The Latest on Charleston shooting: Memphis mayor wants Confederate statue, grave out of park

U.S. News & World Report ^ | 6/24/2015 | Asociated Press

[middlegeorgian]

10:30 p.m.

The mayor of Memphis, Tennessee, says he thinks a statue of Confederate General and Ku Klux Klan leader Nathan Bedford Forrest should be removed from its location at a city park.

In a statement emailed to The Associated Press on Wednesday, Mayor A C Wharton Jr. said he would like to see the statue removed from Health Sciences Park. Wharton said the graves of Forrest and his wife, also located at the park, should be relocated as well.

Health Sciences Park was called Forrest Park until the City Council voted in February 2013 to change the name. It also changed the name of Confederate Park and Jefferson Davis Park.

It was not immediately clear if the City Council would consider moving the statue.

Lawmakers have already called for the removal of a bust of Forrest from an alcove in the state Senate chambers.

The suspect in last week's shooting deaths of nine black churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina, was seen in photos brandishing the Confederate battle flag as a symbol of hate.

[dfwgator]

anyone could’ve seen this coming since Leftists have been trying to do this for decades.

You think the Left is going to stop there? Next, they will focus on the Founding Fathers, who owned slaves.

I believe in our childrens' lifetime, it is not far-fetched to think that Washington DC will be renamed, because George Washington owned slaves.

[GeronL]

Old Nathan hasn’t missed an election in decades I’m sure, always for the Dems no doubt

[Texicanus]

The mayor and his kind are haters of all that is good about America. The Civil War divided our nation but we found a way through GOD’s grace to forgive one another and reunite as one nation under GOD again. I feel America was ordained by GOD and what GOD has joined together, let no man put asunder.

Evidently the mayor cannot find it in his heart to forgive and forget. He and his kind just won’t let go of the past. They enjoy playing the race card and being the victim. It justifies their hate and actions.

The Confederacy is dead, let it rest in peace. To deny it’s existence and place in history by banning books, battle flags, or whatever remnant of it’s culture is insane. Now he wants to remove statues and even disinter bodies to further this agenda. He is clearly attempting to rewrite history and divide us again.

What is also clear is that the mayor uses the Confederacy and slavery to justify reverse racism. The descendants of Civil War veterans have been made the victims of racism by his hatred for their heritage and their race. He blames the Confederacy for slavery even though slavery has been practiced down throughout the ages and in early America before the Confederacy.

If he were a true leader and a representative of all the races, he would put his personal feelings aside and work to resolve the issues to the benefit of all. He has shown us this is not his agenda.

[RginTN]

Yep, I expect Leftists to make an attempt to remove all historical figures who owned slaves from public buildings. A few years ago they wanted to re-name a school named after a Founding Father(forgot which one).

Sadly none of these historical persons will be taught in public school. Students will have to do their own research to learn about early American history.

[tcrlaf]

Michelle Obama, 2008 - “We are going to have to change our traditions, OUR HISTORY...”

It’s not like the Radical Academic Socialists haven’t been telling us what they planned to do since this began. and yet, so many still don’t, or refuse to, believe it.

https://youtu.be/4f2j_a_7XkE

[dragnet2]

anyone could’ve seen this coming since Leftists have been trying to do this for decades.

And they succeed time and time again. It won't stop at abolishing historic flags, rewriting history and digging up dead soldiers. Not to mention all the other stuff leading up to this point, like mass monitoring communications. I'd guess there is much more in the works.

[nathanbedford]

Many FReepers have asked me privately as well as publicly to comment on the intermittent attacks on the image of Nathan Bedford Forrest and, more recently, on a the movement now gaining increasing momentum to ban the Confederate battle flag. My fundamental feelings about this subject are to be found on my about page to which I invite interested readers.

These comments were written more than a decade ago and they seem to stand the test of time. I think they anticipate the sliding scale of values imposed upon us by the left depending on the flavor of the day. It is a profoundly dangerous tendency to censor speech based on the subjective reaction of a class, or in this case a race, of people because pandering to subjectivity is an open invitation for that class to move the goal posts. A short review of the threads on FreeRepublic will reveal that the left senses blood and will pursue this to the point past absurdity and seek to ban all vestiges of conservatism. Certainly it does not take a prophet to foresee that the next great jihad will be waged against the cross and everything it stands for.

