bookmark_borderA note to the Virginia Flaggers

Posts like this make me smile and give me a little bit of hope for humanity:

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Virginia Flaggers (@the_virginia_flaggers)

Unfortunately, however, someone left a comment on the post which does the exact opposite. The comment stated: “God is not a lover of slavery.”

To which I would respond: 

God is also not a lover of inflicting excruciating, unbearable pain on people who did nothing wrong.

Nor is He a lover of obliterating everything that makes life worth living.

Nor is He a lover of self-righteous bigots who go out of their way to hurt others.

And He’s also probably not a lover of cruel, nasty bullies who have no tolerance for anyone who is different from themselves. 

So there’s that.

bookmark_borderConfederate statue sanctuary in the works in Texas

Back in 2017, the city government of San Antonio, Texas – determining, apparently, that people who are different from the majority should no longer be able to feel welcome in public spaces or be represented in public art – decided to remove its Confederate monument. Like all similar instances, this decision was immoral, despicable, and an abomination that should never have even been considered as an option, let alone carried out. 

However, the reason why I am posting about this now is because there is one recent piece of good news to come out of this terrible situation. The city has agreed to donate the monument to an organization called the SS American Memorial Foundation, which plans to display it in a privately owned, but publicly accessible, park. After spending 8 years in storage in an undisclosed location, the statue will finally see the light of day. Craig Russell, the founder and operator of this organization, said that he plans to collect Confederate statues from across Texas and assemble them in the park, which will be located in the city of Seguin, Texas.

As Valor Memorial Park pointed out in this Facebook post, Russell’s park seems like it will aim to do for Texas what Valor has done in North Carolina. None of this takes away from the horror and pain of the atrocities that have been committed, but the prospect that some statues will find loving and respectful homes provides a glimmer of hope in what would otherwise be a completely demoralizing situation. This is an exciting new development, and I’m looking forward to seeing the park take shape. 

bookmark_borderConfederate statues from Wilmington, NC find a new home at Valor Park

Valor Memorial Park is getting two new statues!

In 2020, the government of Wilmington, North Carolina – determining, apparently, that people who are different from the majority should no longer feel welcome in public spaces or be represented in public art – decided to remove their two Confederate monuments. The statues, one honoring Confederate soldiers in general and the other honoring Confederate senator and attorney general George Davis, were held in storage for over 5 years. On September 19, the city reached an agreement to transfer ownership of the statues to Valor Memorial Park, a privately owned park that is dedicated to honoring all veterans and that currently has 3 beautiful Confederate statues. Despite how despicable, appalling, and immoral the actions of Wilmington’s city government have been, this is a small piece of good news to come out of a terrible situation.

As this post from Dixie Forever states, the statues are finally being relocated to a loving home.

And as Valor Park wrote in a social media post: “They are now home. These memorials will be preserved and restored with honor. Thank you to Courage and Sacrifice for their partnership. That partnership will continue as these are restored, cleaned, and repaired. They wont be hidden and will be open to the public.”

If you are interested in purchasing merchandise or making a donation to support the care and upkeep of the statues, you can do so here.

bookmark_borderCurtis Sliwa calls for new Columbus statue in Staten Island

Curtis Sliwa, the Republican candidate for mayor of New York City, has said that he is looking to have a Christopher Columbus statue erected in Staten Island! Sliwa remarked at a campaign rally on Saturday, September 27, that Staten Island is the most Italian of all the boroughs of New York, yet has never had a statue of Columbus. Sliwa unfortunately doesn’t have a good chance of winning the mayoral race. However, it is excellent that such a high-profile political candidate has not only expressed his support of Columbus statues, but has actually called for the creation of a new one. Perhaps even if Sliwa loses the mayoral race, he will still be able to make the statue a reality. That is something that I would absolutely love to see.

Source: We The Italians

bookmark_border“How many of you commenting on this…”

“How many of you commenting on this have ever had: mumps, measles, rubella, chickenpox, polio, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough? At age 6 to 7 I had the mumps, measles, chickenpox, rubella. My parents were concerned when I had the measles and the chickenpox at the same time because the doctor questioned if I might not survive. I never want any other child to go through that. Would that the vaccines had been available when I was young.”

