The dramatic melting down of the historic monument seems designed to anger the right
Robert Bridge is an American writer and journalist. He is the author of ‘Midnight in the American Empire,’ How Corporations and Their Political Servants are Destroying the American Dream.
Robert Bridge is an American writer and journalist. He is the author of ‘Midnight in the American Empire,’ How Corporations and Their Political Servants are Destroying the American Dream.
@Robert_Bridge
A worker positions the head of a monument to Civil War General Robert E. Lee that formerly stood in Charlottesville, Virginia before it is melted at a foundry on October 21, 2023. © Eze Amos/Getty Images
The US political left is no longer content with canceling thoughts and words but has taken its Orwellian sword to the annals of history as well. What will become of a nation that seeks to eliminate all vestiges of its past?
This was one battle that Robert E. Lee never stood a chance of winning. While the wily Confederate general may have outfoxed the US government on numerous occasions during the Civil War, like at the Battle of Chancellorsville and the First Battle of Bull Run, nothing could have prepared him for the formidable adversary known as the American progressive. Under the auspices of the ‘Swords into Plowshares’ initiative, the Charlottesville, Virginia monument to the Southern leader, one of the last in the country, now sits inside a foundry, chopped into numerous pieces, waiting to be forged into some new public works project that doesn’t offend modern sensitivities. And good luck with that.
@elonmusk is right.The left claims that destroying a century-old Robert E. Lee statue by a great American artist represents "healing." The truth is the exact opposite. Letting the South publicly honor its experience during the Civil War was a major part of the nation's post-war… pic.twitter.com/995Fj6Ib7q
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) October 27, 2023
Footage from the foundry depicts a statue with eyes that appear to be crying, molten bronze rivulets streaming down the military leader’s face. But who is Lee shedding those hot tears for – himself or the American people? While the left proclaims that destroying the century-old Lee statue will lead to a national “healing,” the truth is that they have torn open old wounds by cutting off the people from their history. It may be the most overused cliché of all, but it’s always worth repeating: those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. And considering that the Civil War was the deadliest ever fought on the North American continent, it would do well to keep apace of that history. Instead, the immature United States of America, whose brief history is just a flash in the pan compared to many other nations, would rather tempt fate.
And speaking of tempting fate, the way the monument’s destruction was staged seems to be a very deliberate effort to mock and taunt the political right. In the Washington Post’s video of the dismemberment of the Lee statue, we are first shown two foundry workers who are unwrapping the decapitated bronze head, which, for whatever reason, appears to have been placed inside of an Indian shawl. Next, one of the workers proceeds to use a blowtorch to cut away Lee’s face from the rest of his head, creating what could best be described as a ‘death mask.’ Why on Earth was that necessary? Finally, as if this were not dramatic enough, we are shown the cutaway of the face standing upright on the furnace, which causes the face to glow bright orange, thus causing the spooky tearing effect – and just in time for Halloween.
“Well, they can’t put Humpty Dumpty back together again,” cackled Andrea Douglas, executive director of Charlottesville’s African American Heritage Center, one of the invited guests to the Lee roast. “There will be no tape for that.”
Now try to imagine the uproar that would have occurred had the statue been of, say Malcolm X or Martin Luther King, and the attendees were white folks cracking equally inane jokes.
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For all the talk of “healing” and righting historic wrongs, all of this appears to be a deliberate provocation and show of force directed at the American right. In August 2017, Charlottesville turned into a pitched battle between ‘white nationalist’ groups and ‘Antifa’ over the decision to remove the Lee statue. That decision was made by the city council earlier that year, because the monument’s presence “disrespected” parts of the city’s community. The protest rallies culminated in a vehicle-ramming attack by a white supremacist in which one person was killed and 35 injured.
Seeing how easily the city council stamp provoked passions on the political right, one can’t help but question the decision not just to destroy the statue, but to show it off in a way that amounts to borderline desecration. With another presidential election season already upon us, the timing for bringing Lee out of the closet looks very suspect. Could this be an attempt to incite MAGA supporters to organize another tiki torch parade in the town square, thus rekindling old fears about “white supremacism”? Then again, it’s just as likely a simple case of the left, perpetually ready to be “triggered” by a perceived offense, failing (or deliberately refusing) to consider the “triggers” of their political opponents.
This leads us to the $50,000 question: what will the 6,000 pounds (about 2,721.55 kg) of bronze that used to be Robert E. Lee and his horse be turned into? All things considered, it’s much easier to say what it will not be, and that’s some white dude, either living or dead, unless ‘they’ were born a biological female and pledge allegiance to the rainbow-colored flag and the 57 different genders. Still, we can make some wild guesses. How about a 300-foot bronze flagpole from where the good people of Charlottesville can hoist the multi-colored flag for the annual LGBTQ+ Pride Month? Or maybe a massive bronze throne from where Drag Queen Story Hours can take place, featuring cross-dressing wonders like Trixie Mattel, Alaska Thunderf*ck, and Sasha Velour, who will enlighten youngsters on the latest sexually charged reading material.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.
