LEE & JACKSON MONUMENTS VANDALIZED IN RICHMOND VA.

e-mail | Ernest Bower

[XRdsRev]

Couldn't find this posted here yet. I got an email from the publisher of a well known Civil War magazine who related that this morning it was discovered that the statues of Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson in Richmond, Virginia had been vandalized last night.

The damage was discovered this morning as ceremonies were being prepared for Lee-Jackson Day.

[CoolPapaBoze]

Yes, there are parades, but in keeping with Sheila Jackson Lee's preferences, they're only about 100 yds long.

[XRdsRev]

No problem. The information about the Jackson statue vandalism came from another email. I don't think that incident is mentioned in the article I linked.

[satan]

We used to include Rodney King in Lee-Jackson-King day, but now it's a separate holiday.

[kingu]

Very sad...

Robert E. Lee monument defaced

Investigators are trying to determine who spray-painted "Death To Nazis" and "Happy Birthday MLK" on the Robert E. Lee statue on Monument Avenue early yesterday.

Major Mike Jones of the Capitol Police said it appears the vandalism occurred between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. "There are no witnesses that we've been able to find," he said.

Even though the vandalism appeared to be a political statement and "issue specific," Jones said, "it hasn't been declared a hate crime."

But given the cleaning bill and a damaged light, "we're treating it as a felony," he said.

The Lee statue is the only one on Monument Avenue that belongs to the state, Jones said, which is why the Capitol Police are handling the investigation, with assistance from Richmond police.

Vandalism to the statue is hardly new.

"It happens almost annually," Jones said. "A monument can be a lightning rod for emotions and feelings, especially between holidays" such as the Lee-Jackson Day Friday and the Martin Luther King Jr. day tomorrow.

Anyone with information about the vandalism is asked to call Capitol Police at 786-4357.

[Dante3]

It sure fits the definiton of a hate crime.

[Cobra64]

Thomas Jackson? I thought it was *Andrew* Jackson.

[billbears]

General Lee's birthday is January 19th. Virginia even closed state offices on the 16th. Don't know much about it as I don't think NC has that day. Although we do have our Confederate Memorial Day on May 10th

Confederate bump

[fella]

I grewup in Northern Virginia during te 50s and 60s. Lee, Jackson day was a big day for us school kids because we got the day off. This was way before MLK was even metioned on the evening news.

[Capriole]

I still proudly hang my First National out on Lee-Jackson Day. No one here in Maryland has any idea what it means.

[Jackknife]

UHHHH ..... History teaches that Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson and Andrew jackson were two different people .......

[Tijeras_Slim]

I'd wager the perps are spoiled white teens like the punks that protest capitalism and SUVs. Just a hunch.

[Cobra64]

Sorry. I thought "Stonewall" was Andrew Jackson's nick-name. I'll Google on it.

[Corin Stormhands]

I seem to recall this happening before. And I seem to remember that Richmond police said "It happens all the time."

[putupon]

I remember a thread when they put the Lincoln statue in Trededgar, the die hard Yankees that don't know squat about Richmond were saying it was going to be a vandalism target.

[aomagrat]

Just goes to show you who the real haters are. Here in SC there has to be a guard on the Confederate Soldiers Memorial to keep it from being vandalized, while the AfricanAmerican Memorial goes unmolested.

[sultan88]

Since Mark Warner has been Governor, there has been no "Lee-Jackson Day" proclamation. In the past, this was an annual event. It's still a state holiday though.

A belated Happy Lee-Jackson Day!!

[Tijeras_Slim]

Andrew Jackson's nickname was "Old Hickory."

[sultan88]

"I thought "Stonewall" was Andrew Jackson's nick-name."

I surely hope you are joking!!

[hershey]

This is awful. Why in God's name can't the South celebrate its history like the rest of the country? Lincoln wanted to welcome the southern states back into the fold as returning brothers. This entire flim-flam over Confederate symbols, statues, etc., is just a way to whip up racial hatred. It works like a charm to keep blacks in line as obedient democRAT voters, too.

[Cobra64]

I should have put an </sarcasm> addendum.