This is a comment that I saw on a social media post about the state of Florida’s decision to abolish vaccine mandates. This comment just didn’t sit right with me. At first glance, it’s hard to argue against someone who themselves have had a disease that vaccines are designed to prevent, and who wants to spare others from the same suffering. But I see the issue of vaccines completely differently. And the person who made this comment doesn’t seem open to other perspectives at all. She seems to think that because she has actually experienced what it’s like to have the diseases that vaccines are designed to prevent, her perspective (as well as the perspectives of those who have had similar experiences to her) is the only one that matters on this issue. With this comment, she is subtly claiming the moral high ground for herself and dismissing the experiences and perspectives of other people.

Here is my perspective:

Personally, vaccines had a huge negative impact on my childhood. I remember, from the ages of roughly four to six, the sickening feeling of dread that I would experience each time that my mom told me that I had a doctor’s appointment coming up. At each appointment, I was subjected to painful, invasive, and gruesome shots. I didn’t have the power to say no; I didn’t have any say in what would happen with my body. The dread that I felt leading up to each appointment, the sick feeling in my stomach that I experienced when waiting for the doctor to inform me how many shots I was about to be subjected to, is one of the most vivid memories of my childhood. The routine practice of vaccination was by far the biggest negative aspect of my life during those years.

I don’t believe in mandatory vaccination, because I don’t want any other child to go through what I experienced.

I wish that vaccines hadn’t been available when I was young, because then I wouldn’t have had to get them. I wouldn’t have been subjected to the years of dread and pain that mandatory vaccines inflicted.

That’s my experience.

My experience matters, and my perspective matters, just as much as the experiences and perspectives of people who got sick and wish that they had been able to get a vaccine.

It’s hard to argue against someone who has gotten so sick that they nearly didn’t survive, and wants to spare others from having the same experience. But my perspective is just as valid as this person’s, my experiences just as important and deserving of empathy. I suffered as well, and also want to spare others from having the same experience that I did. I’m tired of being silenced, attacked, insulted, called an “anti-vaxxer” and “anti-science,” my perspective disregarded again and again in favor of pro-vaccine voices.

It’s hard not to have empathy for someone who nearly died from a contagious disease. But the little girl who was subjected to painful and unwanted medical procedures deserves empathy too. Having a needle injected into your arm is not nothing, particularly when it happens again and again, month after month, year after year. For young children, as well as some adults, getting a shot is experienced as painful and gruesome, and this is a completely valid experience. Living in constant dread for years is not nothing. Being denied any say in what happens to your body is not nothing. The suffering inflicted by vaccines is very real. Vaccination significantly reduces quality of life. And these harms need to be weighed against the benefits of vaccination in preventing diseases. Because the little girl who existed 30 years ago, and who wasn’t allowed to voice her perspective or stand up for herself, matters. The fact that one little girl had mumps, measles, chickenpox, and rubella, is no reason for another little girl to be punished by having her rights violated, her preferences disregarded, and her quality of life destroyed.

As sympathetic as this commenter seems, she, like so many pro-vaccine people, is denying the existence of any perspectives other than hers. She went through something bad, so all that matters is preventing other people from experiencing the same bad thing that she did. She wishes that she had gotten vaccines when she was a child, so all children must be forced to get them. She has a preference, and so her preference must be imposed on everyone. My experiences are different from hers, and so they don’t matter.

But in reality, her experiences do not negate mine. Her desire to prevent suffering does not negate my fundamental rights. Her preference to have gotten vaccines is not a license to impose this preference on other people. Her wish that vaccines had been available to her as a child, does not make it okay to force them on other children against their will.

Let’s circle back to the question, “How many of you commenting on this have ever had: mumps, measles, rubella, chickenpox, polio, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough?” By asking this question, the commenter seems to be implying that if someone hasn’t had one of these diseases, then they’re in no position to give their opinion on the issue of vaccines. She is implying that having had some of these diseases gives her the moral high ground and makes her perspective more valid than others. But it’s just as important and relevant to ask: “How many of you commenting on this have ever been subjected to years of constant dread and pain due to being forced against your will to get vaccines?” I have. And that’s just as important, and just as relevant, as having had a vaccine-preventable disease. Contrary to what this commenter seems to be implying, my perspective is just as valid as hers, and just as valid as anyone else’s.

bookmark_borderBullying people for being “incels” is the same as attacking the Confederates for being “losers”

