It's not an overreaction.
A few things:
Why are these monuments all of a sudden a problem today? Why weren't they a problem 3, 5, 10, 20 years ago? Oh, that's right, they weren't.
Angela Rye is not a fringe lunatic nutjob; she is a person of importance in liberal circles. Her words are very telling about the motives of liberals/communists/Antifa etc.
I would go further: Not only does anything "Washington" or "Jefferson" (or even Abe Lincoln, among many others) need to be whitewashed, so does this country's name and for that matter the name of the entire Continent, "America", since it is the name of a blue-eyed European (Amerigo Vespucci).
In my opinion, EVERYTHING - currency, national name, the name of this Continent - all needs to change if we're going to go down this road.
A good equation is the "Redskins" name. The Redskins name wasn't a problem 10, 15, 25 or 30 years ago. All of a sudden people are offended or hurt by it? GIVE ME A BREAK.
They aren't hurt by it. Nor are these snowflakes alleging all of a sudden all these "monuments" (or whatever they are) need to come down are hurt. They aren't hurt; they are being ASSES for the sole purpose of being ASSES.
Now the slippery slope thing...I will say, just do away with all of it. I don't even give a fuck anymore. Maybe it will finally wake up middle-America.
I am as conservative as it gets on here, believe me, but I honestly truly thing that these Antifa/communists/liberals need to start pursuing all the removals indicated above. As Dennis Miller said: "the country is gone, it is lost".
The fact that this country damn near elected a communist in Sanders just a year ago - after tens of thousands died fighting communism just less than 50 years ago - indicates to me that is the direction this country is headed.
It is an over-reaction, Scott, so please consider this salient point about these confederate monuments versus the examples you and others are citing as domino targets for the same treatment before you dismiss my argument. Take the examples of statues of Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, Jefferson Davis et al and ask yourself what differentiates them from Washington, Jefferson or, really, any historical figure so honored that was not a party to the confederacy? The answer is that they were not engaged in open rebellion against the United States or making overt efforts to destroy it and kill its soldiers and citizens. This type of activity is defined as treason by the US constitution. As if treason wasn't reason enough, the fact that they were also devoted to the cause of the preservation of the institution of slavery makes their transgressions all the more compelling.
Add to this the fact that the vast majority of these monuments were erected in the early part of the 20th century not long after the
Plessy v. Ferguson decision upholding the segregationist standard of "separate but equal" was handed down by the SCOTUS in 1896. This period was the zenith of the Jim Crow era and racism was rampant, especially in the south. These statues were placed in prominent places in cities and towns in the south like public squares, parks, court houses and other public venues ostensibly as a gesture to honor these men but the imposing if veiled message for the negroes in the area to remember their place was certainly not missed by those to whom it was directed. It was a blatantly racist motivation cloaked in a celebration of "southern heritage". Well, I have a long line of southern ancestors going all the way back to colonial Virginia and I can tell you that there is certainly nothing to be proud of concerning the actions and motivations of these men who were seeking to keep millions of black people enslaved. If you're in favor of preserving the glorification of that concept I don't know what else I can say to dissuade you.
The statues should not be eliminated by any means and certainly not destroyed if they can be dismantled and moved to an appropriate place like a museum, battlefield or other commemorative site where they can accurately be remembered for what they were, not what they were purported to be. An attempt to wipe out history? Oh no, on the contrary and by all means we definitely need to preserve and remember the actions and motivations of these people who sought to destroy our country and perpetuate the institution of slavery. The popular penchant, and one that you repeated, that I keep hearing from those so fiercely opposed to taking these monuments out of the mainstream view and placing them where they belong for suggesting we therefore take Washington, Jefferson and others off of currency, raze historic civil war battle sites, tear down the Washington Monument & Lincoln Memorial etc is such an obvious inconsistency as to be ridiculous. Rename our continent? Sorry, but I just don't see the connection between slavery, treason and Amerigo Vespucci. No one with any viable credibility or influence is suggesting any of these things except people like you so, yes, this is an over-reaction, Scott and a blatant and contrived one at that.
I know you to be a reasonable guy (and a hockey fan like me!:thumbsup
so I seriously hope you will consider what I said and rethink your position on this. It's just the right thing to do.
Speaking of hockey, give us an update on what's up with the Wild for this season in the hockey thread when you get time, buddy. I'm thinking it will be hard for them to outdo last year from a regular season standpoint but they definitely need to carry more weight in the playoffs. Likewise, a farm update would be helpful. What's new in Des Moines?