In a move the proves GovCo thinks you're stupid, a Confederate monument in uptown Charlotte, has been "relocated to a city warehouse".
 |
| Photo Credit WCNC Dianne Gallagher |
City spokesperson claimed the monument was being cleaned, but had no answer as to when the moumument would return or why sod was being laid by grounds crew where the granite stone honored confederate troops once stood.
Charlotte police believe the monument was spray painted between 6 p.m. Tuesday and 6:45 a.m. Wednesday.
NC lawmakers introduced a bill back in February that would make it harder to remove monuments like the ones vandalized. Senate Bill 22 would forbid the removal of any memorial, statue or plaque that commemorates part of North Carolina's history without state approval.
Cedars Take: Utter Bullshit! Frankly I don't care about the monument but we have a city county government that continually lies to taxpayers, whether it is re-valuation, storm water fees, water bills, tax increases, mental health care operation, travel expenses for council and the mayor, the street car, Time Warner Cable Arena, or Panthers Stadium improvements. The list is unending and troubling and proves they think you are stupid!
Monday July 20, 2015 Cedar Update: Contrary to reports in both print and digital media that Senate Bill 22 was just introduced, it was in fact presented in February and passed the NC Senate in April. As recently as July 20th democrats tried to add amendments to limit protection of confederate memorials and statues were defeated.
The above copy has been edited to correct the bills submission date.
11 comments:
AWESOME news!
The only people who could find this little stone monument offensive are the black race baiters who have thrived on "you ________ me because I'm B-L-A-C-K"
Well rave baiters, that excuse don't work no more.
"The only people who could find this little stone monument offensive are the black race baiters who have thrived on "you ________ me because I'm B-L-A-C-K", AND ANYONE who has a semblance of intelligence, will find it racist; the SAD part is some of you people that find there is NOTHING wrong with this, actually THINK that you are NOT racist, after all I did say SOME, the rest of you S.O.B.'s are card carrying racist cowards, that talk big in the dark, but has little bark in the presence of those that they resent and dislike. EVERYONE needs to "favorite" this site, it reminds of us those that possess the scary and often comical mentality that if, given a chance will lynch, kill and destroy everyone that does NOT look like them!
Mentality like this (July 21st @ 6:30AM) what got that the brakes beat off that Klansman at the SC rally, tell us how did that work out by the way?! LMAO!
July 21, 2015 at 6:30AM, is either a retired racist from the force, a current one that is still on there or a crunch & munch , jelly doughnut eating, wannabe cop dispatcher! Thanks for telling me about this site S.M.!
The article is about local government saying one thing and doing another. Whichever side you are on, whether you are glad the monument is gone or not, the city's government was dishonest about it.
Pro monument people should be mad it is being removed under false pretenses. Government is being dishonest and hopes you won't notice.
Anti monument people should be mad because local government doesn't have the balls to take your side, only to remove the monument to avoid you speaking out against them. Government doesn't care about you; they just want you to shut up and vote for the incumbents in the next election cycle.
City government doesn't pander to the black community because "Black lives matter," they do it because "Black votes matter."
So, they win, because you two groups are bickering with each other and they take the side that is politically advantageous.
We have a huge race problem in this country. Both Whites and Blacks are to blame. There are racists on both sides. There are whites that hate blacks, and blacks that hate whites. Very small numbers on each side that are truly like this.
Advance yourself, not your people. Advance morality, fairness, and judging each person and situation independently and based on facts.
If you can do this then we as a people will prosper. Not just Black people. Not just White people. Just PEOPLE in general.
If you believe I "think" or "am" a certain way because of my skin color, or if you think that about anyone, then you are a racist.
Accusing someone of being racist because of their skin color is racism because you are negatively generalizing and stereotyping.
(continued)
I'm white. If the above statements (or just my skin color) make you think I'm a racist, then you are a bona fide idiot and your parents probably were too to raise you like that.
Same goes for all the whites that truly believe black people are all the same. But I will tell you one thing, we all have a problem in common: low information sources.
This includes media pundits, pastors, deacons, coworkers, friends wtf-ever where they spoon feed you that the other side is the problem and that you are defenseless (and on the right side). This perpetuates the "us and them" mentality on both sides, which feeds racial tension.
Do your own homework. Make your own judgement calls If you go to church and your pastor has a view on race, do your homework. Don't accept his opinion as gospel, because it is not gospel. He is a pastor, not a sociologist, not an expert on race relations. If he is telling you to do something or think in a way about current events, that falls outside of "love your fellow man" he is preaching outside of his area of expertise. You may as well as your dentist or plumber for advice on race relations.
