At the end of this article, The New York Times picked some of 277+ comments, although you can read them all. Take a look at those few comments posted below.
WASHINGTON — Under fire for defending racist activist groups, President Trump said on Twitter on Thursday that he was “sad” to see United States’ history torn apart by the removal of “our beautiful statues and monuments,” echoing a popular refrain of white supremacist groups that oppose the removal of Confederate monuments. . . .
Many people who do not identify as white supremacists support keeping the monuments as a connection to their history and heritage.
A NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll on Monday and Tuesday of 1,125 adults showed 86 percent of the Republicans surveyed thought Confederate statues should remain in place as a symbol of history. . . .
Some in favor of keeping the statues argue that the interpretation of the monuments could be revised to teach future generations about white privilege. But practically, that is unrealistic, said W. Fitzhugh Brundage, a history professor at the University of North Carolina. Mr. Brundage said it would be expensive to add explanatory plaques next to the Confederate monuments, and that may not be a prominent enough display of the reinterpretation.
To those who argue that the statues are not about hate but heritage, Mr. Brundage said relocating them to a museum would not erase the heritage.
“You’re not erasing history,” Mr. Brundage said. “You’re just transforming a landscape so that you can make it one you’re comfortable living in.”
Corey Stewart, a Republican who has said he plans to run against Senator Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia, in 2018, defended Mr. Trump on Thursday.
First. Read the complete article. Then enjoy these selected comments from NYT readers.
William Wenthe — Lubbock, TX
Lee and other confederate generals were slaveholders who led an insurrection against the United States. George Washington was a slaveholder AND he led the continental army to victory. Thomas Jefferson was a slaveholder AND he wrote the Declaration of Independence. The “AND” makes all the difference. Has this been pointed out to the President and that pundidiot, Tucker Carlson? The “AND” is also where the painful discussion of our nation’s history and legacy of racism begins. NYT Pick
Deborah — San Diego, CA
These “monuments” attesting to the alleged “glory” of soldiers of the confederate states are monuments to slavery. You need to read each and everyone one of the Articles of Secession — I have. ALL of them unequivocally demonstrate that the 13 Southern States seceded solely to retain their right to enslave People of Color. How can you even contemplate leaving these statues, all of which are intended to glorify this repugnant period in our history, in place? These statues cause great pain to many citizens of our country. That they were allowed to remain in public places as long as they were is a moral disgrace. NYT Pick
Malgorzata — New York
I don’t support him or his presidency, but, as a principle, I object to removing symbols of the past from public spaces by whoever disagrees with what these objects represent.
I mourn over ancient statues destroyed by ISIS in Syria, I wish statues of Lenin still be there in my hometown, Warsaw. Nobody worships those people anymore, they are just reminder of the nation’s history. This is our past, our collective heritage as a human race. If, at some point, every generation destroyed the representations of ideologies they had not like in the past we would not have Louvre, Ermitage …
Warsaw was destroyed by Germans during II WW, Dresden was destroyed by allies… Did it do any good to the world? just a thought… NYT Pick
Kim Murphy — Upper Arlington, Ohio
Traitors don’t get statues. That’s why Germany doesn’t have Hitler statues. Losers don’t get monuments and honors, which is why we don’t have King George III statues or fly the Union Jack. These statues don’t represent the history of “our” country. The represent the history of a completely separate country which tried to destroy ours. Many of the people defending these statues have never opened a history book. NYT Pick
A.G. — Missouri
Even though I am a direct descendant of two men who fought for the Confederacy (one of whom was killed by Union soldiers), I absolutely believe that there should be NO statues honoring Confederate soldiers.
This is because the soldiers of the Confederacy fought for ONE reason only–and that was to ensure people remain enslaved. (All other reasons–such as states’ rights–were mere covers for the one real reason). And in fighting to keep slavery, they were traitors to the United States of America by trying to rip it asunder. WHY would we ever want to revere men who fought for such a horrifying cause and who were traitors to boot?
(I also have two direct ancestors who fought for the Union–one of whom was imprisoned in the infamous Libby Prison where he was treated horribly by the Rebels).
Thus I am appalled that Donald Trump wants to honor these traitors to our country–men who fought to keep people enslaved–by protecting their statues. NYT Pick
ChapelThrill23 — Chapel Hill, NC
I hope that people don’t allow President Trump to turn the conversation to solely being about monuments. The issues brought up by Charlottesville are only tangentially about monuments. Many good people who were horrified at the sight of torch-wielding white nationalists and neo-Nazis parading through Charlottesville and chanting racist and anti-semitic slogans believe that Confederate era-monuments should stay up. That isn’t the main issue. The main issue is that the President of the United States through his use of false equivalencies is giving tremendous encouragement to hate groups that are far outside of the mainstream and that should be condemned as strongly as possible by everyone regardless of what they think should happen to Confederate statues. The focus should be on who marched in Charlottesville.