Your Heroes ain't Mine
Optimism is both a gift and a curse. Half-full glasses of water still ain't full. The things and people I hold sacred probably mean absolutely nothing to someone else. Listening and observing, I always attempt to see through other people's eyes, only to realize I'm blind.
On a ferry ride to Ft. Sumter, I faded into the background, listening and observing. With anything regarding the Civil War, all opinions are subjective, but the facts outweigh opinions and feelings. I listened as the loudspeaker played a taped recital of the events leading up to and including the bombardment of Ft. Sumter, the first shots of the Civil War. It wasn't quite accurate...
The words and nuances gave me pause, making me wonder if like Mark Wahlberg in 'Planet of the Apes' I was in an alternate reality. I never heard the word 'traitor' even though every person who fought for the Confederacy was a traitor. I heard phrases such as 'staunch defenders of Southern rights' but not a fact based statement like 'upholders of a genocidal system' or anything like that. It was kind of depressing.
The words coming through the loudspeaker made me peruse my environment a bit more, suddenly unsure if this had been a good idea. I listened to a father explaining to his son that state's rights shouldn't be overruled by a federal govetnment. If he were talking about marijuana legalization, I'd have agreed, but he wasn't.
On a plaque outside of Ft. Sumter, it reads "dedicated to the proud defenders of the Confederacy who withstood Union bombardments for" however many years. Damn. It didn't say traitors.
South Carolina (beautiful place, great food!) was the first state to secede from the Union. In 1860, fifty-seven percent of its population were enslaved Blacks, which means their entire economy was based on slave labor. Us. After the war, things weren't quite as prosperous, and I imagine that the underlying cause that fathers told sons was to blame the North, or the end of slavery. I imagine those same fathers praised Lee, Davis, and all of the other traitors as heroes...
I wonder if they've ever thought about how it must feel to not know who or where or how or when or why? I'm Black, and we're still trying to learn the answers to those questions. Statues and plaques to Confederates are a slap in the face and a punch in the gut. Tear 'em down, put 'em in museums, etc., but don't glorify the defenders of slavery, genocide, and a system which still is not balanced.
'Make America Great Again.' Sigh. Just to see that slogan on t-shirts, hats, or bumper stickers makes me wanna ask the person representing that saying "When? When was Anerica great?" They'll say whatever and I'll point out the hypocrisy and inaccuracy of their thinking. Would they listen? Would they hear and understand? Or would the belief in false heroes like Lee, Davis, Forrest, Wallace, Limbaugh, Falwell, or Trump outweigh any truths I might speak?
I learned lessons today that I wish I hadn't needed...