If you don't do your own homework and only take advice from people who are not qualified or well informed (without doing your homework afterwards) then your opinion is formed with minimal information and really doesn't command much respect. When someone then disagrees, they are not a racist. It just means a different point of view, where maybe they listened to their pastor and you listened to yours. You are both wrong in this case. You both didn't form your own opinions. You listened to what someone else wanted to you to hear, and now you think they way they want you to think.
And if each of you want to duke it out at the state house in Columbia, screw both of you; its hot down there and I'm staying home.
We live in a country where emotion trumps law and evidence. If this mentality works for you now, just wait to someone from the opposing side gets in power. The erosion of rights that you support today, this emotional mob rule where symbols, people and groups are condemned and removed based on relatively uneducated assessments will come back to harm your children, grandchildren, etc.
You preserve rights and the rule of law because you never know who will be in power down the road. If you destroy safeguards to keep a leash on government, someone who hates you may be in power in 2020. What do you do then? I wouldn't protest that government openly; it may not end well.
(continued)
We should be working to preserve individual rights, enforcement of laws on the books, evidence based conclusions both in and out of the criminal justice system, and true citizenship. Citizenship is not a status, nor a checkbox on a form. It is the act of being a citizen, accepting the responsibilities of such and appreciating the need to exercise your position with integrity.
Instead we have the KKK vs. some incarnation of the Black Power movement clashing in Columbia (no disrespect, I just really don't know who the group actually is).
Both groups are wrong, both are extreme. You want black power? Well you enjoyed the "equality and fairness" of generations of white power the KKK supports, so I'm sure you can see how the white community feels when the notion of "no justice no peace" comes forth in protests with black power signs in the crowd.
Translation of this to outsiders: "no justice, no peace" is construed as "if we don't get our way we'll tear shit up, we don't care whether it is legal, or if legal measures are followed. Do as we wish or we destroy shit." Combine this with chants of "black power" and you basically have, "we [black people as a group] get our way or we will resort to violence and crime. We don't want equality, we just want our way."
If you consider that the only articulable desires that come from these sorts of protests are calls for the conviction of white police officers no matter what evidence may be present to clear them of wrongdoing (under the vague guise of "justice"), and even before you yourself know of the evidence in either direction, you can see how I, as a white person feel for you (aka I understand that there is real racism out there) but can't take your protesting seriously.
The protests are inherently against due process, appreciation of evidence, patience for the facts to come out, and threaten violence and property loss if you don't get your way. Sorry, I can't support that set of values!
By the way, where was everyone on this rebel flag issue 6 months ago? If all these monuments are truly, truly so offensive, then why is 2015 a better time to act than 2014? Truly, I'd love to know!
Anton
Wow, 6:11. Thank you. I started to type out a comment last night and the right words just were not coming out, so I deleted everything and just prayed on it. Your post(s) embody much of how I, also white, see this situation.
Specifically to your point on the Old City Hall monument:
While I do not necessarily agree that the City has lied - I can understand that perception. On the other hand, I think it was a wise decision to keep the monument out of public while the whole Kerrick-Ferrell trial is ongoing. This will help preserve the monument and prevent it from being continuously damaged and cost the taxpayers more than one restoration. Perhaps I am too glued to my rose-colored glasses; at any rate I agree - for years monuments from coast to coast have stood - unaware to most citizens.
And, in general on the "Race Relations Issues in America":
The lack of education, especially given such accessible information (i.e. google, library, and the like), is appalling. Instead of an attitude of, "That's an interesting thought... perhaps I will edify myself further on the subject" it's the group-think mentality.
Plus, when we (as a society) are only seeing things as black or white, we miss all the colors in between. And when we only see things "in color" we miss all the other qualities altogether.
I was speaking to a friend, who is a native from Kenya, I was advised that race-relations is not something unique to the US. And in fact, as bad as we think we have it here, we truly are a progressive society in comparison to the rest of the world.
Part of the issue, in my opinion, is that we allow ourselves to speak and think in terms of race and ethnicity - and probably worst of all, we allow the media and politicians to do the same. This only perpetuates the issue (again, in my opinion).
If we could simply live, and be, respect one another, and embrace the differences that each individual has to offer, I would like to think that all the other b.s. would fall to the wayside. Sometimes it's best to let a sleeping dog lie. And please don't get me wrong, I do not mean to imply that "ignoring" our differences is the answer or solution. I simply mean that we be aware of the differences, but not let it influence our ability to "play nice" together.
Think about young kids on the playground: they are able to physically see that the other kids might look different, speak differently, etc. And yet, they still have some of that innocence where it's not a deal-breaker. Kids that have never met before can have such fun and create wonderful memories at the park, museum, etc.
