On my side, my kids are related to Daniel Boone. Through their father, they are direct descendents of Robert E. Lee, and through Lee's wife, Mary Custis, descendents of George Washington.
When I told my father (a history buff) that my kids had a tie to a famous war figure, he got excited. Said that despite his loyalties, he was the best the South had, gentleman-wise. Accounts detail how he didn't want the south to secede, but for the nation to stay intact; but he did as soldiers do and followed orders.
That's not a whole lot of positive, especially when it comes to light that Lee was ordered to emancipate the slaves belonging to the estate of his father in law, within 5 years of his death. Robert E Lee decided to work the slaves until the end of that five year period, when it was the slaves understanding that they'd be freed upon the death of their owner.
How fucked up is it to be told "You'll be free once I'm dead," and then have to wait five more years before it becomes a reality? Oh, and he ordered slaves beaten because they didn't want to wait five fucking years to be as free as him. So, that's a big black mark on his legacy; ends up the situation bit him on the ass and colored his views of how he perceived the institution of slavery.
His main claim to fame is his role in the American Civil War; a general who had mixed feelings about his nation, but let his personal honor dictate how he participated in forging it's future.
I've got mixed feelings about how Robert E Lee is venerated in this country; he was loyal to the Union until his personal honor as a man of Virginia led him to the Confederate side. He privately denounced seceding as "anarchy" and "revolution," but felt compelled to defend his home state of Virginia.
He advocated for the emancipation of slaves during the war (so they could fight, sigh), and stated that it would be in the South's best interests to abolish slavery.
So when it comes to the whole Charlottesville shitshow, I've got especially mixed feelings.
It's not accurate to say that everybody who fought for the South during the Civil War wanted slavery to continue. That's a misrepresentation of a very nuanced situation. Sure, there were a lot of folks who wanted the status quo, cannot deny that. But blanket stating that every soldier who fought did so to preserve the institution of slavery is to lie. Some folks felt they had to defend their home, loved ones, and neighbors from the wars created by agenda-peddling assholes who outrank them. Put into such a situation, how does one react? Protect the family. And most of his family was pro-Union.
To many, Lee is a figurehead of the American Civil War, and a Southern war hero. And to celebrate the South's lost glory, they venerate those who led soldiers into battle, as a way to show that the South didn't exactly lose, not when they had such men leading them. Even if those men felt after the war "So far from engaging in a war to perpetuate slavery, I am rejoiced that slavery is abolished. I believe it will be greatly for the interests of the South."
Indiana Jones was right, some things do belong in a museum. Statues of General Robert E Lee could be used as a starting point, but depending on the museum and those in charge, would determine how the public would see him. For some, he was a tool of the South. For others, a brave man fighting for what he felt was right. And for a smaller population which understands nuance and humanity, he was a man at odds with the pop culture caricature of him as a Southern Aristocrat with a preference for the deeply flawed institution of slavery.
Perhaps both sides of the Statue debate could be quelled if the statues were kept and new placards put in place, quoting his statement of rejoicing that slavery ended and how it's in the best interest of the South.
But such moderate solutions tend to blow away in the wind when it comes to black and white thinking, which unfortunately, those behind social engineering encourage. A polarized populace is easier to control, because division keeps people squabbling at each other instead of the broken system that encourages hatemongering and ignorance.
Besides, it's easier to provoke martial law when polarizing topics instigate violence, because that's the path we're on if we keep rolling with the black/white world-view designed by agenda-peddling assholes that outrank us.
