From the City of Seattle
SEATTLE (August 16, 2017) – Today, Mayor Ed Murray issued the following statement:
“We must remove statues and flags that represent this country’s abhorrent history of slavery and oppression based on the color of people’s skin. It is the right thing to do. During this troubling time when neo-Nazis and white power groups are escalating their racist activity, Seattle needs to join with cities and towns across the country who are sending a strong message by taking these archaic symbols down.
“The monument to Confederate soldiers in the Lake View Cemetery is located on private property. My office has called the cemetery operator to express our concerns regarding the monument. As we continue our ongoing proactive work to be an inclusive and welcoming community, we must also join the fight against the mainstreaming of hateful and despicable far-right political ideology.”
OMG, It begins. The mayor calling for something to be moved from private property is outrageous. He doesn’t have to go there. He never has to see it, neither does anyone else. He has a lot of nerve pontificating about this. Should we ban the #7 bus?
Totally agree. To people have no ability to visualize what this kind of thing can lead to in the future?
All of those confederate soldiers were forgiven and died as US Citizens, by the way. Wasn’t aware that anyone is out in Lake View Cemetery “celebrating” the confederacy or slavery. Are we supposed to just pretend now that history never happened?
@harvey,
Yes the statue is on private property and the owner has every right to keep it. The city government cannot take that right away. However, the mayor has a right to speak out against it, he has the right to ask for its removal. Mayor Ed Murray is doing just that because it’s the right thing to do.
Unlike Donny who appeases to the alt-right and confederate sympathizers Ed Murray has used his position to lead against white nationalists.
Is the #7 bus celebrating racism and segregation? I don’t usually ride that line.
We have a farking statue of Lenin in Seattle, but you know…
Not only are Confederates losers, they attacked the United States of America at Ft. Sumter, then waged a war against us. They are traitors. Get rid of this anti-American crap. It’s not far from a tourist attraction that is very busy: the Lee graves. People are seeing this.
Across the street to the north of Lakeview is the GAR cemetery…Grand Army of the Republic which is dedicated to the Union veterans of the Civil War. Honor that one with a visit.
Ridiculous. It says “in memory of Confederate veterans,” not “in recognition of …” or “in appreciation of …”.
Many Confederate soldiers were conscripts. The CSA enacted the first general conscription in the United States, in fact. Conscription is a form of slavery and those who die as conscripts are victims. In the south the Civil War was known, as the time, as “a rich man’s war but a poor man’s fight.” (Persons who owned slaves were specifically exempted from conscription in the CSA army.)
Tear down all the memorials to Jefferson Davis and Braxton Bragg you want. But tear down a memorial to working people who were forced to die for the plutocracy’s evil cause? Give me a break.
A third of white Southern families owned slaves on average. In South Carolina and Mississippi about half of white families owned slaves. Stop writing history and excusing of hate and treason.
If you want to see memorials that are genuine to a past that should not be repeated, then look at Germany and Austria’s. They say “never again fascism” clearly on them, there’s no ambiguity. Somehow they weren’t confused by this debate, but then again destroyed their countries twice first.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitler_birthplace_memorial_stone#Installation_of_the_stone
It’s amazing how many white men in Seattle go out of their way to excuse the Confederacy and outdated monuments erected decades after the War, intended to rewrite history by “honoring” insurrection, treason, hate and slavery.
It’s private property in a cemetery. It’s not a monument in a public park dedicated to a confederate leader. It’s probably someone’s family member(s) who are buried there. I’m all for taking down confederate monuments but come on this is ridiculous.
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