My hometown of Gonzales has a statue of a Confederate soldier on top of a tall column, in the middle of "Confederate Square". When the Charlottesville riots happened, I knew it was a matter of time before the issue of this statue was brought up. The statue itself was not dedicated to the glory of the cause, but rather to honor the dead. In spite of this, the statue has been featured on the "Mother Jones" website as one of the most racist symbols in the South. One can see the dark clouds gathering.... the last thing anyone back home wants is a bunch of Nazis & Antifa goons destroying the town & damaging a statue that was dedicated in 1909.



Thankfully, local minorities & city leadership are working together in a civil manner (for the time being) to figure out a solution agreeable to everyone.

My suggestion (& I am writing a letter to the paper) is to re-dedicate the statue & square to all soldiers from Gonzales County who lost their lives in war, from the Revolution to Afghanistan & Iraq. The current statue would need to be modified to remove the battle flag & some wording. I am going to suggest an additional ring of granite around the existing statue bearing the names of the dead & the conflicts in which they served.

My great great grandfather fought the duration of the Civil War with Terry's Texas Rangers (Company I), and was among those who donated for the original statue... so I do not take this suggestion lightly.

I feel this is a fair compromise. The current political climate is such that if nothing is done, the statue will likely be torn down or become the scene of an ugly conflict. The statue remains as intended & others who gave their lives are honored. I can't honestly look at my black friends I grew up with & have known for 40+ years and tell them that they just have to deal with it.

I'm sure some of you will have strong opinions either way... I'd love to hear them.

Common sense is starting to assert itself and a backlash against the indiscriminate destruction is building: Over-reaction.

74OA said:

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Common sense is starting to assert itself and a backlash against the indiscriminate destruction is building: Over-reaction.

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The author forgot to include Sheila Jackson Lee

That's very cool that you know that much detail about your family history.

Out of curiosity, how many from Gonzalez died in the Civil War? And, are their names on the statue?

I don't understand the catalyst for your current bout of white guilt?

Your Black friends of 40 years have long ago made their peace with that statue. It's not like you were writing term papers in High School about how Blacks in town were oppressed by a statue.

I've only been to Gonzalez once, for a wedding back in 1992 or so. Seemed like a nice little Texas town. It wasn't like going to some places in East Texas that are obvious sundown communities.

I know that the number who served was likely over 1,000. I'm not sure a the number that died... into the 100s I'm sure.

I don't think it fair to say that Black folks ever accepted it, it's just now they are very empowered. Even if the folks in town accepted it, the SJWs at large will eventullay descend and chaos will likely ensue.

I don't necessarily have guilt, just empathy for men of color I have know for years. If a small gesture such as widening the scope of those memorialized will unify the town and people can move forward, then lets do it.

I was thinking about your idea of moving it (I'd leave it as is though, complete with Confederate Battle Flag) to some sort of park for all veterans and I thought about what they have here locally where I live in Australia.

For Australia, the majority of War Memorials are all focused on "The Great War" due to Gallipoli and the trench fighting in France. However, on "The Corso" in Manly, there is a War Memorial prominently displayed that recognizes local boys who died in all wars who were from Manly.

It has the name of every soldier who was killed in every war since The Boer War. So it has Boer War, WW I, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan. We didn't lose any local soldiers in Iraq and only one local fellow has died in Afghanistan.

Anyway, with the history of Gonzalez, it would be neat if there was a memorial that included the names of all the locals who died in combat all the way back to 1836.

In looking for a photo of the memorial, I just noticed the Aboriginal Flag. Coincidentally, during the past couple weeks with the row about US Confederate Monuments, there has been a big push to now view Captain Cook as the person who was responsible for the destruction of Aborigines. People are going after statues, street signs, etc. And, there is also a movement to change the date of Australia Day because the celebration of the First Fleet arrival is considered offensive to some indigenous groups. Note that none of this nonsense goes on across the Tasman in New Zealand because when the Brits landed there, the Maoris killed them until the Brits cried "Uncle".

So Cook=Columbus in Australia crazy. Glad I took a picture of the Cook Statue in Victoria last month before it comes down.

BQ78 said:

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So Cook=Columbus in Australia crazy. Glad I took a picture of the Cook Statue in Victoria BEFORE THEY RENAME VICTORIA last month before it comes down.

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I held off on writing any letter to stew it over. Then Harvey hit & like everyone else real problems came up.

I still think an encircling monument around the base with all the KIAs in all wars would be a good gesture & make it more relevant to all citizens. Confederate Square could also go back to its original name of "Jail Square". (A little confusing since the jail is not longer there & to my knowledge never was).

My main concern was that the town have a plan other than "It's history and it will stay". That line of thinking hasn't worked & statues have been taken down or vandalized all over the south.

Then a few days ago I pull up the online paper... lo & behold there appears to be a compromise offered:

Quote:

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We don't ask for their monuments to be removed, but will ask for a monument of freedom in the form of Abraham Lincoln, a man who fought to abolish slavery, a true American hero that lost his life for what was right, a man who actually won the war and kept our country united.

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Personally, I'd rather see a statue of a freed slave... Juneteenth related. Not my call though. I'm just glad that everyone is being civil & moving forward together rationally.

http://www.gonzalesinquirer.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/historic-compromise/article_2d606a38-8ccd-11e7-b23d-bb888409c2ea.html

Last weekend in California for the embarrassment of a football game, I had the opportunity to have some good conversations with a black friend of mine who I grew up with in Saudi Arabia.

We touched briefly on the media's current Civil War fascination and the lack of historical knowledge that exists among people these days.

What he shared with me was very interesting. He told me that he goes to Juneteenth celebrations every year and he has talked with many people who have no idea why they celebrate Juneteenth. They had no idea that it was something from Texas. Curiously enough, that was the same experience I had with a black co-worker in Denver who celebrated Juneteenth with a BBQ but didn't know where it came from.

So, my buddy told me that the Emancipation Proclamation wasn't read in Galveston until 1867. I tried to correct him but didn't have my phone with me to prove it. Anyway, I was glad he knew that much. But, I was also a bit surprised that his experience with Juneteenth education was similar to mine.

If we're talking about ignoring history or suppressing it, then the experience of black Americans is a great example. The reality of their lives expieriences were ignored for decades after the Civil War and still are not well taught in favor of a heroic national narrative.