Abraham Lincoln was full of hate. This much we know, thanks to the good people of San Francisco.
Abraham Lincoln, an iconic American hero, could soon be an outcast in San Francisco, his legacy called into question and his name ripped off a high school.
Lincoln is one of dozens of historical figures who, according to a school district renaming committee, lived a life so stained with racism, oppression or human rights violations, they do not deserve to have their name on a school building.
Lincoln may well have done all the things the committee charges, but which leader of that era could stand up to the scrutiny of the modern left?
Certainly not any of the Africans. They were enslaving and selling everyone they could catch. Pre-colonial India wasn't exactly an exemplar of human rights, either. The Chinese? I doubt it. The American Indians? Umm, no. Lots and lots of wars with very few POWs, if you catch my drift. No one can pass our test.
So it's not Abraham Lincoln that's the problem, is it? Or Robert E. Lee or Stonewall Jackson or even Jefferson Davis who are "problematic." It's the whole era.
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| Or maybe the problem is us. |
3 comments:
Just to be clear, nothing has happened. That school is one they are looking at, but nothing has been decided.
but which leader of that era could stand up to the scrutiny of the modern left?,
Well, Thaddeus Stevens and the Grimke sisters hold up well. But you paint with a broad brush, modern left. I'm part of the modern left, I'm fine with schools named for Lincoln. I hang out in 'modern left' circles; it's really just a very few that hold this opinion. This is one section of schoolboard and they haven't even made a decision yet, yeesh. You do this throughout this post, 'Africans', 'the Chinese', 'Pre-Colonial India', 'the American Indians' as though all these groups had just one monolithic viewpoint, one set of morals, all the same.
Or Robert E. Lee or Stonewall Jackson or even Jefferson Davis who are "problematic."
These guys are problematic in my book. I am of the opinion that nobody should have to go to Robert E. Lee high school. They were both traitors and slaveholders. Brave in battle? Brilliant tacticians? Meticulous personal habits? Sure.
No one can pass our test.
No one passes your strawman argument, but you might notice the British never recognized the Confederacy, in large part because slavery was odious to so many there that they didn't want to be associated with it. The Radical Republicans were very clear on the issue, and there were some that advocated full equality. And isn't this just moral relativism, hey we can't judge them by our values, we have to go by what people around them think. How is this not, 'Well gee, all the other kids were doin' it.'
It's the whole era.
But the era is problematic isn't it? It's not like six hundred thousand men died in battle and four million souls were held in chattel slavery because things were going so swimmingly.
One of the big things the have a problem with Lincoln is the hanging of 38 Dakota in Mankato, Minnesota. It stemmed from a representative of the federal government not fulfilling a treaty, taking land as per the expansion. A few young members of the tribe lead a bloody revolt. After the war and surrender, they had a trial and convicted 300+ Dakota, sentencing all to death. An appeal went to Lincoln. And he worked very hard to commute as many as he could. However, he did cave to political pressure for the 38. Sure, Lincoln wasn't perfect, but still a man whose good works way outweigh the bad. The left is out to erase as much history as possible, so they can get people to willingly give up freedom for their authoritarian rule.
Interestingly, last year (2019), some moron "artist" in the Twin Cities put up a gallows representing this event, in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden (the place with the Spoon). It was quickly taken down with mass outrage even by the impossibly socialist left of Minneapolis. But how did that project even get approved? Well, we all know the embarrassment of Minnapolis, who hasn't seen a moderate elected in any public office from city council on up for 50 years.
Sure, Lincoln wasn't perfect, but still a man whose good works way outweigh the bad. The left is out to erase as much history as possible, so they can get people to willingly give up freedom for their authoritarian rule.
Your first sentence I would agree with, and again, the schoolboard hasn't done anything but consider the matter. I am part of the left and I think Lincoln was our best President, but that doesn't mean we never consider the darker elements of his career. I certainly would hesitate to name a school after him if native Americans made up a lot of the student body.
But there is a marked difference between naming schools after people and trying to erase history. Statues in parks, school names, army bases, this is how we honor and venerate people we admire. Surely we can re-evaluate without erasing history, indeed you have to look at the History just to go through the process. Take Fort Bragg, named after Braxton Bragg, also a traitor, and he wasn't even a good general for crying out loud. How are we sending Black soldiers to train there, it's stupid on stilts.
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