Please read the NYT article
In Monument Debate, Calls for an Overdue Reckoning on Race and Southern Identity and share your reflection based on the current political climate and recent events in Charlottesville, VA. What role does the President play in this debate?
I believe that the events that happened in Charlottesville a few weeks ago were tragic and not right. Even though people have disagreements over political views and other beliefs that manage the way people live their life, death is something that is tragic no matter what people are protesting. It is unfortunate that the decision one man made to run into the crowd of counter protestors is what people will remember from this event. I believe that the extreme that some of the protestors took at that protest is not right. Groups like the Ku Klux Klan are groups that should not be present in America because we are a country of respect, understanding, and welcoming to people that are different than us. However, the reason the protest was organized was to protest the removal of a piece of history. This specific statue was eradicated in 1917 for remembrance of United States history through the lead general of the Confederacy during the civil war. One of the longest lasting and most impactful way to keep history in our society is through memorials, statues, and plaques that remind us of the past. Even though what the South was fighting for during the Civil War is not right on a moral stance, it is something that happened in our history, and we can not avoid it. In order to learn from our past and use that in the decisions we make in the future, we need to remember what happened in out past. However, some of the statues that were eradicated for remembrance of the Civil War have been used to signify hate in the present, and in those circumstances, I think that those symbols should be removed. I think the role of the president in these scenarios include speaking out against hate on those who express hate. I also think that the president should facilitate in the removal of these symbols, but to also acknowledge what those symbols used to mean. It is important to remember our past, but it is equally important to promote a future of inclusivity.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, the occurrence in Charlottesville was tragic as well as immoral. The reason for this event is obvious: to preserve what they view as “the best image of the South”. This image is not entirely pure though since it puts white people on a pedestal while taking away everyone else’s “natural rights” especially blacks. Even though that it is important for history to be acknowledged and taken into consideration, this does not justify what took place. Political difference should be tolerated since every U.S. citizen is allowed freedom of speech, but when one harms another for the sake of preserving their ideals, it becomes unjust. Every person’s life has value, and it is not right to end a life just because he or she believes one life is more valuable than another. It is unfortunate that one person who ran into the crowd of counter protestors will forever be imprinted in history. President Trump further fueled the fire by justifying the point of view of the counter protesters present actions taken towards liberals. Keeping in mind some of the narrow-minded views of some people, I believe that prejudice that some racial groups have such as the Klu Klux Klan no longer have a place in America. The monuments are not being taken down to eliminate the importance of Southern history, but rather to confirm that slavery no longer rules society and to move towards the future. Statues and monuments are a symbol of history; although, this is not what we should be remembered for. The country should be a united cause for equality for all, and the president should be promoting peace and tolerance in order for this new beginning to be possible.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting thing about heritage is that for a lot of people, it is the most important thing to them. In the South people are bred to embrace their southern charm, yes ma'am and sir, and always looking your very best. Unfortunately people are also bred to hate. In my southern household, racism was never discussed and quite frankly I didn't understand that people didn't like each other because of the color of their skin. When you have been taught something since birth, it is very very hard to reverse those beliefs later. The combination of being poor and not well educated is a toxic mix that creates the hate that still exists in the South. It prevents people to get out of that cycle of hate. Regarding the issues of monuments however, there should be no pride in what caused the civil war. Remembering your heritage and the people you came from, is a lot different than celebrating them.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I do understand someone wanting to celebrate their heritage and where they came from, what I don't understand is wanting to openly celebrate that heritage when it is associated with one of the most negative times in US history. I believe that the situation in Charlottesville was caused by white supremacist's fear of losing power to minorities, not because their heritage was being removed. It was tragic and hate fueled. I think people forget that the Confederate flag was never a national flag. Along with the monuments, most of them were put up during the civil rights era wanting to be a source of intimidation. I also think the president did a poor job of condemning what happened in Charlottesville. Before Trump was elected he was always criticizing Obama and other politicians when they didn't call an organization out by name. Not only did he not condemn the Klu Klux Klan or the neo-nazis, but he outright said both sides were wrong when one side was peacefully protesting hateful organizations. I believe the presidents role is to speak for the people and to speak out against injustices agains certain communities. If this doesn't occur then more and more people will continue to feel it's okay to display hate towards people because of their race, religion, and sexual orientation.
