The fact that it’s historical doesn’t make it less racist
In the town of Butler, GA, a display commemorating the town’s WWII veterans resides in the courthouse. There are two lists of names. Is one for the living who returned home vs. those who died on the battlefield? Of course not. One would just need to look at the top of each list to know how they are categorized. One reads “White”, the other reads “Colored”.
Now, granted, this was put up in 1944 and we realize that this was a different time in our country. But, come on, isn’t it time to make some changes? The county commission has created a second, integrated list that for all those same service members and some they missed but, they also plan on keeping this up. They offer the following rationales for doing so:
“If we erase everything we find offensive or don’t like, then it may happen again,” said Sybil Willingham, chairwoman of the county’s Historic Preservation Commission.
“The two existing lists are not to be taken down because it’s against the law and it’s historic,” she said, citing a law that makes it unlawful for people to “mutilate, deface, defile, or abuse” public monuments honoring servicemembers.
Now, you may not be able to “mutilate, deface, defile, or abuse” such monuments but, I don’t see “remove” on this list so, why not just take it down?
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I think you won’t want to take it down for the same reason they don’t bulldoze the German concentration camps. We need to be able to see where were have been to realize we must never return. Is it racist? Of course it is and thats why it *must* remain - lest we forget!
July 1st, 2007 at 9:35 pm