I was browsing on Substack the other day, and while reading an article about a random topic (link here), I came across the below comment:

Anyone who unironically uses the word “incel” as a pejorative is demonstrating severe sociopathic tendencies, in my opinion. Imagine how sadistic and devoid of compassion you have to be in order to bully people who are unattractive and unpopular SIMPLY FOR BEING UNATTRACTIVE AND UNPOPULAR. If that’s not an example of kicking someone while they’re down, I don’t know what is. These people are acting as if unattractiveness and lack of popularity is a mortal character flaw in and of itself–as if it makes their target morally irredeemable and sub-human–as an ad-hoc method of justifying actual bullying and evil behavior toward those who most likely don’t deserve it. And the people who throw the “incel” label around casually are typically the ones who claim to be the most compassionate. What a joke. I know someone’s going to read my comment and respond with “You sound really upset about this. You sound like an incel! This is exactly what an incel would say!”

I agree 100% with this comment and feel that a very similar point could be made about the Confederacy.

People attack and insult the Confederacy, and argue that it shouldn’t be honored with statues and monuments, because it lost the war. As if losing a war somehow demonstrates poor character. As if a lack of population, resources, and supplies is somehow a character flaw.

Losing a war has nothing to do with character. Winning and losing are determined by things such as population size, resources, and supplies. These are things that have nothing to do with character. Which side wins, and which side loses, has nothing to do with which side was right and which side was wrong.

People who attack and insult the Confederates for being “losers” are attacking and insulting the Confederacy for having a smaller population, fewer supplies, less advanced technology, and a less industrialized economy.

When you call the Confederates “losers,” you are acting as if a lack of population, resources, and supplies is a character flaw. Just as, by using the word “incel” as a pejorative, you are acting as if unattractiveness and lack of popularity are character flaws. But these aren’t character flaws. And there is no logical reason whatsoever to believe that they are.

People who call Confederate soldiers “losers” as a pejorative are demonstrating the exact same attitude as those who use the word “incel” as a pejorative. Just as the latter group of people are choosing to bully those who are unattractive and unpopular simply for being unattractive and unpopular, the former group of people are choosing to bully a nation that had a small population, fewer supplies, less advanced technology, and a less industrialized economy… simply for having a small population, fewer supplies, less advanced technology, and a less industrialized economy.

As the above commenter correctly points out, this way of thinking is sadistic, completely devoid of compassion, and is the very essence of kicking someone when they’re down. It’s also completely irrational and has no basis in logic or reason.

And, as the commenter also correctly points out, the people who do this are generally the people who claim to be the most compassionate. When in reality, their decision to equate a lack of attractiveness, popularity, resources, and supplies with poor character demonstrates not only their complete and utter lack of logic, but also their complete and utter lack of compassion for the people who need it the most.

bookmark_borderNew Raphael Semmes statue unveiled!

The statue of Admiral Raphael Semmes that I blogged about here has officially been unveiled!

Here are a few pictures from the days leading up to the unveiling (all posted by the Raphael Semmes SCV Camp #11 unless otherwise noted):

Here are some pictures of the ceremony from the Semmes SCV Camp.

Here is a beautiful photo of the statue from Monuments Across Dixie.

Here is a post by the Virginia Flaggers with more photos.

This excellent post by Dixie Forever contains more info about the history of the Semmes statue.

bookmark_borderExcellent post from Dave Smith…

This truly hits the nail on the head:

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Dave Smith (@theproblemdavesmith)

(source here)

And some of the comments on the post are spot on as well:

“The thing about Kimmel is that he has never been funny.”

“The funniest thing about Kimmel was the irony of him losing his job for something he celebrated when it happened to others.”

“People need to realize Kimmel would applaud you losing your job for anything you say or think that doesn’t match left wing politics.”

bookmark_borderDon’t be someone who simply destroys and tears down…

An excellent post from Monuments Across Dixie:

 
 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Monuments Across Dixie (@monumentsacrossdixie)

Indeed, although writing and reading about history are meaningful pursuits, something even more meaningful is making history, specifically creating new statues and monuments. Nothing compares to the sense of pride that I feel when looking at statues like these:

Additionally, as the post states, it is indeed more honorable to build and create than to destroy and tear down. This is a fact lost on the “woke” bigots who think that destroying as much beauty and good as possible somehow gives them a claim to the moral high ground.