ReplyDeleteViolence is never the answer no matter what your beliefs are. The tragic events which took place in Charlottesville, VA are just another sign that changes need to be made in this turbulent time period. I totally understand celebrating one's heritage and wanting to preserve it, but these monuments are different. These monuments were put up in evil spite of the Civil Rights movement. The President's role should be to step forward and denounce the white supremacy groups including the KKK and Neo-Nazis. These monuments do not celebrate their own heritage, but their attempt to spread hate towards a heritage different than their own.
ReplyDeleteFor this article I definitely think that the statues need to be removed, and people had the right to want them removed. They are a constant reminder to people in a more liberal area of the terrible things that happened in history. You cannot change the past, but you do not need a constant reminder on some of the issues that we had then. I think the President should back up the people in power in the state who decided to take down the statues. The President not taking sides makes him look like he does not care, and it makes the side rebelling feel welcome in the situation. In a way they are being rewarded for the violence by our President not speaking out against their actions.
ReplyDeleteThe events of Charlottesville continue to haunt our country many weeks later. I see no issue with men and women wanting to remember and celebrate a significant part of their past. However, if it is a completely negative part of our country's past, such as the Confederates and the Civil War, I do not believe we need to keep any monuments up that resemble our past failures as a country. If men of the south want to remember Robert E. Lee, then they can: in their homes. The events of Charlottesville do not reflect well on how much our country has change. White supremacy and neo-nazi issues should not even remotely be occurring in any parts of our country, especially not so close to Washington DC. I do not believe that the whole event really was just about having the monument be taken down. I think it was really just white supremacists feeling like our country is becoming a whole and an equal. The ignorance and the selfishness of the white supremacists and neo-nazis is heartbreaking to see because they quite literally do not care for the well-being of those that do not consider themselves a part of these disgusting groups. What made everything only get worse is the fact that Trump did not condemn the issues in Charlottesville. He never called out the groups and people individually. To make matters worse, he actually said that both sides were doing the wrong thing. This is an absurd thought in it of itself because the people who wanted the monument down were peacefully protesting. It is part of the Constitution to be able to peacefully protest, especially for something that should be protested. As the president of the United States, Trump should have stood up for the peaceful protesters against the men who have disgusting opinions and tried to, and succeeded, in murdering a protester.
ReplyDeleteIn this article, the issue of whether the statues of confederate soldiers and generals are used as a form or hatred or a piece of history. Personally, I believed that these statues were put into place because the white population feared that during the early 1900's their power would be diminished by the growing black community. During the reconstruction era, the rights of the blacks were growing and the whites wanted control through racial discrimination and segregation. I do believe that the history of the confederacy needs to be learned, but there is a fine line between history and white supremacy. Many southern states flew the confederate flag along side their state flag or even incorporated it into their own flag. This brought about protests that the confederate flag was inserted into the state flags due to racial discrimination. Nothing recently towards confederacy took place until the murder of 9 black churchgoers in Charleston by Dylann Roof, a white supremacist. This action really brought attention to confederate issue and how it can be a threat to the nation and the lives of African American. In Charlottesville, President Trump did not do anything in response to the killing and injuries of the white supremacists. A president should speak out to the nation about how this is not right and the statues are being taken down due to an overwhelming response to the racial discrimination of the past. Trump further did not prove his case, instead he admired the beauty of the statues and increased the number of white nationalists. I believe that the statues should be taken down from public areas, but the history of the confederate south should still be taught.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, the events that took place in Charlottesville were awful. I am all for peaceful protests but when those protests become violent it is unacceptable. Lives were lost when they should not have even been at risk. The white nationalist who drove his car into the crowd was violating the protestors constitutional right to protest. I think it is wrong for people and governments to be tearing down and covering up these civil war monuments. While these monuments are an example of slavery and discrimination, they display a part of our nation's history. We should keep them up and uncovered because they remind us of what life was like during those times and how we can't let history repeat itself. I think the president should give a speech about not condoning violent protests, but encouraging people to carry out peaceful protests. He should also make a statement about the civil war memorials about how they will stay up because they are an important part of our history and we cannot just forget what got us to here today.
