How about we completely erase history?
For some reason, liberals have focused with laser-like attention on confederate statues recently.
Their ultimate goal?
The destruction and removal of all of them.
Most recently, Governor Ralph Northam of Virginia has announced the famous Robert E Lee statue in Richmond will be removed.
The governor’s announcement comes after the statue was defaced by Black Lives Matter protesters.
Take a look at the latest details from USA Today on the statue’s proposed removal:
The statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that has towered over this Virginia city for more than 100 years will be removed “as soon as possible,” Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday.
The news came after days of protest surrounding the Lee statue and other Confederate monuments on the city’s Monument Avenue, sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and protests against racial inequality around the country.
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney said Thursday he would propose to the city council that the four other Confederate memorials be removed, too.
“Ladies and gentleman, it’s time. It’s time. It’s time to put an end to the lost cause and fully embraced the righteous cause. It’s time to replace the racist symbols of oppression and inequality,” Stoney said at a news conference Thursday.
“Richmond is no longer the capital of the Confederacy,” he added.
On a mostly cloudless, hot and muggy day, demonstrations continued around the statue as cars drove by honking.
James Kelley, 29, works at Virginia Museum of fine Arts and has been attending the protests for several days.
“I see a lot of people that talk about history, and how important that is. At the same time, you got to remember the history of the other side, and those that were afflicted by people like Robert E. Lee, and those who fought for the Confederacy,” said Kelley, who wore a bright yellow bicycle vest marked with the words Justice for George Floyd.”
Northam said that the statue of Lee, owned by the state, will be placed in storage until there is community discussion to determine its future.
The four other Confederate statues on Monument Avenue are owned by the city, and a new state law goes into effect July 1 that allows localities to determine whether to remove their Confederate memorials.
Watch the governor’s announcement right here:
Regardless of the fact that he led the Confederate army, Robert E Lee is arguably one of the greatest generals in American history.
Now he’ll be relegated to a storage facility.
ABC News reported on residents’ reactions to the statue’s removal:
One day after Richmond officials announced plans to propose a city ordinance to remove Confederate statues sharing Monument Avenue with Robert E. Lee, 8News has learned that ordinance could also include taking down Confederate statues beyond city streets.
Sitting high on Libby Hill in Richmond, the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument stand tall. Its future and that of other Confederate statues not erected on Monument Avenue remain uncertain, however.
City Parks and Recreation says the city owns the statue, in addition to the Fitzhugh Lee Cross, the General Wickham statue in Monroe Park and the A.P. Hill monument where Hermitage Road meets Laburnum Avenue.
But after a proposal by Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney and City Councilmen Michael Jones that would week to remove Confederate statues on Monument Avenue – including JEB Stuart, Stonewall Jackson and Matthew Fontaine Maury – was announced, Jones told 8News, “If we’re sweeping one, we should sweep them all.”
So, how do locals feel?
Trudy Lorenc, who frequents to Richmond for work, told 8News, “It’s a part of history, you can’t change it. This is where we done come from, here is where we are going. Put up something that’s going to show where we are going too.”
Yet, Shaylin Conklin is opposed to the statues continuing to stand tall, telling 8News, “At the end of the day it still is history, I mean whether we like it or not. So, the fact that, you know, they are here being able to ride past them every day is not a good thing. But also, We still want to remember what they did just not to the point that we ride past it every day.”
Users quickly jumped on Twitter to provide input on the situation:
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