Its what the tragedy is about that makes it meaningful. Did you read Roofs manifesto? As i said its the gesture, black people dont want to hear about heritage in this realm of reality. Said before, I respect anyones private right to fly any flag they want too, but I believe in decorum and I dont have to respect that kind of heritage. It amounts to wanting me to respect the fact that those people ancestors fought to keep my ancestors in chains. Talk about forced degradation and I dont expect everyone to understand that, but that doesnt mean my argument is going away, just like people who want to fly the flag, they have a free will to believe in that heritage. However, for the people by the people, it should not be apart of any states decor or official seal.

Yes it happened 150 years ago, but look at the aftermath to it, reconstruction, separate but equal, jim crow, lynchings, even in to the 70s and 80s, with the southern strategy, the willie lynch letter. Id argue that i didnt end 150 years ago and we have made a ton of progress but its a lot left to do and simply moving on is hard to do while the confederate flag flies over the statehouse in South Carolina, its a painful reminder that "hey does my state government really endorse what this means to me"

sometimes i get tired of talking about this shit honestly. Some opinions here really floor me.
I feel like Bristol Palin, so misunderstood.

I can understand that

But

Is a gesture going to really make it better? I can see where you are coming from but I'm asking you as a black man if a monument or a flag or statue is taken down does that really change anything at all?

I did not. He is an idiot among other things and I do not have anything in common with him. He does not interest me.

no and I have said that it wouldnt change things over night, but think of how it can change minds of how government and more importantly the republican partys' perception could change among blacks in the state. It really is important in the mind of black people.
Those folks in South Carolina will say, wow if a republican governor and senators can get up and stand up for something I believe should happen, then maybe I was wrong about how the feel about us. Its that simple.

Bristol is officially an idiot and full of hypocrisy like her momma.

On the other comment....we all view the world through our own prism. Sometimes I get tired of talking about all the sexist rhetoric and behavior that goes on. It's far more accepted than racism or ageism. I see gay slurs here from time to time and yet I don't believe that the people saying them are homophobic or anti-gay. Roof had a scary and sick manifesto. So did Roger Elliot. So did the Columbine sickos. We are still not addressing how to identify sick people and stop them before they act. You would think with the omnipresence of social media it would be easier. Roof could have been stopped by friends or family and nobody said anything.

So how far should it go? The suggestion was dropped yesterday that removal of the Jefferson Memorial is something that should be on the table in the coming months. Washington owned slaves. Is Mt Vernon something that should close?

That's the point I'm trying to make, it's like history is being erased. We need to look history dead in the eye regardless how bad or how terrible it is. is Mississippi going to have to change its state flag? Are all of the founders who were slave owners be wiped from history? What about Jackson? Should he be taken off the 20 because of the trail of tears? Indians look at Jackson like he's the devil.

Once the rabbit hole is opened.....

There is a local church here that does a spot on the local sports radio where the pastor gives a little story about some historical figure that did this or that just to make you think. In one of them he talks about a girl in New York that was abducted in the street, beaten in an alley, then raped and beaten some more until she was dead. There were like 35 people that saw it happen and when the police asked why no one helped they all said they thought someone else was going to get involved.

That is the type of stuff we need to get corrected.

I think its a little different, the founders were flawed for sure, but the framework wasnt.
And what is the point of the Jefferson Memorial?

I agree people should recognize behavior and intervene. People have become immune to mental illness and its really not a great idea to ignore it.