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| Maybe only the 'Secret Police' are okay.... |
There is a sign currently being circulated by Antifa that
depicts the Thin Blue Line as being a symbol of white supremacy. I think that
little fact will come as a really big surprise to my brothers and sisters back
in the NYPD and law enforcement in general. While I am no longer active in law
enforcement, my novels tend to be very pro-cop, so I wonder if that makes me a Fascist Emeritus?
I’m not of course, but facts are a tad bit subjective these
days. In fact, a lot of things seem to be very subjective and to be honest with
you it is more than a little bit frightening. It seems as if we are hurtling
headlong into George Orwell's 1984 and we are too busy fighting with one another to even notice it.
Case in point: Charlottesville, Virginia
Now, to be perfectly honest, prior to August 13th, I had no
idea where this city was located, but I do now and for all the wrong reasons.
Charlottesville is a city in Virginia. It is home to the University of
Virginia, whose core campus was designed by Thomas Jefferson. On the outskirts,
Jefferson’s mountain-top plantation, Monticello, includes a mansion and rebuilt
slave quarters. It is also the gateway to Shenandoah National Park, along a
section of the Blue Ridge Mountains. In other words it is probably a really
nice place to visit, unless of course you happen to be the type of person whose
travel bag contains batons, shields, face masks, or other similar items.
The origins of the post you are reading originated in a
reply to a friend’s Facebook post, but have morphed beyond that, as I
contemplated all that has unfolded recently.
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| Robert E. Lee Memorial in Charlottesville, Va |
At the heart of the Charlottesville incident is the statue
of General Robert E. Lee, which has been on display in the park since
1924. What is unusual about this
situation is that the statue is actually one of four in Charlottesville
commissioned by philanthropist Paul Goodloe McIntire. The other statues being:
George Rogers Clarke, General Thomas ‘Stonewall’ Jackson and Meriwether Lewis,
William Clark & Sacagawea. In fact, the statues sit in parks that were purchased
by McIntire and then donated to the city, one of which is named Washington
Park, after Booker T. Washington. All four statues are listed on the National Register
of Historic Places.
What occurred in Charlottesville was certainly abhorrent,
but we also need to be intellectually honest when we look at it. Whatever your
feelings, the ‘Unite the Right’ protest was legal. The organizers had secured
the proper permits and had every right to be there. Now, that does not mean I
agree with them, but I can accept that they had a legitimate right to assemble
and protest what they believed, which was simply the city of Charlottesville’s
decision to remove the Lee statue, as well as the Jackson statue, and dispose
of it as they chose. That’s a serious point here. Several groups, including
descendants of the original donor, questioned the city’s authority to dispose
of the donated statues. In May, a court injunction was secured, barring the
removal for six months, pending a legal decision.
Now some have tried to paint this as a clash between the
right and left, but that seems lazy to me, because at its heart the issue, in
this case the Civil War, is extremely complex. Whether you agree with President
Trump or not, he was actually right. He said that there were really bad people
there, as well as some good people, on both sides. The simple truth was that
not everyone there protesting was a white supremacist; nor where they a member
of Antifa. Some were just ordinary folks who were either for or against
removing a statue. They didn’t come with batons, shields or facemasks, like the
radical folks on both sides did; they just came to lend their voice and then
things got out of hand, quickly.
As someone who spent over two decades in law enforcement, I
have been on the front lines of some of these clashes. They are never pretty,
but often they are very predictable. Both sides showed up intent on doing to
each other exactly what happened and the good people, those who had an honest
reason for being there, get lumped in to their respective sides. Tragically,
many were injured as a result and three people, one protester and two state
troopers, died.
Was it worth it? Obviously the answer is a resounding NO.
There should be no place in our society for racism or
bigotry, but sadly that will never change.
Throughout the history of humanity it has always existed and
I fear that it always will. I know there are folks who honestly believe that we
can all peacefully co-exist, yet they are unable to point to any example of
this ever happening. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t strive for it, but let us
also be honest in our assessment of the situation. The truth of the matter is
that people of every color can be racist.
It's not shocking to me that this is such a hot button
topic, but it seems that we are inching ever closer to opening Pandora's Box.
In terms of statues, my personal belief is that they shouldn't be removed. They
are memorials. Now some folks will say that these statues represent oppression
to some, and I can understand that, but my question to them is when does it all
end?
