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Tear 'Em Down: CNN Commentator Says Statues to Slave Owner George Washington Have To Go
Townhall.com ^ | August 17, 2017 | Matt Vespa

Posted on 08/18/2017 5:36:31 AM PDT by Kaslin

Only those who are so-called “woke” (I just threw up in my mouth) are deserving of statues in American history. That’s what CNN commentator Angela Rye said during a panel discussion with CNN’s Kate Bolduan. As the nation descends into chaos concerning political commentary over the violence that occurred in Charlottesville, Virginia that left scores of people injured and one woman dead, we’re on the discussion of statues. White nationalists descended into the city last Saturday to supposedly protest the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue. Far left counter protesters arrived and skirmishes broke out. It culminated when a white nationalist drove into counter demonstrators, killing one and injuring 19 others.

Now, we have more cities debating the removal of Confederate statues. Katie wrote how a solid majority of Americans oppose the erasure of American history. Yet, with Rye’s remarks, we now know that this is about removing anyone who they feel were terrible in our history. Washington owned slaves; he has to go. Jefferson owned slaves; he has to go. Oh, we can of course learn about the founding of our nation in classrooms, but by God—when you erect a statue to the men who founded this great country, that’s crossing the line. The Washington Free Beacon clipped the insanity, where Rye gets into a bit of an exchange with Daily Beast’s John Avlon, who said Rye was feeding into the Trump White House’s talking points on the matter. He’s not wrong [emphasis mine]:

CNN Commentator Says Washington, Jefferson Statues Should Come Down

George Washington was a slave owner, and we need to call slave owners out for what they are, whether we think they were protecting American freedom or not," Rye said. "He wasn't protecting my freedom. My ancestors weren't deemed human beings to him."

"So to me, I don't care if it's a George Washington statue or a Thomas Jefferson statue or a Robert E. Lee statue. They all need to come down," Rye said.

Rye added that Americans need to teach other about these figures "so we do not repeat [history], because we are very close to repeating it right now."

[…]

"Yeah, Angela, you've got a problem here," Avlon interjected.

"I'm not finished, John," Rye said.

"You're feeding into Steve Bannon and Trump's talking points," Avlon continued.

"No, no, no. But I'm not, but I'm not, but I'm not, John," Rye said, speaking over Avlon.

"And I'm gonna finish my point," she said. "I'm not feeding into white supremacy; I'm calling out white supremacy for what it is. And sometimes what it is, John, are blind spots. Sometimes what it is, is not acknowledging that this country was built upon a very violent past that resulted in death, and the raping, and the killing of my ancestors."

Rye said she was not going to make a distinction between George Washington and Robert E. Lee.

"So I'm not going to allow us to say it's OK for a Robert E. Lee but not a George Washington [statue]," Rye said. "We need to call it what it is."

"But I'm not giving any deference to George Washington or Robert E. Lee," she added.

Slavery was a horrible institution. We fought our bloodiest war to end it. Yet, these were the times our Founding Fathers lived in. the founded this country. They drafted the documents that said our people were endowed with God-given rights from which this nation would be based upon; a totally revolutionary concept to the nations created around monarchies, ethnic groups, and landed aristocracies of Europe. This is just another instance of American progressives engaging in their favorite pastime: erasing American history and slamming our founding. So, let it be known that this isn’t just about the Confederate monuments, which by the way, are also part of American history. Our nation has had many low points. We have progressed, we have gotten better, and yes, more work needs to be done in a lot of areas. But no one knew that statues existed. No one really cares. Yet, now that we have the legions of the politically correct poisoning our society, they want everything that they feel triggered in American history to go. As many have said about this group, there is no neutral party option; they will make you care. The removal of Confederate statues is the backdoor to this nonsense. 

Washington was our first president, but we can’t have statues? Thomas Jefferson founded the University of Virginia, but we can’t have statues? Sorry, liberals—you’re not raising Monticello or Mount Vernon to the ground. This debate has gone off the rails and this trainwreck isn’t done yet.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Front Page News
KEYWORDS: americanhistory; clintonnewsnetwork; georgewashington; purge; slavery; statue; thomasjefferson
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To: HiTech RedNeck
We are very fortunate we had Taiwan because much of China's cultural heritage was saved for Taiwan's national museum.
21 posted on 08/18/2017 5:51:18 AM PDT by RayChuang88 (FairTax: America's Economic Cure)
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To: Kaslin

Hopefully, the more these loons flap their yaps, the more people will turn against the dem/media complex.

Unfortunately, we have things like Romney, McCain, Rubio, Dick Morris, all lining up to support antifa and Black Lies Matter, so who knows what the outcome will be.


22 posted on 08/18/2017 5:52:32 AM PDT by euram
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To: Kaslin

Somebody should explain to her that the Democrats are the real racists. She would change her views if she just knew that.


23 posted on 08/18/2017 5:53:06 AM PDT by cdcdawg
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To: Kaslin

Having long ago lost the facility or inclination to do actual reporting, in their desperate attempt to recover market share, CNN is reduced to vulgarity passing as analysis.

