No amount of whitewashing is going to fix that. Almost half of them in-fact celebrate it.
this post was submitted on 15 Jun 2024
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I understand your sentiment but don't you think they would do the world more good in an exhibit or museum that explains the cultural context? Those who forget are doomed etc.
Generally I would say yes but a lot of confederate monuments were made after the war so aren't so much history but an attempt to rewrite it to make themselves look more favorable.
Well let's.give that context in then
Robert E Lee statues exist despite Lee stating he believes no statues of the Confederacy should be built and all should be torn down, as historically he recognized that it only sows division and takes a country longer to heal from.
All such statues (especially of him) would clearly be an act to not allow the country to heal quickly.
"Museum of Racist Bullshit Erected A Century Later To Give Segregation An Illusion Of Nobility"
Personally that feels like a slippery slope to me. I agree destroying history just because it has become distasteful is not a good solution. At the same time museum context is not always as good as it should be. It is often written by someone who doesn't have any personal experience.
The cultural context was that it was put in the cemetery by butthurt Southerners over 50 years after the war.
Like all of these other "my heritage!!!" monuments that were put up in the 20th century.
It belongs in a history museum as much as a statue of Hitler some Neo-Nazi carved today belongs in one.
While I see your point, I fear that even in the context of a museum they would become targets of pilgrimage for people who missed the glory days.
What if it had never been built to begin with?
That would be preferable.