Over the course of America’s history, the dark stain of slavery has persisted in different forms, from actual slavery, to segregation, to modern politics. While the bloodiest war from America’s past has been long over, reminders of it are everywhere, especially in the southern region of the United States. However, as time progresses, more of these statues come crashing down—willingly or not.
When talking about statues that are reminders of people who were heavily involved with or fought for slavery, many people wish for the removal of this slavery commemoration. “The statues are a reminder of a time of hate in America’s history, and as such should be treated as negative symbols in a modern society,” says Melissa Weinert, a liberal American. This message of hate that continues to stand causes many people to retaliate via protests, calling for their removal. With protests and removals from New York to California, the gatherings are common and often heated.
Where one group is passionate about change, one group is passionate about stagnation. This was seen during the horrendous events of Charlottesville, attended by white supremacists, who protested the removal of confederate statues. The images coming out of the rally were terrifying, showing people marching with torches and doing nazi salutes. This rally also saw the death of a counter-protester, Heather Heyer, who was run over by a car in a crowd of fellow counter-protesters.
Many people against the removal of statues say that it is erasing history. This line of reasoning confuses Singaporean native, Rasyid B. Anuar. “I think the statues should be removed since slavery was basically legalised human trafficking in the past. Having them up is basically glorifying human trafficking.” Anuar believes that while talking about slavery is important, he does not understand why it doesn’t just stay in the history books. Worrying about history being forgotten is a legitimate worry, but that sentiment should be expressed when slavery is removed from the history books, not when a statue glorifying daughters of confederate soldiers is taken down.
With increasing racial tensions in America, it is no surprise that some protesters think the legal process of removal is too slow. This has led to some protesters in Durham, North Carolina taking matters into their own hands; they remove the statues themselves. While the commitment to the cause is clear, many on all sides are angered by this reaction. Pro statue-removal groups are angered at how this paints the whole group, while anti statue-removal groups are upset by the disregard for law. While statue removal is important, it should not come at the cost of someone’s life.
-Video of forced statue removal
