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dragonlady7via http://ift.tt/2vbsdfG:
I wrote a Twitter rant, briefly, today, about the ludicrousness of Trump framing Confederate monuments as “our” history. And I went at it from the angle of, I’m from New York, (and so is he) and New York State was the largest, most populous, wealthiest, and strongest state in the Union, and as such contributed more manpower and resources than anyone to the Union’s victory, and what’s more, bled more.
And like, I get that it’s kind of a yt ppl thing to be furious at this particular desecration of my ancestors– because lionizing the traitors in that war is, obviously, about white supremacy, which clearly isn’t aimed at me, and there are far worse desecrations going on here– but I think it’s important for somebody to point out that white supremacy is a slap in the face to the actual history of white people too. Like, I’m happy to get in line to be mad about it, I’m well aware there’s worse shit going on, but this is worth putting on the list, so I’m putting it on the goddamn list.
My hometown raised a regiment (the 125th) and lost a bunch of them as POWs in the Andersonville prison. A relative of mine also died there.
I’m not saying that everyone in the Union who fought in that war did so out of an altruistic desire to end slavery; that’s an ahistoric white savior myth and it’s not helpful to think that way. I’m also absolutely not saying that everyone who fought was white, which is another fallacy I’ve seen. (Via Wikipedia, 4,125 free blacks from New York served in the Union Army, including three full regiments.)
I’m just saying, if you think the approximately 50,000 casualties New York State sustained in the Civil War are worth less than the idea of white supremacy, you can go eat rocks, and I hope you choke. Fuck your Lost Cause bullshit. Fuck your “our” bullshit. There is no “we” here.
I want to make little banners with the regimental colors of the units from each NY county that served, and go around and every time I see a traitor flag, tear it down and put up the appropriate local regiment, but I don’t have the time, so think of that in your head. Fuck your bullshit; if you cared about history, you’d honor your actual predecessors.
I wrote a Twitter rant, briefly, today, about the ludicrousness of Trump framing Confederate monuments as “our” history. And I went at it from the angle of, I’m from New York, (and so is he) and New York State was the largest, most populous, wealthiest, and strongest state in the Union, and as such contributed more manpower and resources than anyone to the Union’s victory, and what’s more, bled more.
And like, I get that it’s kind of a yt ppl thing to be furious at this particular desecration of my ancestors– because lionizing the traitors in that war is, obviously, about white supremacy, which clearly isn’t aimed at me, and there are far worse desecrations going on here– but I think it’s important for somebody to point out that white supremacy is a slap in the face to the actual history of white people too. Like, I’m happy to get in line to be mad about it, I’m well aware there’s worse shit going on, but this is worth putting on the list, so I’m putting it on the goddamn list.
My hometown raised a regiment (the 125th) and lost a bunch of them as POWs in the Andersonville prison. A relative of mine also died there.
I’m not saying that everyone in the Union who fought in that war did so out of an altruistic desire to end slavery; that’s an ahistoric white savior myth and it’s not helpful to think that way. I’m also absolutely not saying that everyone who fought was white, which is another fallacy I’ve seen. (Via Wikipedia, 4,125 free blacks from New York served in the Union Army, including three full regiments.)
I’m just saying, if you think the approximately 50,000 casualties New York State sustained in the Civil War are worth less than the idea of white supremacy, you can go eat rocks, and I hope you choke. Fuck your Lost Cause bullshit. Fuck your “our” bullshit. There is no “we” here.
I want to make little banners with the regimental colors of the units from each NY county that served, and go around and every time I see a traitor flag, tear it down and put up the appropriate local regiment, but I don’t have the time, so think of that in your head. Fuck your bullshit; if you cared about history, you’d honor your actual predecessors.