Do we create a blue-ribbon commission on statues and
designate the position of Federal Statue Monitor? What statues should be up for
consideration? Only confederate statues? What about statues of Jesus or Mahatma
Gandhi? Should military personnel or even former U.S. Presidents be considered
for the chopping block? What about statues honoring Native Americans? How about
Martin Luther King, Jr. and, dare I even say it, what about Walt Disney?
Think this is me being ridiculous? Well, I can actually
provide you with examples of all of the above being deemed offensive by some and
calls for their removal.
What about the ‘questionable’ statues in Statuary Hall in
the United States Capitol? Speaking of the Capitol, should we rename the Russell
Office building? He was pro segregation. When will the West Virginia Capitol be
asked to remove their statue of Senator Robert Byrd; who held the title of
Exalted Cyclops in his local KKK chapter. I recently heard someone defend him,
saying that he had apologized. Robert E. Lee called slavery a ‘moral and
political evil,’ but no one seems to be cutting him any slack.
What about street names? Highways? How about military
installations?
For a moment let us be intellectually honest here and admit
that somewhere, someone will be offended by something.
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| The (former) Durham, NC Civil War Memorial |
Coming on the heels of the Charlottesville clash, a statue
was torn down in Durham, North Carolina, by a bunch of insufferable little
pricks and prickettes. That might sound harsh to some of you, but I have zero
fucks to give for anyone who defaces a war memorial. The statue was not of
Jefferson Davis, or Robert E. Lee, or any other notable figure of the Civil
War. It was a common soldier and the inscription simply read: In Memory of the
Boys Who Wore the Gray.
This was a memorial to those who fought and died. There was
no justification in destroying that.
What’s next, should we advocate for desecrating graveyards?
Before you pop up and say that’ll never happen, guess what,
it’s already been done.
Some have argued that there should be no statues that recognize
bad regimes, such as Nazi Germany, but I can attest to the fact that there are WWII
war memorials in Germany and they shouldn't be removed either. We can have an
honest discussion as to memorials which honor heroes of the south such as General
Lee, and where they should be placed, but where does it end?
Who gets to determine which group’s opinion trumps the
others?
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| Welcome to Washington, Comrade Vlad, care for a decadent cup of Starbuck's Coffee? |
Honestly, we are quickly approaching Orwellian territory
here with our revisionist history.
We have folks losing their minds over a statue honoring a
general, who was not only revered in the south, but also highly respected in
the north, yet we have a statue in Washington State for Communist revolutionary
leader, Vladimir Lenin.
Let that sink in for a moment.
What about the bust of Lenin in L.A., or how about the depiction of
Lenin on top of the Red Square apartment building in NYC?
Lenin's Russian Revolution resulted in the deaths of
millions of people. Okay, so you say that on the grand scale of bad things
Lenin wasn’t that horrible. What about Josef Stalin? Because we also have a
statue of him in the United States. It’s in that hot bed of political
correctness known as Virginia.
Will Antifa be marching the ninety miles to Bedford, Va. to
demand that it also be torn down? Seeing as how they lean decidedly toward the ‘social’
end of the spectrum I think not.
When the Stalin statue was put up veterans were offended and
called for its removal, but no one cared for their opinion. I guess they aren’t
the right class of offended people.
The truth is that slavery was wrong and reprehensible, but
let us also acknowledge the fact that it was also legal then. I’m not
justifying it, but I am making a point.
Lately I have heard talk equating General Lee with being a
terrorist. If we look at things through that type of revisionist lens, then so were
the Founding Fathers. I’m pretty sure we can find a few folks in England who
might be offended by their statues, but then again the English would probably
offend the Native American’s who could easily claim that they were terrorists
as well. That would be all well and good, but what about when folks from Asia
say they are offended by Indian statues because it was really their ancestors
who came to North America first?
The point is how far back in history do we go with all of
this? Who becomes the arbiter of what is to be deemed offensive?
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| Benedict Arnold, where have I heard that name before ? |
I have been hearing the argument played out that these
statues should be removed because the men they honor were traitors. My problem
with this statement is that I find it intellectually dishonest and we still have memorials to traitors in this country.
Politicians and
pundits are trying to shrink something as immensely complex as the totality of
the Civil War into a simple sound bite. Right vs. Wrong; Good vs. Evil.
Here's a newsflash: Robert E. Lee was not a traitor.
Want to know why? Because the southern states had formally seceded
from the Union.
