Statute of Confederate Soldier Erected in Norfolk
Lee Hart climbs a ladder to position a granite confederate soldier to the base of a monment in Elmwood Cemetery off Princess Anne Road this morning as members of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, Pickett-Buchanan Chapter 21, were on hand to watch the installation. PHOTO BY BILL TIERNAN / THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Many of the comments in my earlier post about the proposed resolution apologizing for slavery have a “get over it” kind of attitude. And then I click on PilotOnline and see this. Black folks are supposed to “get over” slavery but white folks are allowed to glorify the Confederacy.
Somehow, I think this is a bit of a double standard. If I need to “get over” slavery (despite the fact that the vestiges of slavery remain), then I think y’all need to “get over” this obsession with the Confederacy.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Terry thinks others need a history lesson? Terry – go read a bible. It is clear that marriage was one man married to one woman. For thousands of years.
Waldo, if an apology is offered and accepted and the issue is still brought up and dwelled upon, what was the point of apologizing again?
If someone apologizes to me, and I accept, but I continue to beat the person up over what he apologized for, i didn’t really accept it, did i?
Let me interject here – I accepted your apology, Brian, but not on behalf of anyone else. So as far as you and I are concerned, we’re done. But I don’t accept on behalf of all black folk and you didn’t offer it on behalf of all white folk. That’s where the difference lies.
vjp — I find your statement to Brian revealing. You will accept his apology. However, you will not accept his apology on behalf of all black folk, and you note he did not tender his apology on behalf of all white folk.
Forgiveness has does have its limitations. Only God can forgive all our sins; all we can do is forgive those who have sinned against us. Fortunately, an apology is not required. For when we do forgive, the person most blessed is the person who forgives.
Ultimately, an apology is important only to those who have something they wish to repent. Is this “apology” we have discussed about repentance? I hardly think so.
Tom, what you say makes no sense, especially in the context to which Brian raised the question. I have not been chosen that grand poobah of all black people so I can’t speak for them, pure and simple. And unless I missed it, Brian ain’t the grand poobah of all white people. So how in the heck can he offer and I accept an apology on behalf of all? It can’t be done.
We aren’t talking about forgiveness or repentance. We are talking about the Commonwealth of Virginia saying to its black and Native American citizens that the treatment of blacks and Native Americans at the hand of the state was wrong.
Don’t try to add into the apology anything other than what it is.
I live in the north, and I have never understood the obsession that people in the south have with the civil war. It is not as if the south won the war or anything, they lost. How is it that such a time in a great time of rememberance and honor.
It would seem like it would be a point of shame that they would want to forget. Instead I see them waving that confederate flag like a red badge of courage.
Slavery on the other hand is not something that should be remembered for the sake of pride. It is a horrible situation that black people had to endure. It should it remembered just so that we don’t make the same mistakes again. Just like the Holocaust, and the Indian Massacures. These are things that should never be forgotten so that future generations can learn from the.
vjp – Here is the title of the article you referenced in your earlier post: “Black lawmakers seek Virginia apology for slavery.” The last time I checked apology and forgiveness go hand-in-hand. People apologize in hope of forgiveness and to repent of their misdeeds.
However, if “we are talking about the Commonwealth of Virginia saying to its black and Native American citizens that the treatment of blacks and Native Americans at the hand of the state was wrong,” I am okay with that. Such treatment is already against the law, we do not need to do anything further to make it so.
Governments do not apologies; governments make laws. Our leaders can neither apologize (and repent) nor can they forgive on our behalf.
Well, I guess I don’t see apology and forgiveness as going hand-in-hand. The original title of my post was based on the news article that was attached. Since then, we have gotten the actual text of the press release.
In any event, the original post made no reference to anything other that Virginia – not individuals. I’m glad to know that you are on board with it.
Governments do make apologies. Take a look at the national anti-lynching resolution sponsored by none other than George Allen. It is appropriate when the government perpetrated the wrong.
Government can only go through the motions of making an apology. Individuals atone and repent. Individuals forgive. When that irrational neighbor who discriminates based upon race, sex, or creed ignites your fury and anger, does a non binding resolution make you feel better?
Our laws provide expression of our ideals as a People. The fact we actually enforce and live by those laws give those ideals reality. Battlefield cemeteries throughout this nation and lifetimes of dedicated struggle attest to the difficulty of making and keeping such laws.
What good is a politician mouthing empty words in an apology for sins he did not commit to a People who now abhor the acts he condemns? Such a politician is only a latecomer taking credit for battles already fought and won by others. We need leaders who make good laws and enforce those laws; we do not need more hot air.
Actually, it’s very noble in a self-serving way to believe tht the Civil War was fought to free the slaves. And now, for those still in the dark about the true reason for the war, the truth: the Civil War was fought to eliminate the “unfair” economic practices of the South, that benefited from a “cheap” labor source – slaves.
There was also the States Rights issue.
“31. Reid Greenmun – January 5, 2007
Terry thinks others need a history lesson? Terry – go read a bible. It is clear that marriage was one man married to one woman. For thousands of years.”
The bible as a history lesson? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH, I’d sooner burn the damn thing. Sorry, no “history lesson” should be taught from a book that’s more than 2,000 years old and has been changed throughout history to benefit rulers and tyrants (not to mention the fact that it can’t even be directly translated into English). Don’t be a fool.
Terry — You owe the fact you are allowed to speak your opinion to the Bible. The Christian beliefs in free will and freedom of religion are almost unique amongst the world’s religions, and these beliefs are taught in the Bible. That alone makes the Bible worthy of your respect.
It is true that rulers and tyrants have tried to use the Bible to prop up their rule. It is also true that men interpret and translate the old scriptures incorporated into the Bible imperfectly. What would you have Christians do, prove men are perfect? The Bible was intended for sinners, not angels.
For generations, the Bible has inspired honest scholars to dedicate years of their lives to ensure the accuracy of the Bible. The Bible remains our best eyewitness account of events that happened long ago. That makes the Bible both a book of faith and a history.
Many parts of the Old Testament have been proven correct by recent archeological discoveries.