ReplyDeleteThe events that occurred in Charlottesville, Virginia were entirely unacceptable. I believe it is within our rights as American citizens to peacefully protest, but in no situation should these protests turn to violence. It is, however, my opinion that these monuments should remain in some shape or form. I feel taking them down is a borderline censorship of history. I do however feel that they could me altered to perhaps memorialize the Civil War as a whole as opposed to the cause of the Confederacy. I certainly feel that any with white supremacist messages inscribed on them need to be at the very least altered. I feel President Trump did not respond near adequately enough on issue. He simply fueled the fire by condemning both sides and using "beauty" to describe the statues. Instead he should have used a legitimate reason as to why he feels the statues should remain or proposed some kind of compromise. Above all he needed to fully denounced any who would use them to support white supremacy and racism. I do feel the statues are not something that can just be thrown out, but it is sickening to see people rally around them as symbols of hate and I therefore believe there must be some sort of change that neither removes the message of hate without destroying what is simply history.
ReplyDeleteIn times of domestic unrest, the President should be able to be a mediator and the voice of reason. Donald Trump had the opportunity to display presidential behavior after the events that occurred in Charlottesville, however, he used his position to inflame the fear and anger that lies in the hearts of many Americans. This fear and anger I speak of, however, I do not assign to the “alt-right” but rather those of us who are tired of the constant divide in this country, especially the racial divides. On the topic of heritage or hate, I see both sides as well as the gray area between the two. This gray area that seems to be spreading more and more is what concerns many people. Within this area lies those who are willing to protect their so-called heritage through hateful means. It is funny that some white nationalists feel as if there is a plot out against white people when that is simply not the case. This is not just a case of being a sore loser over the results of the civil war or even about feeling attacked; it is simply this: intolerance for other races. For someone to view the fight for equality that black people have been fighting for decades as an attack on their own race is purely ignorant. To view the melting pot which is America to be tainted or faulty because the color within the pot contains shades outside of your own is appalling. There is nothing wrong with commemorating the past and acknowledging our country’s rich history. However, there is an incredible wrong in trying to use that history as a vice against people of color. Rather the vice is in the form of the Confederate flag, Confederate statues, or parks named after Confederate generals; it doesn’t matter. If these relics are being used as a way to commemorate and continue hatred towards other races and the so-called “alt-left,” then I firmly believe that for the good of this country, it’s time to get rid of such things.
ReplyDeleteI think the president had a responsibility to respond swiftly and effectively following tragedies and controversies such as the events in Charlottesville. He failed to do so on terms of swiftness and on terms of effectiveness. He should have condemned the violence that took place the day it happened, and been less vague about his condemnation of hate. The debate that has arose following the events in Charlottesville is whether or not statues commemorating the Confederacy, such as the statue of Robert E. Lee that the protest in Charlottesville centered around, should be taken down. I see both sides, but I believe that some of these statues should be taken down. Many of the people arguing for the preservations of these monuments say that to take down these statues and rename these parks is an attempt to change history, and I can understand that. However those who say it is an attempt to erase culture, I disagree with completely. The culture that mourns the death of the confederacy as "the lost cause" is an unhealthy culture. Sure, Lee was an amazing General, and despite the slavery aspect and the side he fought on, it can be argued he was a man of amazing morals. And sure, Stonewall Jackson was a great general. But they are looked on by many as saints and that is just unhealthy. If anything can be done to lesson the idolatry of the confederacy by such a large portion of the south, then it should be done with all haste. Those who say that it is history, and the statues were put up with the intention to keep history alive, should look at the history themselves. The majority of these statues were put up after reconstruction with the goal to intimidate blacks and 'remind them of their place'. These statues should be taken down. However, perhaps it is wise if they should be moved to a museum, and not destroyed. And those who argue that all statues that were put up of confederate figures are symbols of hate, I disagree as well. In some cases, like the "recumbent statue" of Robert E Lee on the campus of Washington & Lee, they were put up with non malicious motives. But symbols are what people make of them. And like the Nazis adopted the swastika and turned a Hindu symbol into something evil, the rallying of white supremacists around the statue of Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville has given the 'symbol of hate' argument a ring of truth. It should be taken down.
