- cross-posted to:
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- cross-posted to:
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
Summary
Alabama and Mississippi commemorate Robert E. Lee Day alongside Martin Luther King Jr. Day on the same day, reflecting a long-standing juxtaposition of contrasting legacies.
Both states combined these holidays in the 1980s when King’s federal holiday was established. Black lawmakers have since unsuccessfully attempted to separate them.
Critics argue it disrespects King’s civil rights leader legacy to pair his honor with Lee, a Confederate general who fought to preserve slavery and uphold white supremacy.
Other southern states have abolished similar practices, leaving only Alabama and Mississippi with shared celebrations for King and Lee.
You must log in or register to comment.
Did he famously say “never fight uphill me boys”?
“Gettysburg, what an unbelievable battle that was. It was so much, and so interesting, and so vicious and horrible, and so beautiful in so many different ways—it represented such a big portion of the success of this country. Gettysburg, wow—I go to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to look and to watch. And the statement of Robert E. Lee, who’s no longer in favor—did you ever notice it? He’s no longer in favor. ‘Never fight uphill, me boys, never fight uphill.’ They were fighting uphill. He said, ‘Wow, that was a big mistake,’ he lost his great general. ‘Never fight uphill, me boys,’ but it was too late.”
Stupid shit like this is why I strongly believe in defunding states.
And to folks going, “Well now that Trump is the federal government, what if he defunds your state?”
Bro, my blue liberal state MAKES money to fund backwater dumb fucks like Alabama/Mississippi.
The US is too big for itself and needs a divorce from itself
As a Washingtonian, I’d like to say that I’d be happy if we started dating Canada.
Yeah well the data supports me when I say they’re dumb ass confederates. Prime examples of why education improves society.
“We’re not racist, we’re the party of Lincoln!” claim the people who celebrate the person and flag that Lincoln actively fought against.
Fuck all Confederate sympathizers, they should have all been hanged after they lost the Civil War.
As for Lee, I’ll just say the best thing about him was his love for his horse, which based off his accounts I’ll just assume he engaged in bestiality.
Fuck you Robert E. Lee, I shit on your legacy and would defile your grave if I had the chance.
Traitors to the core.
Wearing a Confederate flag should be as intolerable as wearing a swastika.
Celebrating Robert E. Lee is like honoring Erwin Rommel.
There’s a reason the “unite the right” rally organized over the removal of a Lee statue in Charlottesville: he is an ongoing symbol of white supremacy despite the lost cause myth perpetuated by reactionaries.
He was a cruel slaver who sought to permanently entrench the practice. There was nothing honorable about what he fought for and he doesn’t deserve the respect of a single person, much less that of the government.
Edit: Some added context for this piece of shit, from an account of one of the enslaved people he inherited who expected to be emancipated upon the death of their previous enslaver as promised:
[W]e were immediately taken before Gen. Lee, who demanded the reason why we ran away; we frankly told him that we considered ourselves free; he then told us he would teach us a lesson we never would forget; he then ordered us to the barn, where, in his presence, we were tied firmly to posts by a Mr. Gwin, our overseer, who was ordered by Gen. Lee to strip us to the waist and give us fifty lashes each, excepting my sister, who received but twenty; we were accordingly stripped to the skin by the overseer, who, however, had sufficient humanity to decline whipping us; accordingly Dick Williams, a county constable, was called in, who gave us the number of lashes ordered; Gen. Lee, in the meantime, stood by, and frequently enjoined Williams to lay it on well, an injunction which he did not fail to heed; not satisfied with simply lacerating our naked flesh, Gen. Lee then ordered the overseer to thoroughly wash our backs with brine, which was done.
State courts in both 1858 and 1862 denied Lee’s petition to indefinitely postpone the emancipation of his wife’s enslaved people and forced him to comply with the conditions of the will. Finally, on December 29, 1862, Lee officially freed the enslaved workers and their families on the estate, coincidentally three days before the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect.
The Confederacy was an enemy state.
Adding on to that: Filled with a bunch of fearful America hating traitors. Afraid of slavery being abolished and hating America for even considering not expanding slavery to the territories in process of becoming states.
Here’s some fun history: In Maryland and Virginia, reparations were paid by the federal government… to former slave owner for loss of their “property.” “Property” being freed slaves. Those recently freed people got exactly what you think they got. Nothing.
And they’re not even trying to hide it anymore.
Tbf both Rommel and Lee sort of undertook efforts to end the war. Should they have considered not fighting it in the first place? Sure, but that would have been too easy.
We do not need to be fair to Confederates and Nazis. The efforts they undertook would not have included the end of slavery or the Holocaust.
+1. Even if we ignore the holocaust and suppose Rommel and his ilk were unaware - a very big stretch - they nonetheless willingly participated/led a deadly total war of aggression against civilians. As for Lee, the abhorrence of slavery was self-evident even at the time, as evidenced by the abolitionist movements of the day. There’s nothing unfair about calling people like this what they are - evil.
“I’m saying that Stonewall Jackson was trash himself. Him and Lee and the rest of them rebs” - Shane (1953)
reflecting a long-standing juxtaposition of contrasting legacies.
Aw jeez what an awful lil qwinkydink
Critics argue it disrespects King’s civil rights leader legacy
That’s way underselling it. It’s a purpose built reminder to people of color about how those in power and their supporters feel about them.
The only reason to honor Bob Lee is because he’s responsible for more dead slavers than any three Union generals.
Behind the Bastards did a great series on Lee. It’s definitely worth a listen.
The country is going back to “whites only” water fountains and making people of color sit in the back of the bus, isn’t it?
The country? No lol
Famous last words.
Yeah, it’s most definitely just red states (and pockets of yee haw in some blue states).
no no no. Alabama and Mississippi will also honor Robert E. Lee on
Martin Luther King Jr.Trump’s inauguration day.get that message spread around enough to get to Trump’s attention, quick.
The question is whether or not they’ll celebrate Robert E. Lee Day or Trump Ascension Day now.
Maybe they’ll do what they did with Washington and Lincoln’s birthday and have a Confederate Generals’ Day.
You’ve gotta be kidding…
