Facebook Follies of Friends and Families

[Tamas]

Kudos for drawing a parallel between Lee and the Holocaust though 

[Razgovory]

How clever they must consider themselves for having come up with that one. Jesus.

Yeah, I saw someone make that argument.  Though she claimed that the Germans perserved it.  I had to point out that the Auschwitz was in Poland, and the Germans really didn't have much say in what is preserved.

[Eddie Teach]

The Germans have preserved Dachau, haven't they?

[viper37]

I read the letters that are the source for people's views on his thoughts on race and slavery and yeah he does say there are a few problems with it but overall he basically has a perfectly conventional view of slavery for a member of his class. Slavery in America was much better for blacks than living in Africa.

No argument from me.  He certainly wasn't an abolitionist.

The abolitionists were vile troublemakers who were breaking apart the country.

Well, breaking apart the country is evil, isn't it?

I feel like people tend to ignore most of what he says on these topics but focus on little nuggets and blow them out of proportion

You mean people are transforming history to suit their political vision?  say it ain't so! 

I remember being very annoyed by Gods and Generals and Gettysburg putting ridiculous abolitionist statements in the mouths of Longstreet and Jackson. I see no evidence either was so detached from the reality of slavery in the South even in the unlikely event they did have those opinions. But the number of abolitionists in Confederate Army was probably much lower than sometimes perceived...like zero.

I don't recall about Jackson holding abolitionist views, I remember him having a black friend. It seemed odd at first, but then I read that a few free blacks joined the Confederates and a few slaves hoping to be freed.

As for Longstreet, I didn't interpret it as being an abolitionist view.  His talk of freeing the slaves then firing on Fort Sumter (or seceding, I can't remember) was a political manoeuver to insure the Confederacy's survival.  He knew full well the Confederates couldn't hope to survive without, at the very least, recognition from France and England, at best, a military alliance, and that would not come as long as they were a slave State.  It's hard to pretend you fight for State's right and gain sympathy for your cause when you're still practicing slavery, one of the (if not the) last Christian nation where it is practiced.

It's funny we talk about Longstreet now, I woke up this morning wondering if any of his statues got tore down and I read this:
Where are the monuments to Confederate Gen. James Longstreet?

[viper37]

Every time I think memes can't get any stupider, and shameless...

It makes me realize how I truly lack imagination.

[Savonarola]

It's hard to pretend you fight for State's right and gain sympathy for your cause when you're still practicing slavery, one of the (if not the) last Christian nation where it is practiced.

Brazil would have been the last (1888).  Cuba still had slaves until 1886.

[viper37]

It's hard to pretend you fight for State's right and gain sympathy for your cause when you're still practicing slavery, one of the (if not the) last Christian nation where it is practiced.

Brazil would have been the last (1888).  Cuba still had slaves until 1886.

didn't some Confederates move there after the war (Brazil)?  Or was it Argentina?  I seem to remember someone posting pictures of Confederates descendants in grey uniforms from somewhere in South America.

[Eddie Teach]

But they were Catholics so it didn't count. Right, viper?

[viper37]

But they were Catholics so it didn't count. Right, viper?

Catholics are good people.  Only Protestants are evil sinners.  This is what my Catholic school taught us, at least. 

[Savonarola]

didn't some Confederates move there after the war (Brazil)?  Or was it Argentina?  I seem to remember someone posting pictures of Confederates descendants in grey uniforms from somewhere in South America.

Brazil - Confederados

Some also went to Mexico (it's implied that the John Wayne character in "The Searchers" had gone there), and I see from Wikipedia some went to British Honduras as well.

[sbr]

Saw this on my Facebook feed, and then I saw the President has retweeted this:



Once upon a time I was going in style
Now I'm only going in shock
There's nothing I can do
A total eclipse of Barack

This one kills me. In their analogy Trump is a dead dark useless rock while Obama is the brilliant, glorious life giving sun.

[Valmy]

It doesn't even make any sense. Obama got eclipsed back in January.

[viper37]

didn't some Confederates move there after the war (Brazil)?  Or was it Argentina?  I seem to remember someone posting pictures of Confederates descendants in grey uniforms from somewhere in South America.

Brazil - Confederados

Some also went to Mexico (it's implied that the John Wayne character in "The Searchers" had gone there), and I see from Wikipedia some went to British Honduras as well.

Yeah, I remembered Mexico, but they were expelled after the overthrow of the Emperor, IIRC.

So it was indeed Brazil.  Very interesting read, thank you

[The Minsky Moment]

The Germans have preserved Dachau, haven't they?

yes there is a memorial site.
The closest parallel to that in the US from the Civil war era would be Andersonville, which is preserved as a memorial/museum, and with no plans to close it.
I don't have any objection to preserving Confederate era sites as museums people teaching the atrocities of slavery and the treachery of Confederate leadership in defense of that abhorrent institution.  That's the equivalent of what the Germans do.  But that would require a big change to the way that Confederate memorials are organized now.

The Germans don't erect statutes to Guderian, Manstein, and Speer and in front of their courthouses.

[The Brain]

Who was it who had a mancrush on Speer? Hortense?