ReplyDeleteAmerican citizens have the right to protest, but resorting to violence in order to achieve your goals is entirely un-American. The far left and the far right groups who have been waging small battles in streets across America should be ashamed of their actions. The removal of a Robert E. Lee statue is reasonable to me, but the Civil War should not be forgotten. I grew up in Henry County, and at the town square a monument to the Confederate soldiers stood, a memorial to men who died fighting in one of our nation's greatest struggles. No matter these men's beliefs, their actions in one of our nation's bloodiest and most significant struggles must not be forgotten. Let the markers dedicated to the men stand, but remove those of the generals. There should not be high watermarks of the confederacy, figures like Robert E. Lee, but somber reminders of the bravery and losses we sustained during the Civil War.
ReplyDeleteAmerican citizens have the right to protest, but resorting to violence in order to achieve your goals is entirely un-American. The far left and the far right groups who have been waging small battles in streets across America should be ashamed of their actions. The removal of a Robert E. Lee statue is reasonable to me, but the Civil War should not be forgotten. I grew up in Henry County, and at the town square a monument to the Confederate soldiers stood, a memorial to men who died fighting in one of our nation's greatest struggles. No matter these men's beliefs, their actions in one of our nation's bloodiest and most significant struggles must not be forgotten. Let the markers dedicated to the men stand, but remove those of the generals. There should not be high watermarks of the confederacy, figures like Robert E. Lee, but somber reminders of the bravery and losses we sustained during the Civil War.
ReplyDeleteAmerican Citizens have a right to protest as they see fit, but in my opinion, protesting for any pro-racist agenda such as what was being pushed for in Charlottesville is disgusting and entirely unacceptable. While freedom of speech does allow for people to speak their minds freely, the Charlottesville riots should remind us that we as an American people are not as far removed from racism as we would like to be.
ReplyDeleteThe recent political climate has been filled with hate and animosity on both sides. Republicans and Democrats have had an extreme split between the two of them. The events in Charlottesville were tragic. The controversy about the statue arose from the Alt Right and Confederacy supporters. The clash between the two groups lead to many injuries on both sides. The statues represent a part of history for some people, but statues of battles and generals. Statues of generals should be removed as they should not be honored for their actions. President Trump should have made an official statement and not supported the Pro-Confederate people.
ReplyDeleteI believe all Americans have the right of freedom of speech and the right to protest. It becomes a problem when violence gets involved. In Charlottesville, I believe there are people who believed the flag stands for tradition, but I also believe that some people use the flag in terms o racism. Most of the statues were put up to put down the newly freed Africa Americans after the Civil War. Unfortunately individuals define the group as whole which makes the whole defending the statues movement racist. The President should play the role as the peacemaker. He should pick a side which will cause more tension.
ReplyDeleteI personally find the argument "heritage not, hate" to be ridiculous especially when the use of the Confederate flag is involved. The flag goes hand in hand with the refusal of desegregation and it the article it self even states that. I believe that is it more important than ever that Confederate flag needs to stop being used.The Charlottesville incident along with the Dylann Roof one both illustrate extremely violent tendencies of people who support the flag and the Conference in generally.I also believe that it was completely unnecessary for President Trump to comment on the removal of the Confederate statues.
ReplyDeleteI personally find the argument "heritage not, hate" to be ridiculous especially when the use of the Confederate flag is involved. The flag goes hand in hand with the refusal of desegregation and it the article it self even states that. I believe that is it more important than ever that Confederate flag needs to stop being used.The Charlottesville incident along with the Dylann Roof one both illustrate extremely violent tendencies of people who support the flag and the Conference in generally.I also believe that it was completely unnecessary for President Trump to comment on the removal of the Confederate statues.
