Statues in the U.S. Capitol include noted Confederate leaders and postbellum white supremacists. Should these now be removed as well?

GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad — Wed, 24 Jun 2015 04:29:03 -0400

The killings of nine churchgoers in Charleston last week by an alleged white supremacist brought new attention to the Confederate battle flag flying outside the South Carolina state house, and beyond. There are many symbols of the Confederacy and of racist ideology in other capitals -- including the U.S. Capitol.

That starts with the Mississippi state flag, which incorporates the Confederate battle flag and hangs in several locations in the Capitol complex, including in the underground tunnels connecting the Rayburn House Office Building and Dirksen Senate Office Building to the Capitol. It extends to a number of statues in the Capitol itself -- including one of Jefferson Davis, who served as both a congressman and a U.S. senator before becoming president of the Confederate States of America.

The Davis statue is part of the National Statuary Hall Collection, which is established by act of Congress and consists of two statues donated by each state. About a third of the statues, some of them dating back to the early 1870s, stand in Statuary Hall itself; the rest are placed elsewhere in the Capitol complex. Mississippi furnished the Davis statute in 1931, and it now stands in Statuary Hall -- but Davis is far from the only figure associated with the Confederacy or with white supremacism to be commemorated in the collection.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/06/23/a-field-guide-to-the-racists-commemorated-inside-the-u-s-capitol/?tid=hybrid_experimentrandom_1_na

A field guide to the racists commemorated inside the U.S. Capitol

The collection of statues housed in the Capitol includes noted Confederate leaders and postbellum white supremacists.

Response by LTC David S. Chang, ChFC®, CLU® made Jun 24 at 2015 5:04 AM

LTC David S. Chang, ChFC®, CLU® — Wed, 24 Jun 2015 05:04:02 -0400

I think there are other things that these men did that we can admire. People aren't perfect so I think despite their mistakes, some have contributed in other ways.

The issue with the flag from what I understand is that to many it still represents racism and a divided country

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Jun 24 at 2015 6:43 AM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Wed, 24 Jun 2015 06:43:43 -0400

We shouldn't try to erase, or remove history because it is an unpleasant reminder of past misdeeds. It shouldn't be glorified either, however.

Each time a discussion pops up about "removing" something, whatever it is, I want to understand the reasoning. Is it because we want to forget it? In the case of these statues, I'd hazard most people already had. Is it because we want to move on? I think for the most part we did. Or is it because some want to pretend it never existed at all?

My personal view, which tends to be unpopular regarding subjects like this is, every time we bring it up, we bring up all the baggage that comes with it. If we stop talking about it (with emotion) and leave it as clinical discussion, eventually the issue will just go away. It becomes a non-issue.

I hate to use the slippery slope argument, but the current trend is the Civil War. What happens when they start looking at WW2 and our heroes there. We had great folks "fall" afterward. Do we want the court of public opinion weighing in on Audie Murphy for his post war life, and deciding he is no longer fit to be a representative?

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 24 at 2015 7:10 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 24 Jun 2015 07:10:03 -0400

Stop the revisionist history!! America has her sins just like any other nation state. I am a native of Iowa so while I'm not close to the Confederate battle flag, I'm not a big supporter of it. I believe what makes the U.S. greater than any other nation is that we can accept our past and learn from it to improve our future. I think everyone agrees that slavery was wrong and the disenfranchisement of the black community continued well into the 20th century. It was wrong and very shameful that this happened in America. However, removing statutes of Confederate men, who were on the wrong side of history, are still Americans and ought to be remembered for their service and sacrifice to the CSA.

Also, to my Southerner brethren, if you fly the Stars and Bars would you receive the same negative reaction as you do flying the Confederate battle flag? (Just a curious thought).

Response by SFC Jeff Stevenson made Jun 24 at 2015 7:14 AM

SFC Jeff Stevenson — Wed, 24 Jun 2015 07:14:40 -0400

I usually don't respond to the racially motivated stuff, but feel this does need to be addressed. First of all, this 21 yr old, Roof, was a felon, (abuse of prescription medication) awaiting trial, was given a pistol (by his father for his 21st birthday) and had spoken about shooting up a college(but made his decision at a church) killing 9 innocent church goers. Read and let this sink in. Now we have (1) ONE picture in his facebook with a confederate flag? he wore two African flags on his bomber jacket during his other pictures. Now the fault, blame should be directed at the individual. We have griped and complained about everything but the actual individual and his actions. He was a criminal, he committed the act. He should be punished. But the discussion has now drifted or been directed by media and the powers that be covering Confederate History, Flags, the naming convention of Military bases, I mean come on, The Dukes of Hazzard? Until people are held responsible for their own actions, when will we really work anything out? Now, God forbid, but say Mr Roof had walked into the same church with an explosive vest and screamed something Islamic and killed the same number of people, still all innocent, just means of death are changed. Would we continue to look for more laws directed at Explosive vests? Or Islamic Extremism? Or would we blame the bomber? This criminal was breaking laws left and right, and still is not blamed. But everything leading up is to blame? Maybe we blame and charge his friends, who heard he wanted to shoot a college up? Didn't say anything, so the must be punished. Again, why blame him for his actions, when we continue to let the media direct our thoughts. Stand up and research, the media feeds the weak, tells what to think, and will continue. History is for learning. I am sure Germany has some dark history that it wished it could hide, but still displays it as a reminder. Are we that naïve? Just my thoughts. I am not intending to attack or disrespect anyone or their views, but to discuss the history and display a view.

Response by SFC Jeff Stevenson made Jun 24 at 2015 7:14 AM

SFC Jeff Stevenson — Wed, 24 Jun 2015 07:14:43 -0400

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 24 at 2015 7:26 AM

Capt Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 24 Jun 2015 07:26:30 -0400

I had told myself to stay out of the discussions on removing the flag and now other items.

BUT today in my hometown paper's online edition I read the that people are blaming the flag for the murders in South Carolina.

When are we going to quit blaming everything but the real acts of hatred and racism?

Treating the symptoms and eliminating things that some do not like (whether the dislike is just is justified or not) will do no good and not solve anything. It may make some feel good, but, in my opinion it will also make some even more angry and hateful.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 24 at 2015 8:15 AM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 24 Jun 2015 08:15:45 -0400

Put all the Confederate stuff into museums dedicated to teaching people about the Confederacy.

Response by SSG Donald Mceuen made Jun 24 at 2015 8:59 AM

SSG Donald Mceuen — Wed, 24 Jun 2015 08:59:22 -0400

So are we going to change are history.
Now what about the blacks that kill whites is that not racial and hate crimes
come on lets get or heads on straight and stop all this killing and shit.

Response by SFC William Farrell made Jun 29 at 2015 9:03 PM

SFC William Farrell — Mon, 29 Jun 2015 21:03:37 -0400

No, but there is one who should be removed.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 30 at 2015 2:51 PM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 30 Jun 2015 14:51:48 -0400

Sure...

So long as they remove busts/ statues of ALL known racists in US history... Even former presidents...

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 16 at 2015 12:20 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 16 Jul 2015 12:20:04 -0400

One of the pictures of the SC shooter shows him burning the American flag. Why isn't anyone upset about that?

Response by PO2 Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 27 at 2020 9:28 AM

PO2 Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 27 Feb 2020 09:28:16 -0500

What will be next? Banning the Mississippi state flag? Come on now. All of this removing statues and banning the Northern Virginia battle flag has gotten crazy.