For the record I am not a confederate war apologist, I simply acknowledge the fact that there was a myriad of issues, political as well as societal, that ultimately led to secession and the ensuing war. We have had 150 years to argue the legalities and intricacies
of what happened, but at the time it was all virgin political territory. It was
argued in the south that each state had the right to secede at any time because
the Constitution was a compact, or agreement, among the states. These
states even resigned their representative seats in Congress.
The first state, South Carolina, had seceded in December
1980. Six others states, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and
Texas, soon followed suit. Eventually, eleven states, nearly 1/3 of the Union, would
secede.
At the time, President James Buchanan believed that there
was no constitutional authority for a state to secede, yet he could find no
constitutional authority for him to act to prevent it, thus creating a
political quandary. As a result, his administration allowed for military
commanders to surrender control of forts in the affected states.
In President Lincoln’s March 1861 inaugural speech he
claimed that the secession was improper. He believed that state’s rights were
subservient because the term ‘In order to form a more Perfect Union,’ contained
in the preamble to the Constitution, amounted to a binding contract. Yet, in
reading his inaugural speech, which I highly recommend you do, he seemed to accede
a great many things to the south. It begs the question, if he wasn’t directly legitimizing
the divide was he indirectly acknowledging that the states had a right to act
on their own discretion, outside the law of the nation?
When President Lincoln took office he he instructed the last
remaining commanders in the affected areas, including at Fort Sumter, to hold
until fired upon. It created the necessary environment that would lead to the
ensuing Civil War.
When Ft. Sumter was fired upon, Lincoln used it as a call to
arms. He directed all the states to send troops which would be used to
recapture the fort and other federal properties. This action prompted four others
states, including Virginia, where Lee was from, to side with the other southern
states and secede. Interestingly enough, Virginia had repeatedly rejected calls
for secession, but also refused to take up arms against their neighbor states. Lee,
who at the time was a decorated colonel in the United States Army and had been
offered a senior command position in the Union Army, resigned his commission.
While he was personally against secession he felt that he had a moral obligation
to defend his home state.
Whichever way contemporary pundits want to paint him, the
truth is that Robert E. Lee was a very complex man who was highly regarded on
both sides. One interesting fact is that throughout the Civil War he wore only
the rank of colonel, the last rank he held in the United States Army. When
asked why he didn’t wear a general’s rank he was quoted as saying: "I do not care for display. The rank of
Colonel is about as high as I ought ever have gotten." In fact, the only time he wore his prescribed
rank, General in Chief of the Confederate Army, was the day he surrendered to
General U.S. Grant at the Appomattox Court House.
Now, had those southern states tried to forcibly take over
the U.S. government the allegation of treason might have some basis in truth,
but this did not occur. While Confederate President Jefferson Davis was charged
with it, he was subsequently released with no action taken. The reason why? The
government attorneys agreed that if the case went to trial it would likely be lost
because there was simply no evidence of treason. In fact, many at that time believed that if the case against Davis went forward that the constitutionality of secession might be affirmed.
Interestingly enough, it was Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court, Salmon Chase, who gave Davis' legal team an argument for
dropping the treason charge. Chase questioned if a person could be prosecuted
for treason against the U.S. if he were not a U.S. citizen. The answer to which
was no. Then Chase asked if there was a reference to the concept of a U.S.
citizen in the Constitution. Again, there was not. A person could only be a
citizen of his state. Therefore, by proving that the U.S. had no citizens,
Davis could not be tried for treason. The issue was rendered moot when then
President Andrew Johnson issued a pardon to all those involved.
Should we now retroactively charge and convict people for
past non-crimes?
Secession is currently being considered in California. Should we go in and lock up those behind this
idea?
Guess what folks, in five years, when all the statues are
gone there will still be racism and hate in the United States, just like there
is in every country in the world. Want to know why? Because you can't legislate
morality!
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| Yep, pretty sure this one has to go !! |
So when the statues are all gone, what will be next? Books?
Art? Music? Buildings?
Trust me, once you start, there will always be more things
to be corrected. When we have corrected the physical record, will we then begin
to question the latent 'truth' of others hearts? Who will survive the test?
Who becomes the arbiter of what is to be deemed offensive?
Will this be a rigid system of assessment or will it be a sliding scale,
acquiescing to the societal whims of the day?
Think that's crazy thinking? I hope you're right. Then
again, when I was growing up, I never thought we would be debating the
'political correctness' of sports teams either. Be careful for what you wish
for, because it has been my experience that these things are like a pendulum.
It might seem wonderful when it swings to your side, but the view is a lot more
frightening when it careens back the other way. Like Pandora's Box, once opened
it can never be closed.