ReplyDeleteHeritage not hate blog
ReplyDeleteAlexandre H
The argument behind, "heritage not hate" is a fairly complicated one. This mantra is often chanted by two groups of people. The two groups are those who support the heritage aspect but they do not subscribe to racist views and then there are those who are white supremacists. While the former may truly be genuine in their beliefs, the latter most likely just say it because they feel like they have to in modern society, and conceal their true feelings. This blog is mainly aimed at the former, and why I believe that their claim is misunderstood. What I mean by this is that southerners who support their heritage do not seem to understand that the two go in tandem. You cannot have the heritage without the hate. If they choose to support and justify the reasons Confederate generals decided to take up arms, such as being taxed too much by the northerners or how they felt their states rights were being violated, that is fine. Those men were fighting because they were doing what they thought was right. We may have differences in what we think is right but I truly believe that all Americans have the right to have their opinion. The issue with this is that although they might have supported those beliefs, many Confederate generals were also fighting the war because they did not want slavery to be abolished. Nowadays, with the exception of the KKK, Alt-Right, the reactionary right wing etc. it is widely considered that slavery was an atrocity both morally and ethically. That being said, if southerners now choose to exonerate and memorialize these people through the statues; they must realize that they are condoning slavery too and therefore although they do not necessarily believe in it, they are condoning hate as well. That is not saying that one cannot agree with one aspect of someone’s ideology and disagree with one part of another, for this is possible. It becomes more complicated once you weigh the pros and cons of said ideology. For example, throughout his campaign President Trump repeatedly talked about both his plans to defeat ISIS and resolve the issues in North Korea. Both are things I agree need to be taken care of. However, the president’s strategy in accomplishing these tasks is something that I do not approve of. His strategy for handling ISIS involves “bombing the sh*t out of them” without much regard for civilian life, which if implemented would cause unnecessary death. In this case the cost for defeating ISIS is too high in my opinion, and therefore I cannot support that particular strategy nor ideology. While I agree with the issue, I will not support it because the other aspects that come with it are morally unacceptable. The same thing applies to heritage not hate. As mentioned earlier, there are those who say they do not support slavery or racism but yet they still support the continued erection of the statues because of the history it represents. To them the question must be asked, “is it ok to compromise your moral principles in order to hold onto your heritage?” I believe that the heritage does not go without the hate, and this is why the statues should come down. When referring to the recent events in Charlottesville, many (but not all) of the protesters who were in support of keeping the statues up were either sympathizers of the White Supremacist groups, or were involved with those groups directly as members. These people are those who fall into the second category of people I mentioned earlier, the white supremacists. They are exalting the beliefs of antiquity that most Americans today would call despicable. The president, who is supposed to be a man of the people, and for ALL Americans, should directly condemn these groups. He should condemn them because the hate they advocate is morally unacceptable and Un-American. Finally in my opinion, if he condemns hate towards Americans across the board, he should support the statues coming down, because there is no such thing as Heritage without Hate.
Heritage not hate blog
ReplyDeleteAlexandre H
The argument behind, "heritage not hate" is a fairly complicated one. This mantra is often chanted by two groups of people. The two groups are those who support the heritage aspect but they do not subscribe to racist views and then there are those who are white supremacists. While the former may truly be genuine in their beliefs, the latter most likely just say it because they feel like they have to in modern society, and conceal their true feelings. This blog is mainly aimed at the former, and why I believe that their claim is misunderstood. What I mean by this is that southerners who support their heritage do not seem to understand that the two go in tandem. You cannot have the heritage without the hate. If they choose to support and justify the reasons Confederate generals decided to take up arms, such as being taxed too much by the northerners or how they felt their states rights were being violated, that is fine. Those men were fighting because they were doing what they thought was right. We may have differences in what we think is right but I truly believe that all Americans have the right to have their opinion. The issue with this is that although they might have supported those beliefs, many Confederate generals were also fighting the war because they did not want slavery to be abolished. Nowadays, with the exception of the KKK, Alt-Right, the reactionary right wing etc. it is widely considered that slavery was an atrocity both morally and ethically. That being said, if southerners now choose to exonerate and memorialize these people through the statues; they must realize that they are condoning slavery too and therefore although they do not necessarily believe in it, they are condoning hate as well. That is not saying that one cannot agree with one aspect of someone’s ideology and disagree with one part of another, for this is possible. It becomes more complicated once you weigh the pros and cons of said ideology. For example, throughout his campaign President Trump repeatedly talked about both his plans to defeat ISIS and resolve the issues in North Korea. Both are things I agree need to be taken care of. However, the president’s strategy in accomplishing these tasks is something that I do not approve of. His strategy for handling ISIS involves “bombing the sh*t out of them” without much regard for civilian life, which if implemented would cause unnecessary death. In this case the cost for defeating ISIS is too high in my opinion, and therefore I cannot support that particular strategy nor ideology. While I agree with the issue, I will not support it because the other aspects that come with it are morally unacceptable. The same thing applies to heritage not hate. As mentioned earlier, there are those who say they do not support slavery or racism but yet they still support the continued erection of the statues because of the history it represents. To them the question must be asked, “is it ok to compromise your moral principles in order to hold onto your heritage?” I believe that the heritage does not go without the hate, and this is why the statues should come down. When referring to the recent events in Charlottesville, many (but not all) of the protesters who were in support of keeping the statues up were either sympathizers of the White Supremacist groups, or were involved with those groups directly as members. These people are those who fall into the second category of people I mentioned earlier, the white supremacists. They are exalting the beliefs of antiquity that most Americans today would call despicable. The president, who is supposed to be a man of the people, and for ALL Americans, should directly condemn these groups. He should condemn them because the hate they advocate is morally unacceptable and Un-American. Finally in my opinion, if he condemns hate towards Americans across the board, he should support the statues coming down, because there is no such thing as Heritage without Hate.
