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Accepting Ignoring Erasing
Author: Raine
Date: 08/24/2017 13:35:56
I hope we can learn from history. While many of the more conservative things people say that tearing down Confederate statues erases our history, they seem to forget another part of our history, right here in this nation.
This was more than a decade after another dark spot in political History. The 1924 Democratic Convention. 25 years later, many of the disrupters became the Dixiecrats.
Many people, although not enough, know of that Nazi demonstration at MSG, many do not know how many Nazi sympathizers and Nazi wannabes were living on our soil. In the years leading up to the war, Berlin forbade German Nationals living in America to join the organization.
But there it is. it is a fact that this happened in our Nation, it's one of many ugly times we have struggled through. We accept it, and in many cases try to change it to become better people or a better nation. To be a part of a more perfect union, as it were.
Contrast all of this with the current conversation about ‘the statue'’. It’s not about statues, it's about how we will define supremacy going forward. Case in point, the Virgina Republican Party.
It's not about a statue. It's about promoting the idea that white men are superior, much like the Bund -- here in America. The difference today is that those who side with white supremacy are upset because they are being exposed for exactly what they stand for. And here is the thing: they can believe what they want. If they want to change, fine, if not - fine. People have every right to believe in their hearts what they want. That said, any movement that exists to make sure other people are inferior -- it doesn't belong in a public square. It should not be celebrated.
How many statues do we see of American Nazi wannabes? Did we erase that culture/heritage? I say no, when we learn about it, we can accept it. We can learn from it. There will always be people who willfully ignore what it stands for -- but erase?
You can't erase history.
and 
Raine
Â
“22,000 Nazis Hold Rally In Garden,†blared a front-page headline in the New York Times. Inside, photos captured the restless throng of counterprotesters outside the arena and the Bund’s smiling uniformed leaders. “We need be in no doubt as to what the Bund would do to and in this country if it had the opportunity,†the Times opined in an editorial later that week. “It would set up an American Hitler.â€
Some 78 years after the Bund rally at Madison Square Garden, a new generation of hectoring troglodytes descended on Charlottesville, Virginia. In 1939, Brown Shirts at Madison Square Garden felt emboldened to seize a Jewish protester who had rushed the podium where the Bund’s German-born leader, Fritz Kuhn, was speaking and beat him near-senseless. In 2017, members of the so-called alt-right held a torchlight rally in Charlottesville, and the next day, one of those white nationalists went even further and allegedly used his car to mow down anti-Nazi protesters, killing a young woman, Heather Heyer.
(snip)
To be sure, historical comparisons are, to an extent, folly. For all the similarities between the Bund’s 1939 rally and the white nationalists' Charlottesville demonstration, there are substantial differences.
Fortunately, no one with Fritz Kuhn’s particular demagogic skill set has emerged to lead his neo-Nazi descendants, though there are those attempting to play the part. “I am worried that a Kuhn figure could marshal the disparate alt-right groups,†says Arnie Bernstein, “be it a Richard Spencer, David Duke or someone of that ilk.â€
Many people, although not enough, know of that Nazi demonstration at MSG, many do not know how many Nazi sympathizers and Nazi wannabes were living on our soil. In the years leading up to the war, Berlin forbade German Nationals living in America to join the organization.
But there it is. it is a fact that this happened in our Nation, it's one of many ugly times we have struggled through. We accept it, and in many cases try to change it to become better people or a better nation. To be a part of a more perfect union, as it were.
Contrast all of this with the current conversation about ‘the statue'’. It’s not about statues, it's about how we will define supremacy going forward. Case in point, the Virgina Republican Party.
In a two-part tweet on its official account posted shortly after noon, the state party took aim at Northam, the Democratic nominee for governor, whose great-great-grandfather owned eight slaves in 1860 and nine slaves in 1850 on Virginia’s rural Eastern Shore.
“.@RalphNortham has turned his back on his own family’s heritage in demanding monument removal (1/2),†it read. “Shows @RalphNortham will do anything or say anything to try and be #VAGov - #Pathetic 2/2.â€
The blowback was instant.
“I feel fine about turning my back on white supremacy. How does @EdWGillespie feel about the president’s position?†Northam tweeted in response, referring to his rival in the November election, former Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie.
It's not about a statue. It's about promoting the idea that white men are superior, much like the Bund -- here in America. The difference today is that those who side with white supremacy are upset because they are being exposed for exactly what they stand for. And here is the thing: they can believe what they want. If they want to change, fine, if not - fine. People have every right to believe in their hearts what they want. That said, any movement that exists to make sure other people are inferior -- it doesn't belong in a public square. It should not be celebrated.
How many statues do we see of American Nazi wannabes? Did we erase that culture/heritage? I say no, when we learn about it, we can accept it. We can learn from it. There will always be people who willfully ignore what it stands for -- but erase?
You can't erase history.
and Raine
Â
