# What should we do with confederate monuments and statues? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 15, 2017, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-we-do-with-confederate-monuments-and-statues/793694 "2017-08-15T01:11:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 29
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2023, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-we-do-with-confederate-monuments-and-statues/793694/561 "2023-12-26T16:23:55Z")
The best objection that they could think of was that Bin Laden wasn’t American? ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2023, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-we-do-with-confederate-monuments-and-statues/793694/562 "2023-12-26T16:29:15Z")
You can’t blame them; it was something they just pulled out of their ass because the cognitive dissonance was starting to hurt. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2023, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-we-do-with-confederate-monuments-and-statues/793694/563 "2023-12-26T17:02:27Z")
It explains a lot that the have to remove cognitive dissonance through their ass. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2023, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-we-do-with-confederate-monuments-and-statues/793694/564 "2023-12-26T17:26:05Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Unfortunately they rarely get the point. They’ll normally think of some ad hoc reason why it’s not analogous “2001 is too recent to be history”, “Bin laden wasn’t American” etc etc. John Walker Lindh was an American who fight for the Taliban, where’s his statue? ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2023, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-we-do-with-confederate-monuments-and-statues/793694/565 "2023-12-27T17:36:47Z")
Fort Santa Anna? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2024, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-we-do-with-confederate-monuments-and-statues/793694/566 "2024-06-15T10:26:16Z")
[“Mammy” statue damn near got restored to Arlington National Cemetery.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/dems-slam-shameful-house-republicans-194218330.html) I’m starting to get the idea the pubbies don’t give a fuck about decency. And I’d bet real money that’s exactly how Representative Hakeem Jeffries feels. He had this wonderful query for the scum who voted in favor of that nonsense. (Link goes to Yahoo; bolding is mine.) > “What exactly is the confederate tradition that extreme MAGA republicans, in 2024, are upholding and you want to use the National Defense Authorization Act to turn back the clock on progress that has been made,” Jeffries said on Friday. > > **He added, “Is it slavery, rape, kidnap, Jim Crow, lynching, racial oppression or all of the above?”** ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2024, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-we-do-with-confederate-monuments-and-statues/793694/567 "2024-06-18T17:53:20Z")
Park and Yard Hate Apologism Museum Open: Entrance around back ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2025, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-we-do-with-confederate-monuments-and-statues/793694/568 "2025-08-05T00:59:17Z")
> A Confederate statue in D.C. that was toppled, graffitied and set alight five years ago is being repaired and returned to its perch, the National Park Service said Monday. > > The statue of Albert Pike, a Confederate Army brigadier general whose wartime career lasted less than two years, is scheduled to be back on its plinth about a mile east of the White House in October. **Protesters toppled this Confederate statue. Now, it’s coming back to D.C.** [https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/08/04/confederate-statue-protest-trump-albert-pike/](https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/08/04/confederate-statue-protest-trump-albert-pike/) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2025, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-we-do-with-confederate-monuments-and-statues/793694/569 "2025-08-05T01:01:15Z")
They’re erasing the history of it being torn down! ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2025, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-we-do-with-confederate-monuments-and-statues/793694/570 "2025-08-05T04:24:03Z")
They just want to make it clear the direction our nation is headed. The Confederates won, in the end. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2025, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-we-do-with-confederate-monuments-and-statues/793694/571 "2025-08-05T19:19:49Z")
I believe the traditional response is to cover them in tar and feathers. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-we-do-with-confederate-monuments-and-statues/793694/572 "2025-08-07T03:04:37Z")
And another one to probably be restored: > **[Restoration of torn-down Confederate monument will cost $10 million over 2...](https://apnews.com/article/confederate-memorial-arlington-cemetery-trump-10-million-5dd49c0cc16244e3e09a7a7f0008cbcc)** > > A U.S. Army official says restoring a memorial to the Confederacy that was removed from Arlington National Cemetery at the recommendation of Congress will cost roughly $10 million total. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-we-do-with-confederate-monuments-and-statues/793694/573 "2025-08-07T03:14:41Z")
Gather them all up and display them in an area called _Loser Park_. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-we-do-with-confederate-monuments-and-statues/793694/574 "2025-08-07T06:59:38Z")
At the bottom of a bay. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2025, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-we-do-with-confederate-monuments-and-statues/793694/575 "2025-08-08T22:43:08Z")
I’m told a rust and aluminum powder coat can give a satisfying “finish” to the statues. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2025, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-we-do-with-confederate-monuments-and-statues/793694/576 "2025-08-08T22:46:36Z")
With a little magnesium, too, for that extra shine. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2025, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-we-do-with-confederate-monuments-and-statues/793694/577 "2025-08-08T23:46:00Z")
Still, it’s regrettable that [Matthew Maury](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Fontaine_Maury) was stripped of his legacy due to his (not especially significant) contribution to the Confederacy. I guess it’s like the old joke “but ya shag one sheep…” ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2025, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-we-do-with-confederate-monuments-and-statues/793694/578 "2025-10-09T11:21:08Z")
I’ve swum in a river named after Maury. So he still has that. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2025, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-we-do-with-confederate-monuments-and-statues/793694/579 "2025-10-23T14:26:58Z")
Even if I wanted to go to a Racism Museum these things don’t belong there, they aren’t noteworthy enough. The idea was always to change contemporary attitudes about history with these stone people, now that it didn’t work I see no reason to keep them around. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2025, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-we-do-with-confederate-monuments-and-statues/793694/580 "2025-10-24T19:01:30Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > Even if I wanted to go to a Racism Museum these things don’t belong there, they aren’t noteworthy enough Yeas; most of them _are_ just low-quality junk that were hastily produced and plopped down all over for the purpose of promoting racism and announcing to black people that they were still regarded as subhuman. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-we-do-with-confederate-monuments-and-statues/793694.md?page=28) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-we-do-with-confederate-monuments-and-statues/793694.md?page=30)