When you Erase the History of a Country, that history is Bound to Be Repeated.

What a lot of people, mostly in the left, don't seem to realize is that this move to "destroy historical monuments in the name of racism" is that future generations would not be taught what happened to that nation.

Removing confederate statues, removing this history would be similar to the calls from nazis to remove the history, the past of nazism, and the attempt to rewrite what the nazis, and Hitler himself did "as being necessary in the minds of today's nazis".

Perhaps most of you don't know, or don't remember, but Russia made a similar "erasure of history", and it was fairly recently.

Russia, under Vladimir Putin, decided to erase the history of what Stalin did. The atrocities he sanctioned, and instead they rewrote what Stalin did "as being necessary for the betterment of the nation."

The rehabilitation of Stalin: Putin rewrites history to convince almost half of all Russians that megalomaniac dictator was just a man with 'good intentions'

The Russian authorities went as far as raiding a historical building that had accumulated all the atrocities committed by Stalin.

This "erasure of history" didn't stop there.

By Tom Parfitt, Moscow

5:57PM BST 12 Oct 2014

Russia's justice ministry is moving to close down the country's most respected human rights group in what critics say is the latest attempt to stifle criticism of the Kremlin.

The ministry has applied to the country's supreme court to "liquidate" Memorial, which is known for its scrupulous documenting of Joseph Stalin's repressions, as well as for highlighting abuse of civilians in Chechnya and other rights violations.
..
On the same day, the Russian state-controlled NTV channel ran a smear programme about Memorial, suggesting its employees aided terrorists.
...

Russia applies to 'liquidate' its most respected human rights group

There were many Russians who went along with Putin's removal of Stalin's atrocities and re-writing history to claim "Stalin had good reason for those atrocities".

Stalin's new status in Russia

However, many other Russians knew what this would mean and kept trying to protest against such action by the government of Putin.

Russians to Putin: We Won’t Forget Stalin’s Crimes

When the history of a nation is erased, and re-written, even under the pretext of "for the good of all" or any other such pretext, what happens is that future generations forget their past. A society/nation that forgets it's past, is bound to repeat that past.

History repeats itself...regardless

Humanity was programmed in it's inception to screw itself over...every time..

a reply to: ElectricUniverse

Yes! What's next?

Burn books?

At least you have a very large vibrant history that is well kept and in museums for future generations to learn from. You can trace back to the Roman empires, Vikings, kings and queens of the Victorian times. What ever, you can say them things.

It's ironic that you say this, as part of the very notion you are defending the attack of your history, is to me, and many black people a small part of the larger picture as to how we was stripped of our right to look back within our black history (my history)

Not only were they stripped of freedom, made out to be lesser humans but more than anything our history was completely wiped out of all history books.

You know how hard it is to find people of black heritage that know about our history? The Mali, Axum, songhai and etheopian empires? Black people were stripped of an identity for hundreds of years, culture town apart and erased.

What you say is correct, getting rid of any history is bad as it's there to learn and build from. But just remember what it also represents to other people.

a reply to: ElectricUniverse

Comparing the confederate statues to destroying Nazi structures and everything related is rather a far stretch to be honest.

Right after the war the purging began, and in came something else to take advantage of the fragile Germany, and it became divided. A literal wall was put up, and guess what, some of that wall is still up as an example.

But here is the thing. Confederate statues were put up shortly after the war, and some were put up in obviously glorification of those leaders who fought for the southern 'core values' which was racism and American, southern supremacy.
Nazi statues and what not were put up DURING or before WW2 began, and torn down literally right after. It wasn't erasing history, it was erasing the reason why those statues were there, to show who is or was boss.

When you take down statues of Lee or unknown confederate soldiers, that were put up only 10 - 15 years after everything sort of settled, and then tear them down in angry mobs 100 years later, then it becomes erasing history.
When will it stop? If people keep up this mentality then start tearing down every statue of every American leader in history who pretty much all owned slaves and kept the constitutional right to own them for a very long time.

The names Stalingrad and Leningrad for instance were changed from their previous names to ''honor'' those two, Stalin and Lenin. Honoring those names was to honor their tyranny. When the names were purged, they went back to their original names.
When statues and names ''honor'' those for whom they are erected and they are tyrannts such as Stalin, I think they should be changed.

But these statues of Lee for instance, I do not think they should be removed. Rather, moved to the battle fields of Confederate defeat where they can be associated with the blood spilled in defense of slavery.

a reply to: BlackSkinhead

Word.

No one is erasing history so just calm your jets.

a reply to: Sillyolme

Are they not? I'm pretty sure that destroying statues is destroying history.

a reply to: strongfp

The wall went up two decades after the war. I went there when it was pretty new. Hadn't been there but I think six or seven years. That was in 1967. I was ten. My uncle was in the army stationed in Fulda . My aunt, a German citizen had family on the other side she had not seen for a while.
I think the wall was in response to communism. To halt it's spread.
Not in response to ww2.