I would add this to the thoughts expressed on the about page that the battle over Confederate indicia is already lost, just as the battle over homosexual marriage is already lost no matter how the Supreme Court rules. These battles are not won or lost in the courts or the legislatures so much as they are won or lost in the institutions which mold the culture and which invariably are forced-funded with public monies such as our public and private schools and universities, our NGOs, The Southern Poverty Law Ctr, our eleemosynary institutions like Rockefeller and Ford, and flat-out propaganda organs like a ACORN and Planned Parenthood.

Talk radio and common sense alone are inadequate shields against relentless well-heeled propaganda onslaughts. Once the left can appropriate, rather misappropriate, the issue of race the argument is over and pusillanimous Republicans who are described in the About Page are certainly not going to brave a media storm to argue for common sense.

Because we have failed to fight this fight in the kindergartens we cannot expect to win it today in governors' offices, legislatures, or courts. The rampage must burn itself out.

[wardaddy]

Unless I’m mistaken since a few years back they cannot do this Just by mayoral decree

Requires extensive legislative action

A law passed to prevent crazed witch hunts like this one

[wardaddy]

Yeah but just look at all the dumbasses on this thread

Ignorant self righteous turds

Have they ever read anything about Forrest besides spoonfed libtard spittle?

[Prince of Space]

When will they dig up Robert Byrd’s remains?

[wardaddy]

Its a helluva lot more than just that I assure you

[wardaddy]

You guys ...south bashers...are so incredibly stupid to think its all the same party on both sides for 150 years

Besides how’s the feckless GOP working out for ya sport

You are just ignorant...how old are you to think so naive and uninformed Alex?

You think John Stennis ...southern democrat was less conservative than your average 1960s era GOP?

There was little difference between them then except moderate GOP worked with the lib Dems to pass all the crap we endure from then.....when Pandora’s box was opened

GOP conservatism was pretty few

Reagan...former Democratic

Goldwater

Buckley

You guys believe this Beck idiocy

What do you know about Forrest really...be specific if you can

Btw

When they are thru with the South they will come for all American tradition and history

In their eyes it’s all the same pyramid of white privilege and racism and exploitation of non whites

White southern history represents the most conservative electorate today

You think they don’t know that?

It’s the lowest hanging fruit....they wont stop there.....this is pure Alinsky scorched earth to keep your foes reeling......feckless GOP...your pards sure won’t stop diddly

Next it’s Jefferson Washington Madison and Franklin and on and on

The Alamo

Do you not get that up there on Mt Saint Self Righteous

Man...this forum is the land of ignorant earnestness

Keep oblivious

Hope you enjoy when they come for your history and try to purge it and declare you the equivalent descendant of Nazis

You should think before spouting off with that Political parties just the same for 150 years dribble

That’s got shite to do with Forrest now

And your precious GOP are disgusting cowards.....they Don’t fight anything but each other

On the bright side....you get to be on my homepage....I’m sure you’ll be honored

[urbanpovertylawcenter]

Actually Old Glory flew over the slaves much longer than the Stars and Bars.

I say time for a new flag America. One we can all be proud of and offends none. Perhaps just a white surrender flag is in order.

[Recompennation]

And obamaaa is heads to sc to mourne the pastor gunned down by “a young man filled with hate”/....
Dimwits on the jump include NBC which this morning reported a beheading in France by a a person carrying an Isis flag with the caveat that the motive is not yet clear.
Just like Nidal Hussein was covered for by muslem good.

[ThePatriotsFlag]

Kind of like ISIS destroying history.

[GailA]

Most of the crime in Memphis is Black on Black, then it devolves to hispanics. Blacks do less time in prison by 6 months than white inmates. The Penal Farm which is an 11 month 29 day facility, is nearly all black, except the DUI weekend time servers. They serve on average 90 days. 85% repeat offense rate. They will tie up several courts at one time, as most have 10+ and up prior convictions. Many have 40 or more.

I see the nightly news, and it is 94% black perps. And victims. They are on the move into the burbs and people are fleeing Shelby County, once it was just Memphis, now it’s the entire county.

The City Council has corrupt D pols, that have served time, been felons, are felons, they are moving onto the County Board to boot.

[central_va]

Here is a picture of the evil likeness.

[bert]

the MLK jr monuments have all become urinals

[GailA]

They’ve been trying this crap for a long time, Bedford’s grave is in a ‘protected’ park if memory serves.

[TXnMA]

I expected to see a photo of Mayor A C Wharton Jr. in the first few posts...

Mayor A C Wharton Jr.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That explains a lot -- and continues confirming who the real racists in America are...