Thursday, May 18, 2017

History and the Destruction Thereof

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So there is this. My buddy Murph, who is down there in the Big Easy had this to say about that. If you haven't chased those links yet, well let me summarize the issue: some folks don't like statues of Confederate States leaders. Hell, they probably don't like statues of United States leaders either, but I have no immediate proof of that. Anyhoo, that's not what I'm angry about at the moment.

First off,  I'll tell you that I am no son of the South, I am a Yankee from Vermont, born and bred, but this tearing down of statues bothers me no end. I have a deep respect for the men who fought for the Confederacy. As did my ancestors who actually fought them in the field!

In this I see the hand of those self-same leftists and fellow travelers who want to tear this Nation down. I don't think they realize the end game of that particular course of action. Revolutions often eat their young. Ask this fellow -

Portrait of Maximilien de Robespierre - Artist unknown
Or perhaps this guy -

Leon Trotsky
Do you think that the money men (and they are overwhelmingly men) give a rat's ass about this bunch?

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Nope. They are simply pawns to be discarded when the moment is right. They'll go the way of Robespierre and Trotsky.

Where does it end?

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Sure, let's tear down the statues of Lee, Beauregard, Jackson, and Hampton. Let's go after all those Southerners. Wait, what?

How about George Washington and Thomas Jefferson? Both Southerners, both slave owners. Do you think I'm kidding. Check this out.

I say this to all you history denying bastards:
...He that is without sin among you,
let him first cast a stone... John 8:7 KJV
I'm against this inane removal of historical monuments. I could point to the Taliban and ISIS destroying historical monuments, is there a parallel to what the left is doing in this country?

You betcha.

What say you?



38 comments:

  1. I'm done. TO old to be bullied any more by these fools. I will never vote again as they are going to tear down my choice. Trump will be gone before the year is out. Elections are a sham, we have no Democracy, powers beyond the people make the leader decisions and they are incensed that the "correct" person is not in the White House. Let them have it, let them tear everything down, I am too old to care and voicing the "wrong" opinion today is to be shunned and derided. It was a great experiment this Democracy thing, but it is coming down and I refuse to fight for it. I have been successfully worn down and will no longer scream into the storm.

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  2. The tearing down of statues is a whitewashing of history, trying to apply today's current values to something from a different time. Yes, slavery was bad, but we can't change that. And it's so indiscriminate. Even worse than slavery (genocide) was forced on the Native Americans, but you don't see a call to give back Oklahoma Nebraska, or any other lands we took. Are we going to change the name of Montgomery AL, Jackson MS, and countless others? That includes a ton of Army bases. And whilst the statues down in Louisiana that have been removed by the former Governor, can never be put back up because that would brand someone as pro-slavery. History is written by the victors, and it's unfortunate that the Liberals are winning the war of words sometimes.

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    1. Whilst? Wth? I meant to fat finger "while." Whilst makes me sound pretentious.

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    2. What is not known is that the Native Americans here in the Northeast were often sold into slavery as well. So they had genocide and slavery to look back on.

      The left is winning the war of words because they have the MSM on their side. The rest of us have no outlet other than the internet.

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    3. I don't know, "whilst" added a certain gravitas to your comment.

      (Using "gravitas" is probably pretentious as well. As is saying "as well.")

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    4. And like the vast majority of African slaves were caught and sold into slavery by other Africans, Indian slaves were mostly sold into it by other tribes. Indian slaves were comparatively cheap, but with their relatively low resistance to epidemic diseases, became less popular over time. Scots and Irish slaves were cheap, too, but the drastic change in climate from Great Britain to (mostly) the American south, combined with harsh work and poor diet meant that a majority wouldn't survive their usual (but sometimes very theoretical) 7-year terms of involuntary indentured "service". For that matter, English orphans/street children were often shanghaied in the 1600s (or "bought" from orphanages) and shipped by the boatload to Virginia. Pretty girls could expect a much higher survival rate than boys ... at a price. Don't let anybody fool you -- plantation owners were right bastards, and when slaves were cheap (unlike the decades just before the Civil War), lives were cheap. Doesn't matter the race of the slave, any more than it mattered in Rome. Even when slaves were expensive, the fact that they reproduced meant that only the bare minimum to keep them productive was expended on field hands. There were even 2 plantation owners lynched in Mississippi in the 1840s for being too lenient on their slaves. Shades of Rome.