Long tee, it won’t work. They’re going under because there are too many other sources of actual news.


24 posted on 08/18/2017 5:54:26 AM PDT by Flick Lives (#CNNblackmail)
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To: Travis McGee

Lincoln had a plan to return the freed slaves to Africa immediately after they had been freed but unfortunately, Fredrick Douglas talked him out of it.


25 posted on 08/18/2017 5:54:53 AM PDT by FrdmLvr ("A is A. A thing is what it is." Ayn Rand)
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To: HiTech RedNeck

It’s blond hatred to the point of stupidity. The Constitutional system allowed for Amendments, including the Amendment banning slavery. It sounds like these people ate their own brains.


26 posted on 08/18/2017 5:59:14 AM PDT by Morpheus2009
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To: FrdmLvr

America balked at the proverbial 40 acres and a mule, so Douglas steered Lincoln into the worst of three worlds.


27 posted on 08/18/2017 6:04:27 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Tryin' hard to win the No-Bull Prize.)
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To: Kaslin
Slavery was a horrible institution. We fought our bloodiest war to end it.

Yes, slavery was horrible! But, NO! WE didn't fight it! It's over! WE had nothing to do with it! Nor did THEY! It's over!

By tearing down anything, doesn't change history! Again, it wasn't US!

I've been tempted to ask any one of these people to stand in front of any of these statues and see if any of them jump from their pedestals and attack and hurt them!

28 posted on 08/18/2017 6:06:43 AM PDT by Road Warrior ‘04 (Molon Labe! (Oathkeeper))
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To: Morpheus2009

Well and so it did, but our dear lefties have undermined that “rock” such as it was. If legal prestidigitation can do anything to this constitution then it isn’t a bulwark either.

So wisdom may lurk in the “stupidity.”


29 posted on 08/18/2017 6:08:10 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Tryin' hard to win the No-Bull Prize.)
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To: Kaslin

What we are witnessing is the Muslim mentality here. Destroying historical monuments to bring down civilizations is a centuries old strategy.


30 posted on 08/18/2017 6:08:26 AM PDT by Neoliberalnot (Marxism works well only with the uneducated and the unarmed)
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To: Road Warrior ‘04

Be patient. We know that Jim Crow and later the welfare state were attempts to “control” the black population.

But who instituted that. Right. Democrats. Let the trail of rage bring them to “we have met the enemy and he is us.”


31 posted on 08/18/2017 6:11:58 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Tryin' hard to win the No-Bull Prize.)
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To: Kaslin

‘you’re not raising Monticello or Mount Vernon to the ground’

you’re absolutely right on, Matt; when you ‘raise’ something, it goes up into the air...


32 posted on 08/18/2017 6:12:14 AM PDT by IrishBrigade
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To: Neoliberalnot

Taking down confederate statues is a continuation of the war against white males.


33 posted on 08/18/2017 6:13:39 AM PDT by ActresponsiblyinVA
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To: teeman8r

I bet the black unemployment rate during slavery was next to zero.


34 posted on 08/18/2017 6:13:47 AM PDT by VietVet876
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To: Road Warrior ‘04

And we have our own symbol bigotries. Will a swastika jump down and hurt us? It’s a matter of point of view.


35 posted on 08/18/2017 6:14:15 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Tryin' hard to win the No-Bull Prize.)
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To: ActresponsiblyinVA

I don’t know if obligatory Democrats loathing their past is a bad thing!


36 posted on 08/18/2017 6:17:03 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Tryin' hard to win the No-Bull Prize.)
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To: Kaslin

George Washington never purchased a slave (he inherited them). He never voted for anything pro-slavery in the Virginia House. He had a field where the slaves could farm and keep all the profits for themselves. On his death, he set his slaves free.

I’d say all in all, Washington’s record on slavery, given where and when he came into the world, was pretty damn good.


37 posted on 08/18/2017 6:18:36 AM PDT by ConservativeDude
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To: Morpheus2009

‘It’s blond hatred to the point of stupidity’

definitely agree; after watching Kat Timpf get destroyed by a rock musician the other night, she was flushing right up to the roots of her dye job...


38 posted on 08/18/2017 6:20:18 AM PDT by IrishBrigade
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To: Wuli

It ends with a total socialist state intruding into every area of our lives. Bibles burned. Church buildings closed or used as government buildings. Compulsory sterilizations and abortions. State guidelines for what you must and must not teach your children. Etc.,etc.,etc.


39 posted on 08/18/2017 6:24:06 AM PDT by liberalism is suicide
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To: Kaslin

Native Americans had slaves — time to tear down any and all monuments to them, starting with that ridiculous “museum” (actually just a cultural activism center) in DC.

Oh and time to boycott all Indian casinos.


40 posted on 08/18/2017 6:25:08 AM PDT by freedumb2003 (The UK has no death penalty, unless you are an 11 month old infant with no arrest history)
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