University of Texas Removes Jefferson Davis Statue

[Operator 1,927]

http://time.com/4017022/jefferson-davis-statue-removed/

The UT student body had voted for the statue to be removed

The University of Texas at Austin removed a statue of Confederate president Jefferson Davis on Sunday.

The move happened days after an appeal by a Confederate supporter group was rejected by a state district judge. The statue of Davis is expected to be placed in UT’s Briscoe Center for American History in about 18 months.

In March the UT student body had voted for the statue to be removed from its prominent spot on campus. The Sons of Confederate Veterans had sued to prevent UT from moving the statue, but lost.

As the AP notes, Confederate symbols nationwide have been a target of criticism in the aftermath of the mass shooting at a historically black church in Charleston, S.C. The statue of Davis at UT was criticized as a symbol of racism.

My guess is that Mt. Rushmore and the Jefferson Memorial won't be far behind.

[Teddy B 17,252]

My guess is that Mt. Rushmore and the Jefferson Memorial won't be far behind.

Mt. Rushmore will more than likely be safe simply because of Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. They could change Jefferson's face to a bust of Obama! Or even better, Richard Nixon.

If they ever were to change any of the faces on Mt Rushmore, I'd like to see Dwight Eisenhower on there. I think he is the best US President in the last 100 years and a great military mind.

[Ban Hammer 13,395]

Mt. Rushmore will more than likely be safe simply because of Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. They could change Jefferson's face to a bust of Obama! Or even better, Richard Nixon.

you're really trying for that presidential medal of freedom, aren't you?

[Jacque67 7,328]

Some peeps are just such haterzzzz;)

[Teddy B 17,252]

you're really trying for that presidential medal of freedom, aren't you?

It will fit nicely on the mantle right next to my Nobel Peace Prize.

[JohnR! 5,495]

Are those two properties owned by UT as well?

My guess is that Mt. Rushmore and the Jefferson Memorial won't be far behind.

[Not a Tailor 1,370]

My wife works at UT and I have to say, this was the result of overwhelming support from the students and staff to remove the statue. Very few wanted it to stay.

[Sousuke 1,214]

Seems fine to me. Glad they aren't destroying it.

[Operator 1,927]

Are those two properties owned by UT as well?

You're right, removing symbols of slavery and racism should be limited to UT. What was I thinking?

"Statues of other Confederate figures - Confederate Gens. Robert E. Lee and Albert Sidney Johnston, and Confederate Postmaster General John H. Reagan - will remain in their places on campus."

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CONFEDERATE_SYMBOLS_DAVIS_STATUE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

What did that statue ever do to anyone? And what purpose does removing it serve?

[JohnR! 5,495]

The statue is an icon. A statue, a flag, a burning cross - they're all icons. They can't do anything to a person and yet they can instill fear, denote repression and convey some hateful messages. Their removal represents the rejection of the values they embody by our society.

What did that statue ever do to anyone? And what purpose does removing it serve?

Edited September 2, 2015 by JohnR!

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

The statue is an icon. A statue, a flag, a burning cross - they're all icons. They can't do anything to a person and yet they can instill fear, denote repression and convey some hateful messages. Their removal represents the rejection of the values they embody by our society.

Afraid knot. If a person holds hatred in their heart for something, someone, or a group of someones, taking down a symbol will NOT erase that emotion in any way. It will only go away if said holder opts to change or dies.

[JohnR! 5,495]

As a society we make that option collectively when we remove these icons from our communities. It is not panacea but every little bit helps. Taking down the icon helps in many ways.

Afraid knot. If a person holds hatred in their heart for something, someone, or a group of someones, taking down a symbol will NOT erase that emotion in any way. It will only go away if said holder opts to change or dies.

Edited September 2, 2015 by JohnR!

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

As a society we make that option collectively when we remove these icons from our communities. It is not panacea but every little bit helps. Taking down the icon helps in many ways.

He was a US president. He was a part of history, and that cannot be changed.

People cannot change the past, only learn from it, and hopefully move on in a better direction than our ancestors did.

[JohnR! 5,495]

No you can't change the past but you can and should disavow certain actions and admit the wrongs done in the course of history. You can change history by changing what will become history in the future by taking action in the present.

Furthermore JD was never a US president. Here is the list of US presidents:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/Presidents

18th Century

1. George Washington
2. John Adams

19th Century

3. Thomas Jefferson
4. James Madison
5. James Monroe
6. John Quincy Adams
7. Andrew Jackson
8. Martin Van Buren
9. William Henry Harrison
10. John Tyler
11. James K. Polk
12. Zachary Taylor
13. Millard Fillmore
14. Franklin Pierce
15. James Buchanan
16. Abraham Lincoln
17. Andrew Johnson
18. Ulysses S. Grant
19. Rutherford B. Hayes
20. James Garfield
21. Chester A. Arthur
22. Grover Cleveland
23. Benjamin Harrison
24. Grover Cleveland
25. William McKinley

20th Century

26. Theodore Roosevelt
27. William Howard Taft
28. Woodrow Wilson
29. Warren G. Harding
30. Calvin Coolidge
31. Herbert Hoover
32. Franklin D. Roosevelt
33. Harry S. Truman
34. Dwight D. Eisenhower
35. John F. Kennedy
36. Lyndon B. Johnson
37. Richard M. Nixon
38. Gerald R. Ford
39. James Carter
40. Ronald Reagan
41. George H. W. Bush
42. William J. Clinton

21st Century

43. George W. Bush
44. Barack Obama

He was a US president. He was a part of history, and that cannot be changed.

People cannot change the past, only learn from it, and hopefully move on in a better direction than our ancestors did.

Edited September 2, 2015 by JohnR!