I believe in the right to protest against something that is degrading against what the United States stands for. What these white supremacist groups stand for is not what this country is about. They are the definition of a hate group. I believe they use the confederate flag as a form of racism, not so much tradition. They also resorted into violence, such as bringing pitchforks and tiki torches to try to send fear into their enemies. I do not understand why people that defend the confederate flag do it so strongly when they know that it was during a time when African Americans were at their lowest point in this country. The confederacy wanted slavery to stay in the United States, that is what Robert E Lee fought for. I understand people have relatives that fought for the confederacy, but I just don't get why some of these people tend to defend it so much when we are living in different times with much less racial boundaries. I believe President Donald Trump did a terrible job in speaking out about this. The president is supposed to speak for the people, but Trump blamed both sides. I also believe the confederate statues need to be taken down because they represent a man who believed in enslaving African Americans. That is not what our country is about anymore. We should not stand for hate to be spread among us anymore by these white supremacist groups.
ReplyDeleteThe events that took place in Charlottesville were unacceptable and disgraceful. The Klu Klux Klan is the epitome of backwoods trailer trash. Their logic and morals are absolutely absurd, and no one should have to face such discrimination and neglect. When it comes to Confederate monuments and the flag, I could care less if they were up or down. Today, the flag is deemed to be "racist." I believe it is and isn't. It IS racist because many of those who fly the flag want to make it known that they consider African-Americans to be beneath them. On the other hand, it ISN'T racist because some (very few) people fly the flag to recognize those who fell in the Civil War. I also believe the statues should stay up because we do not learn when we run from our wrongs. We learn when we face them.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the events that took place in Charlottesville have no place in this country. There should be no such thing as "white-nationalists protests" in the first place. Racism has plagued our nation ever since its founding, and the continuous feuding rarely seems to solve any problems. In regards to Confederate symbols being displayed in public, I think a number of things should be done. I think significant memorials with historical value should remain in their place because I find it ignorant of people to want to discard of history. On the other hand, there are some symbols and statues that are not so subtle in public and may be better off in a museum. For instance, a statue of somebody like Nathan Bedford Forrest is simply too controversial to be erected in a public square. It is the responsibility of the president to say the right things in the wake of such important debates. President Trump must be mindful in his speeches of the groups that are affected by these tragedies.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the events that took place in Charlottesville were and still are unlawful and immoral. There is no room in this country for so called "white-nationalists". While many want to say that racism does not exist as much in this country, it is evident that it not only exists, but is now being made public through social media. In regards to the Confederate flag, it does not really affect me whether it is raised or not. However, I do not think the flag is racist, although deemed racist by a large amount of people. I do not doubt that there are a lot of people that use the flag as a form of racial protest, mostly to establish their thought of "white supremacy". Because racial issues are a very prevalent problem in this country, President Trump's speeches should be thoroughly checked to make sure there are no groups offended by a phrase or what a phrase might imply.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to the Confederate Flag, some believe that the flag represents their heritage and culture, while others think the opposite; that it is racist and hateful. The argument behind "heritage, not hate" is a poorly supported one and is ridiculous. Racism and white supremacy in this country still exists and to hide it behind "heritage" is a shame. The events that occurred in Charlottesville only stirred the pot to an already hot topic in American society, especially in the African American community.
ReplyDeletePete Weil
In regards to the Confederate Flag, some believe that the flag represents their heritage and culture, while others think the opposite; that it is racist and hateful. The argument behind "heritage, not hate" is a poorly supported one and is ridiculous. Racism and white supremacy in this country still exists and to hide it behind "heritage" is a shame. The events that occurred in Charlottesville only stirred the pot to an already hot topic in American society, especially in the African American community.
ReplyDelete