I’m surprised that an opinion by an old white man bemoaning the removal of a statue to another old white man was run in the Xpress [“Down by Law: The Monumental Toppling of Zeb Vance,” June 21].
Did no one read it first? During the “a messy moral mixture” section, Milton Ready describes how the monument wasn’t built by locals.
What business do a Pennsylvania senator, Maryland senator and Massachusetts businessman have with constructing a monument to a North Carolina slaver and traitor?
How did no one catch the favorable comparison to heroism as a traitorous soldier (Confederate hero), the literal admission of “white supremacist politician” and his support of a Christian nation who “promoted First Amendment rights, especially that of religion”?
What Mr. Ready fails to grasp is the idea that Confederate monuments were intimidation tactics when they were constructed in the first place. For what other military engagement in history has the losing side been commemorated in such ways?
I hope this leads to some increased discernment regarding opinions in the future, as in this instance, it looks like y’all got played and ran a piece of white supremacy propaganda for free.
— Mouse Wilson
Weaverville
I agree with your take on Milton Ready’s commentary, Mouse, but not with your criticism of Xpress for running it. Spiking an opinion piece merely because it’s untimely, meandering and insipid only plays into the whole cancel-culture narrative in which the right-wingers love to wallow. To riff on a common adage, the anecdote for dumb speech is not less speech; it’s more of our speech.
When I see pictures of Zeb Vance, I feel the same visceral repulsion as when I view images of Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton, Madison Cawthorn, Marjorie Taylor Green, Mark Robinson and Clarence Thomas, to name a few. I don’t feel the same repulsion at the sight of faceless monuments erected long ago, but I understand and respect Mouse Wilson’s perspective. I hope he’ll channel his outrage to encourage Black voters not to get played by current-day fascists. Our state and country are navigating perilous times. We don’t want a repeat of 2016.
When I see pictures of George Floyd or any BLMers, I feel the same visceral repulsion as when I view images of Barack and Michael Obama, Joe Biden, Sheila Jackson Lee, maxine watters, the View Hags, Roy Cooper, Al sharpton, Nancy Pelousy, Chuck Schumer, Jesse Jackson to name a few. Encourage black voters to leave the Democrat Plantation. They have been played long enough. You aren’t as stupid or lazy as the aforementioned dems think you are.
Black voters are awakening to the TRUTH through lots of media learning about the party that has controlled them now for decades since MLK became a democrat…thankfully #BLEXIT , the BlexitFoundation.org is growing fast in many states now teaching blacks about their REAL enemy.
This was 100% written by a white guy.
The letter writer’s use of the word “old” in the opening paragraph is ageism.
MX, apparently, isn’t supposed to print letters from “old” people?
Shameful.
It’s perfectly legitimate to question whether Milton Ready’s age might make him more amendable to overlooking or downplaying character defects in Zebulon Vance. Older people do tend to see each other more positively. That’s not prejudice; it’s science. See https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5516623/
Mouse is right, and accurate to a fault, it’s just real hard for some egos to understand the facts.
Sure sounds to me like the author is prejudiced against older white males.
Are they all bad? Isn’t this just a bit hypocritical?
Get rid of all statues. Street names are 1,2,3 etc and A, B, C etc.
Problem solved
I totally support NO statue nor street nor highway ever be ‘named’ for any HUMAN, while we just get rid of the existing ones…
The first Confederate Memorial Monument removed from its installed location was located in Helena, Montana. In response to the riots in Charlottesville, Virginia, the American Indian Caucus wrote an Op-Ed calling for removal of the Fountain. “Please send a message that there is no hate in our state by removing this divisive memorabilia from the capital city.”
https://missoulacurrent.com/montana-confederate-monument/
https://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/2017/08/16/helena-commissioners-give-confederate-memorial-boot/574189001/
History on this Confederate Memorial Monument. Donation cost: $2,000 in 1916.
http://www.helenahistory.org/confederate-fountain-hill-park.htm
https://demo4hist402a2020fall.omeka.net/items/show/42
https://www.ktvh.com/news/united-daughters-of-the-confederacy-want-helena-memorial-fountain-returned
The Confederate Monument was removed and replaced with the Equity Fountain. The intent of the 2020 landmark is to emphasize equality, tolerance, and justice. The Daughters of the American Revolution has requested the Confederate Statue.
https://www.yesmagazine.org/social-justice/2019/05/09/remove-replace-confederate-monument-first-city
https://www.ktvh.com/rebound/new-equity-fountain-installed-in-helenas-hill-park
I know I am repeating my self, but this is the same topic. Asheville can learn from other cities on how to handle change.