The Federal government formally took repossession of Fort Sumter on February 22, 1865.” “Copyright 2016 by the Charleston Sail and Power Squadron. Used with permission.”
The damned Confederate flag was only finally taken down because 9 innocent Americans were slaughtered by a racist terrorist in Charleston,
The petition’s author, Keith Harmon, said the flag should not have been removed in response to the massacre of nine black churchgoers. “I think killing nine innocent people was completely and totally wrong, (but) it has nothing to do with the flag — nothing at all,” said Harmon, of Greenville.
Harmon said he had difficulty seeing the Confederate flag as a symbol of hate because his ancestors fought under it. “My great, great, great grandfather and ancestors fought in this war for this state,” Harmon said.
The petition complains that the Confederate flag was removed because it offended black people through its historic association with slavery and white supremacy, and laughably asserts that the African-American Monument, designed by sculptor Ed Dwight, provokes the same outrage for whites.
“The African American Monument depicts slave ships, mistreatment and words such as ‘segregation’ and ‘Jim Crow,’” the petition states. “This being the case, it is undeniable that this monument can and does serve to invoke in the white community feelings of shame, humiliation and offense, serving as a constant reminder of the dark history of slavery.”
Harmon said he hoped both monuments would remain on the statehouse grounds, but he said the African-American Monument should go if the Confederate flag came down — as it did July 10.
Anyone want to bet which Presidential Candidate takes the Palmetto State?