      But this crap about removing Confederate monuments chafes me. There's some I don't care for at all. Nathan Bedford Forrest, for one. I remember my family visiting Fort Pillow, TN as a kid 40 years ago and being absolutely appalled at some of the overheard comments from some very obvious Southrons regarding the "n*****s getting their due" and so forth. And they weren't worried about being overheard, nor were the T-short and N.B.T. memorabilia stands across the road ashamed at who they were celebrating. Like many, I have ancestors from both North and South, but at my first exposures to outright, casual racism of the same sort as "Well, they're just Indians/Irish/Jews/n*****s, so they get what they deserve," I was kind of horrified. I mean, it wasn't Katyn Forest, by any means, but it was bad. And, yeah, you see the same kind of crap in South Dallas, South Memphis, South Chicago, too. It's just "hate whitey". Most people aren't that way, of course, or at least not to your face, but enough are to poison the damned well. Yeah, I'm ranting. N.B.T. was a good general, but like many Roman generals, he was a detestable human being except to his family and "tribe". But he seems to have exemplified his tribe's virtues by the fact he's so honored, and that still bothers me a bit. But let the South keep their statues, let the North keep theirs, let the West keep theirs, and if the Indian casinos put up the money, let the Indians keep theirs -- even the slavers and (reputed, but probably ritualistic) cannibals.

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    5. Right there, in a nutshell, is truth. Damned fine comment Larry.

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  3. As I posted on my koobecaF page yesterday, we now live in a world where people are more concerned with
    removing history than making it!!

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  4. If we are going to tear down monuments to slavery, we need to start with the pyramids at Giza and then move to the pyramids in Mexico. Once they are parking lots and strip malls, you can tell me why we need to nuke statues of Robert E. Lee and PGT Beauregard.

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  5. What is also forgotten, is how the settlers of americas got here. They were not the rich of England, France or Spain, but the servants of the rich. Our Ulster father's came because it was that and or jail, bow to a king declared God? Or for trying to feed their family after the rents were due? How could they afford a "trip" with a year off? Indentured servitude? The kind name for... Or not reporting back after a ship landed..impressment gangs. Even so, about half survived to get here then. Supposedly a lower rate then the slave ships.

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    1. Excellent points James. Indentured servitude was a form of slavery, make no mistake.

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  6. How do you destroy a society? One way is to destroy it's history. The bleating heads you see on the news channels are just the useful fools who have been spun up to get it done. That's easy to do because they don't know their history. "Slavery is baaaaad!" Yes it is. We get that. So are a lot of other things. Now get over it. Some history---

    In 1846, The U.S. Army went in to Mexico at the start of the Mexican-American war. At that time, Lt. Grant was quartermaster officer of the 4th US Infantry Regiment. The following is from my copy of Grant's memoirs.

    When Camargo was reached, we found a city of tents outside the Mexican hamlet. I was detailed to act as quartermaster and commissary to the regiment. The teams that had proven abundantly sufficient to transport all supplies from Corpus Christi to the Rio Grande over the level prairies of Texas, were entirely inadequate to the needs of the reinforced army in a mountainous country. to obviate the deficiency, pack mules were hired, with Mexicans to pack and drive them. I had charge of the few wagons allotted to the 4th infantry and of the pack train to supplement them. There were not men enough in the army to manage that train without the help of Mexicans who had learned how. As it was the difficulty was great enough. The troops would take up their march at an early hour each day. After they had started, the tents and cooking utensils had to be made into packages, so that they could be lashed to the backs of the mules. Sheet-iron kettles, tent-poles, and the mess chests were inconvenient articles to transport in that way. It took several hours to get ready to start each morning, and by the time we were ready some of the mules first loaded would be tired of standing so long with their loads on their backs. Sometimes one would start to run, bowing his back and kicking up until he scattered his load; others would lie down and try to disarrange their loads by attempting to get on the top of them by rolling on them; others with tent-poles for part of their loads would manage to run a tent-pole on one side of a sapling while they would take the other. I am not aware of ever having used a profane explicative in my life; but I would have the charity to excuse those who may have done so, if they were in charge of a train of Mexican pack mules at the time.

