Yep. His admin was utterly awful for the Indigenous. However, in regards to slavery he's a genuinely complicated case, as opposed to say, Thomas Jefferson who utterly understood his keeping slaves was at odds with the ideals of freedom he espoused, but never stopped being a slaveholder because he couldn't maintain his rank and status and farm without enslaved labor (and even WITH unpaid labor managed to go near-broke many times). Something that simply must be acknowledge about him is that his ideal of a nation of "gentleman farmers" practically REQUIRED slave labor to exist as the only way a "farmer" is going to have enough free time to become a well-educated gentleman by TJ's standards would be to to have both the capital and the free time to study that in the south pretty much required being a slave owner (a handful of the New England colonies had figured it out by then, but even good lawyer and not so great guy John Adams pretty much had to let his wife run their farm while he was lawyering and politicking). Many as we called them "Renaissance/Well-Learned Men" required a LOT of unpaid or underpaid labor to support them so they had the time to study and become the men they became.
Incidentally TJ often referred to taking up arms to secure liberty when he himself did not battle in the Revolution (he was the envoy to France). Dude may have been a great writer, but that came with the ability to make it look like he understood more of certain subjects than he did. Like farming.
He also had a habit of appointing corrupt people leading to a ton of profiteering from his administration. Unlike some I could mention, this appears to have been more from incompetence than any criminality on his part, but still.
More importantly he's in the history books. There are lot of things that we don't have statues of, or monuments for, but we still remember them and future generations will still learn about them, because they're in history books.
My city is named after Christopher Columbus. There's a statue of him in front of city hall. The city administration has decided to remove that statue. I dread the first time someone asks me what the name of my city means, and I have to answer, "I don't know."
Also, too: the original inhabitants of North America -- the only people who might have any legitimate birthright claim to it -- absolutely hate Mt. Rushmore (and also the Crazy Horse monument being blasted into another one of their holy mountains). Much as I despised the Taliban for blowing up those Buddhas, I'd shed no tears for us finally dynamiting that shit.
Grant's family (father/mother, etc.) had a long history of supporting abolitionists. Grant was raised to reject owning a fellow human being. He doesn't get enough credit for it.
I cannot even fathom what it must be like to be a black person, surrounded by these statues. The closest I get is having to listen to Ford and Shakespeare (and Isabella and Ferdinand.... anyway...) being venerated CONSTANTLY. If there were also statues of Hitler and Goebbels around? Tear it all down, folks. Tear it all down.
Yep. His admin was utterly awful for the Indigenous. However, in regards to slavery he's a genuinely complicated case, as opposed to say, Thomas Jefferson who utterly understood his keeping slaves was at odds with the ideals of freedom he espoused, but never stopped being a slaveholder because he couldn't maintain his rank and status and farm without enslaved labor (and even WITH unpaid labor managed to go near-broke many times). Something that simply must be acknowledge about him is that his ideal of a nation of "gentleman farmers" practically REQUIRED slave labor to exist as the only way a "farmer" is going to have enough free time to become a well-educated gentleman by TJ's standards would be to to have both the capital and the free time to study that in the south pretty much required being a slave owner (a handful of the New England colonies had figured it out by then, but even good lawyer and not so great guy John Adams pretty much had to let his wife run their farm while he was lawyering and politicking). Many as we called them "Renaissance/Well-Learned Men" required a LOT of unpaid or underpaid labor to support them so they had the time to study and become the men they became.
Incidentally TJ often referred to taking up arms to secure liberty when he himself did not battle in the Revolution (he was the envoy to France). Dude may have been a great writer, but that came with the ability to make it look like he understood more of certain subjects than he did. Like farming.
He also had a habit of appointing corrupt people leading to a ton of profiteering from his administration. Unlike some I could mention, this appears to have been more from incompetence than any criminality on his part, but still.
More importantly he's in the history books. There are lot of things that we don't have statues of, or monuments for, but we still remember them and future generations will still learn about them, because they're in history books.
It horrified him that abolitionists wished to "associate and amalgamate with the Negro," which my wife has freely done for 13 years.
21 years on July 9th for us. guess it's all that reefer madness I've been hearing about.
Me also, too
Yeah, but that involves reading and we know how the Trump cult feels about that.
Assholes who had nothing to say when Steve Miller et al started bitching about The New Colossus step up to defend statue of liberty. Details at 11.
"Why is our national anthem is just a bad poem about a fire?" - Laurie Anderson
My city is named after Christopher Columbus. There's a statue of him in front of city hall. The city administration has decided to remove that statue. I dread the first time someone asks me what the name of my city means, and I have to answer, "I don't know."
I was assured they were in the mail.
Also, too: the original inhabitants of North America -- the only people who might have any legitimate birthright claim to it -- absolutely hate Mt. Rushmore (and also the Crazy Horse monument being blasted into another one of their holy mountains). Much as I despised the Taliban for blowing up those Buddhas, I'd shed no tears for us finally dynamiting that shit.
Grant's family (father/mother, etc.) had a long history of supporting abolitionists. Grant was raised to reject owning a fellow human being. He doesn't get enough credit for it.
My late father was a genealogy buff.
He found out that he, and therefore I, am descended from Francis Scott Key through one of my great-grandmothers.
I don't mourn the statue, and I don't get PO'd if anyone refrains from standing for the national anthem.
I cannot even fathom what it must be like to be a black person, surrounded by these statues. The closest I get is having to listen to Ford and Shakespeare (and Isabella and Ferdinand.... anyway...) being venerated CONSTANTLY. If there were also statues of Hitler and Goebbels around? Tear it all down, folks. Tear it all down.
Conservatives aren't afraid of protesters or liberals “erasing history." They're afraid that we'll create a new and better future.
Ding. Ding. Ding.They should be scared - we're working on it right now.
Hey, that was just the one Defenestration of Prague!