It reminds me of a day when my uncle took me to Freedom Park, years ago. I met a little girl about my same age, and we had one of the best imaginative play days I can recall. To this day, I don't remember her name, or where she was from, or any of that. I do remember she had a short bob haircut with sandy-blond hair. She had some type of physical handicap - but I don't even remember much about that - it was either an arm or a leg. But truthfully none of that matters.
She and I played as if we were train conductors going across the country on some "excursion". That was such a big word for me at that age: excursion. I remember that when I had first arrived at the park with my uncle (and cousins and brothers) I was feeling kind of out of place. They are all a good bit younger, and so the time spent playing with that little girl was so memorable to me.
Long story short, kids have the ability to not get lost in the noise of this world. As grown-ups, we could all benefit from a taste of that innocence every now and then.
(continued from 10:58)
Oh - and interesting thought: on the local news one evening this week - someone from within Charlotte's Muslim community pleaded during an interview for the community to not batch all Muslim's into the same "group" as Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez (the accused shooter from the Tennessee Marine killings). It seems that is perfectly acceptable, however then, why is it seemingly unacceptable for Heritage groups such as SCV to ask for separation between Heritage-supporters and the KKK?
There was a symposium this week about Diversity in the Community - very interesting as a matter of fact. I don't 100% agree with one of the speaker's thoughts on Heritage being a perpetuation of Hate. That being said, there were in fact some very good items discussed, especially the "subtle racism" of how news stories are presented. I think in the back of my mind, I "know" that media is not the unbiased journalism that it once was - but one speaker pointed out photographs of Kerrick and Ferrell, that could very well lead readers to draw conclusions, without all the evidence. (On the flip side, who's to say the family didn't provide those pictures, perhaps it's not the media 100% - but perhaps it is so).
Very interesting stuff -- and here's a good overview for anyone interested in checking it out http://www.charlotteagenda.com/10505/diversity-matters-a-community-dialogue-about-the-charleston-9-and-the-confederate-flag/
I'm all for educating myself and others; and I'm continually disheartened by the individual who continues to comment using the phrase "just because they don't look like you". That kind of goes back to my earlier point about childlike-innocence. I look nothing like anyone else in this world. I may have some commonalities, yes. But there's a mentality of "I'm black, er African American, therefore I can't possibly be racist." And that simply is not true. Anyone, anywhere, anytime, who thinks or speaks in unfounded generalities can be racist, sexist, agist, classist, etc.
If I haven't invited you to my home for dinner, you should not automatically assume it's because of your race. Perhaps we have nothing in common - perhaps we really are not that close - or perhaps it's not a great idea because of a subordinate/superior work relationship - perhaps I'm embarrassed about my home situation. I think as humans we often assume the worst, when we feel excluded, and equally as often our assumptions are based in emotion and not fact. And when we don't discuss and air out the miscommunication worsens. You think I'm racist for not having you over for dinner, and so (even if unintentionally) you start being snippy and rude at work. You think you're teaching me a lesson, but what you're teaching me is that you're snippy and rude. Which, I have no tolerance for, so I start talking to you less and less, and only when absolutely necessary.... see where this is going? It's a no-win situation.
I watched a news cast recently put out there by the Gaston Gazette -- if I talked about this in another comment please forgive me -- at any rate the moderator who worked for the Gazette was (in my opinion) offering leading questions to the local NAACP representative. Where he was not doing such for the SCV representative. And while I did not 100% agree with everything the SCV representative discussed, I was rather disappointed at the information spewing from the NAACP rep. It was actually a wonderful display of educated information vs. emotional opinion not fact.
I think that is all for now. Good night CP and CP-family.
Thanks for the positive comments, Mr./Ms. 10:58-59. I am a bit more inflammatory than you, which is something you can take as a compliment.
"Manufactured outrage" is a rare thing. But, it is quite contagious due to convenience and the history of our country. It is not exclusive to one color, race, religion or background.
I too, had friends of varying colors and impediments growing up as a small child in elementary school. Weren't those the halycon times.
Even meeting some of those same people later (as we went to school and our mothers were friends, albeit, not terribly in touch with one another), there would be some cultural tension that was apparent, though not felt when we met as teens.
I abhor the aforementioned experience, as I can meet a person of color today, whether it be at a gas station, hospital, or other impromptu venue and there is no animosity. Contrarily, there is a friendliness and level of congeniality that comes forth only when you don't know someone and the interaction is brief and light.
I suppose that is an example or proof positive of what is before us today. It shouldn't be this way. Some blame slavery, others blame an over-blaming of slavery. Both are partially correct. You can't ignore the past and you can't disregard it. It can't mean "nothing" but it also cannot define all of the future if the individuals on this world today work to overcome it. But this must be within reason and within the confines of law and common sense. Anything else is a downgrade of society, which negatively impacts each of us.
Antondostler@yahoo.com
Post a Comment