    2Lt U.S. Grant
    Camargo, Mexico
    August, 1846

    Excerpt from Ulysses S. Grant—Memoirs and Selected Letters

    ISBN 978-0-94045058-5

    Along on that same march was a young captain of engineers on the staff of Winfield Scott by the name of Robert E. Lee. Also, another young lieutenant of engineers (topographical) by the name of George Meade. Later, General Meade would be the Union commander at Gettysburg.

    After the surrender at Appomattox, officers on both sides crossed the lines in search of old friends. General Meade went to see his old friend General Lee. Upon seeing Meade, Lee teased "What are you doing with all that gray in your beard?". Meade replied "You have to answer for most of it!".

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    1. Gosh and golly, I wonder what these old soldiers would say today.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVjD2DaB4bY

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    2. Hmm. Technical note. I tried twice to post both of my remarks above in a single post, but never even got to present my papers. The first time I would click 'publish' the whole thing disappeared. When I broke out the YouTube link in a separate post, they worked. So much for my google-fu.

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    3. Most interesting stuff from President (then Lieutenant) Grant. Of course, the Civil War (for such it is called in the North) did pit brother against brother. Pvt Wesley Culp, born in Gettysburg, of Company B, 2nd Virginia Infantry Regiment, Stonewall Brigade, CSA, was killed in action at Gettysburg on Culp's Hill. The hill was named for a relative of his. Brother against brother, father against son, classmate versus classmate. The Civil Was was a pivotal event in our history and really defined who we are as a nation. Attempting to erase that history is the work of maniacs and communists, GD anarchists really. A pox on all their houses!

      As to the comment snafus, Blogger had the temerity to delete one of MY comments the other day. Something was tweaked and the bugs haven't been ironed out yet. I blame the Russians. (Tee hee.)

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    4. I find it interesting that the progressive movement (particularly in California) is citing the 10th Amendment and is talking session from the USA these days. The cry was similar during the War of Northern Aggression...but since the progressive left does not read history, one can excuse them for being blatantly ignorant.

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    5. Their blatant ignorance is one of their hallmarks. It's almost like they're proud of it LL.

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  7. I hesitate to comment because my ire has been raised to the same level as on the highway and at Costco.
    Maybe ...just maybe, when I cool down I might write something at my place.

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    1. I know exactly what you mean. This post would have been longer but I was afraid of blowing a blood vessel. I was that steamed.

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  8. As if the problem of historical statues was more pressing than the threat of terrorism, thugs murdering young people in the street, rampant unemployment among minorities, or un-assimilated immigrants rotting the culture of our nation from within.
    Go get them statues! Yeah. That's the ticket!

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    1. Personally I think it's a way to keep the leftists riled up and in the streets, keeping the media focused on them while the real game is played elsewhere. As long as the authorities do nothing, things will get worse.

      A big smokescreen is my estimation.

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  9. Yet again, I say it will come to bloodshed. If we arrive at year 2020 without a war, we should count ourselves lucky.

    Paul L. Quandt

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  10. I think as a very proud Yankee, with very old, deep roots in New England that those folks in NO pulling down statues are just being stupid. A couple of my ancestors came over as indentured servants. A couple of others came over on the Mayflower and managed to work hard enough to live through those first winters.

    Whatishisname was right: there is no fixing stupid. And those folks down there, pulling down that history, are just dissing our countrymen, who fought, damn hard, and didn't win the war. It just is not right on many different levels!

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    1. Most of the ones agitating about the statues aren't even Southerners.

      Damn carpetbaggers.

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    2. It is disgraceful. And while I am deeply respectful of most of the men who fought (North or South -- there were bastards on both sides), I find it less easy to respect much of the southern leadership class. From somewhere just before John C. Calhoun rose to prominence to South Carolina's opening of military hostilities, there was an increasing thread of what seems like increasing insanity from Democrats. And Republicans aren't much better...

      But let the Scots keep their statues, Let the IRish have their, let the English have theirs.

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    3. Politicians of all stripes are a nasty breed.

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  11. They're playing with fire, lots of folks gonna get burned.

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  12. Heck. I thought I was joking when I wrote about this.

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  13. Kind of like how ISIS destroyed Palmara, cause it did not fit the narrative.

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Just be polite... that's all I ask. (For Buck)
Can't be nice, go somewhere else...

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