“With all my devotion to the Union, and the feeling of loyalty and duty of an American citizen, I have not been able to make up my mind to raise my hand against my relatives, my children, my home.”--Robert E. Lee who declined to take charge of Union troops to put down the independence movement in the South. Note also that his Arlington estate was right across from the Union's capital, so he presumed it would be soon be overrun. Even if he was in the wrong, his personal situation has to be considered. For me, far more unforgivable was his submission of anti-slavery leader John Brown. [from War Between the States by John J. Dwyer]
Trump is right in not jumping on the bandwagon of tearing down monuments as issue is a bit more complicated than some people think. Perhaps he was right in thinking blame for the Virginia violence may need to be shared by the two sides (he claims he watched the video carefully) as well as his statement that the racists had a permit to demonstrate while the others did not, but he was dead wrong in stating so publicly. It would seem it is the justice department's responsibility to apportion the responsibility for the violence and if necessary to file charges. Why is it the president's business to act like the legal council for white supremacists? All Trump had to do was offer condolences to the victims and condemn racism. He couldn't even do that properly.
No comments:
Post a Comment