I keep saying we need to add lots of statues depicting the horrors of slavery. Evil white men whipping slaves across the back until their skin was shredded; evil white men ripping children from their mother's arms to sell to another plantation; evil white men not allowing men and women slaves to marry each other; evil white men not allowing slave children to learn to read and write, etc.

So we don't forget how evil the white man can be. History is important.

originally posted by: Wide-Eyes
a reply to: Sillyolme

Are they not? I'm pretty sure that destroying statues is destroying history.

Oddly enough, most Germans seem to be pretty aware of all things Hitler, despite the more or less total ban on all things Nazi.

Not to say that I think it's cool to remove every last memorial to the folks that lost their rebellion, nor am I putting Lee on the same level as Hitler (good God, no!), but simply saying that this is a pretty weak argument against it.

originally posted by: Sillyolme
No one is erasing history so just calm your jets.

except for politicians erasing emails classified at the time

originally posted by: Sillyolme
a reply to: strongfp

The wall went up two decades after the war. I went there when it was pretty new. Hadn't been there but I think six or seven years. That was in 1967. I was ten. My uncle was in the army stationed in Fulda . My aunt, a German citizen had family on the other side she had not seen for a while.
I think the wall was in response to communism. To halt it's spread.
Not in response to ww2.

The wall was built by East Germany (aka the German Democratic Republic) and the Soviet Union (aka The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics).

originally posted by: Tucket
History repeats itself...regardless

Humanity was programmed in it's inception to screw itself over...every time..

History cannot repeat.

Mastering emotions can benefit the future.

a reply to: ElectricUniverse

I'd like to agree with you, but the comparison with Russia is totally wrong. They are still in the process of whitewashing Stalin's crimes right now, but they're doing it to bolster national pride and for a Russian chauvinist agenda. They feel nostalgia for the Soviet Union and for Stalin, perceived as a strong, good leader. Monuments to his crimes are seen as insults to Russia, and part of a foreign (American) agenda to undermine all things Russian. Meanwhile, the ones who have attacked confederate statues in the US are not pro slavery and they don't miss the confederacy. Are you honestly saying that they're trying to erase slavery from history? I think if the far left got their way, then there'd be more reminders of it, and mentions in schoolbooks, not less.

I don't think it's good to be tearing down those statues with mobs, but what you're saying is mostly bunk, sorry. What about all the Nazi monuments that got taken down after WWII? Did taking them down make Germans forget about the Nazi regime? Or Americans? I don't think so, just turn on discovery channel any day of the week, or open up a history book (not trying to compare Lee to Hitler or anything, you brought it up first.)

a reply to: ElectricUniverse

that would never happen here, we are all way too smart to let that happen.....Oh look,..... a squirrel!

originally posted by: BlackSkinhead
At least you have a very large vibrant history that is well kept and in museums for future generations to learn from. You can trace back to the Roman empires, Vikings, kings and queens of the Victorian times. What ever, you can say them things.

It's ironic that you say this, as part of the very notion you are defending the attack of your history, is to me, and many black people a small part of the larger picture as to how we was stripped of our right to look back within our black history (my history)

Not only were they stripped of freedom, made out to be lesser humans but more than anything our history was completely wiped out of all history books.

You know how hard it is to find people of black heritage that know about our history? The Mali, Axum, songhai and etheopian empires? Black people were stripped of an identity for hundreds of years, culture town apart and erased.

What you say is correct, getting rid of any history is bad as it's there to learn and build from. But just remember what it also represents to other people.

Aren't the reasons for them not knowing those histories mainly because those empires didn't value writing, art or keep anything as sacred themsleves? I thought that was a big part of it.

a reply to: ElectricUniverse

How is it "erasing history" when there are still museum exhibits, books, documentaries, and personal memorabilia of it?

And if you're going to make the argument that "erasing history means it will repeat itself", then the same argument can be made that "not erasing history means it will repeat itself". After all, the confederacy only lasted for 4 years. But because its symbols and figures were never erased, you have people still promoting & memorializing it 150+ years later. The US never outlawed Nazism, so it's not surprising that 70+ years after WW2 ended we find ourselves looking at neo-Nazi rallies.

There will always be some people who will repeat the ideas from the past, regardless of any attempts to erase or memorialize them. But that doesn't mean that these things should be placed on public grounds and maintained through taxpayer money.

Hmmmmm.... with no history, playing the Devils advocate, no one will have anyone to blame for their failures. Not Libs Conservatives, Blacks, Whites, Browns, Gays, Trans, Catholics, Protestants, Buddhists, Hindus, Vegans Beefeaters, Alkies, Potheads .......and the list goes on. Only drawback I see. Our landfills will quickly fill to capacity.