Charlottesville Removes Robert E. Lee Statue That Sparked A Deadly Rally

[enhanced_deficit]

Coronavirus must no longer be the overarching thing, business as usual of politics of symbols seems to be resuming after a lull of over a year:




Charlottesville Removes Robert E. Lee Statue That Sparked A Deadly Rally

July 10, 2021


Workers remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from Market Street Park on Saturday in Charlottesville, Va.
Win McNamee/Getty Images

The city of Charlottesville, Va., removed a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee on Saturday, toppling a symbol that was at the center of the deadly Unite the Right rally in 2017.
The statue — along with another of Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson that was also to be removed Saturday — will remain on city property until the city council decides what to do with them. Ten groups have expressed interest in the statues, according to a statement from the city.
"Taking down this statue is one small step closer to the goal of helping Charlottesville, Virginia, and America, grapple with the sin of being willing to destroy Black people for economic gain," Charlottesville Mayor Nikuyah Walker said as the crane neared the Lee monument, the Associated Press reported.

Charlottesville Mayor Nikuyah Walker (left) speaks to reporters before workers remove a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee from Market Street Park on Saturday.

The removals were set in motion by a 2016 petition started by a local high school student. The city council voted to take the statues down early the next year, but that action was delayed by a legal challenge that was ultimately rejected by the Virginia Supreme Court this April.
The statues of Lee and Jackson — and threats to remove them — served as a rallying cry for the far right in the summer of 2017. The tension spilled into violence in the Aug. 12, 2017, Unite the Right Rally as neo-Nazis clashed with counter protestors. One woman, Heather Heyer, was killed when a man drove into a crowd of pedestrians. Dozens of others were injured in that attack and other violence.

npr.org/2021/07/10/1014926659/charlottesville-removes-robert-e-lee-statue-that-sparked-a-deadly-rally


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[Sammy]

Robert E Lee was a Hero.

[cjm]

Robert E Lee was a Hero.

I agree.

[NorthCarolinaLiberty]

Robert E Lee was a Hero.

I agree.

Absolutely.

[Anti Federalist]

rallying cry for the far right

Why is there no "far left"?

[TheTexan]

Why is there no "far left"?

There are only two political ideologies:

"left" and "far right"

[Pauls' Revere]

Why is there no "far left"?

Lenin statue in Seattle, USA USSR.

[Swordsmyth]

There are only two political ideologies:

"left" and "far right"

And it's time the right accepted that and quit running from the "far right".

[Anti Federalist]

Lewis and Clark had to go as well.

[pcosmar]

Didn't spark any rally..

Damned propaganda anyway..


The police pushed and directed Violent antifa into a Peaceful Rally..

it is a repeated M.O...

[oyarde]

The entire article makes no sense . They are removed Sat. but will remain right there until the council decides who they go to . So , not removed ? or removed and moved a few feet over in storage ?

[oyarde]

Come to think of it , not really sure the mayors statement makes a lot of sense .

[Anti Federalist]

The entire article makes no sense . They are removed Sat. but will remain right there until the council decides who they go to . So , not removed ? or removed and moved a few feet over in storage ?

I'm pretty sure they trucked them off to a city warehouse or impound lot or road crew garage...something like that.

In other stories you can see them being loaded up on low-boy semis.

They'll get covered up in canvas, locked up and out of sight, so no fairies or coloreds get triggered by them and there they'll stay, until we restore sanity to this nation and return them to the public square or the revolution succeeds and they get melted down for a statue of Lenin or a memorial to the first trans queeer colored dog catcher of Charlotte.

[Pauls' Revere]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ch...?ocid=msedgntp

The Charlottesville, Va., City Council abruptly voted to remove a statue of Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and Sacagawea on Saturday, the same day statues of Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson were removed from the city.

[CaptUSA]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ch...?ocid=msedgntp

The Charlottesville, Va., City Council abruptly voted to remove a statue of Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and Sacagawea on Saturday, the same day statues of Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson were removed from the city.

They really want to come for Jefferson. It's only a matter of time. Lewis and Clark are just one more step in that direction, since Jefferson commissioned the expedition. Maybe they should just remove UVA since Jefferson created that, too.

[shakey1]

This fixes nothing.

Likely already on the list…

[NorthCarolinaLiberty]

[TheTexan]

This fixes nothing.

Likely already on the list…

I have no idea who those people are anyway. It needs to be updated, with Trump, Rand, Massie, and just erase the other. Maybe reserve that space for Don Jr

[Anti Federalist]

Meanwhile, what's become of Lee Park where the statue used to stand?

It's become a bum camp and open air drug den.

The past in the United States is a foreign country.

Don't you feel culturally enriched and progressive, comrade?


Former site of Robert E. Lee statue at center of new controversy

https://www.wvtf.org/news/2023-09-28...ew-controversy

September 28, 2023 at 7:05 PM EDT

Market Street Park now contains a dozen tents where people have been living, and the neighbors don’t like it. They’ve reported disorderly conduct, drug use and fights – including one stabbing in the area. This month local police have enforced a curfew requiring people to leave after 11 pm, and on September 18th some residents showed up at city council to make what Police Chief Michael Kochis called disgusting and disturbing claims.

“One of the allegations that was made during the meeting was that our officers have been 'targeting Black, unhoused individuals with violence.'" he told reporters. "Another allegation was that a Charlottesville police officer assaulted an unhoused individual by 'kicking him like a football.'”

Bodycam video showed patient and professional officers explaining that the park was about to close and giving people time to pack up. One man – who sounded angry – refused to go and was arrested. The local commonwealth’s attorney, Joe Platania, found no evidence of inappropriate police conduct.

"Mr. Platania and his assistant reviewed the footage and immediately determined that the contact with the individual in question was incidental to the lawful discharge of the officer's duties, reasonable under the law, and did not rise to the level of battery."

And Kochis insists race was never a factor in asking campers to leave the park.

“These individuals were white, black and Latino. Officers approached each of them and made them aware of the park being closed and that they would need to be given some time to collect their belongings and leave the park.”

Kochis said officers would be given additional training on how to deal with people living in public places, but he claimed local police were already compassionate and frustrated by the situation.

“The officers spoke of the frustration of having to send people on their way with nowhere to go. Our officers are human beings, just like the folks in that park, and their frustration with the systems and programs that continue to fail these communities was palpable, and I share their frustration.”

He concluded his news conference with a plea of sorts to city council.

“I’m just going to be frank. I’m sorry, but I’ve worked in two other jurisdictions – the city of Alexandria and the town of Warrenton. Both had a 24-hour shelter with wraparound services, and I’ve never been in a jurisdiction that hasn’t had either.”

Charlottesville’s main shelter does not permit overnight stays, and a facility operated by the Salvation Army is often full.

For now, the city’s manager has lifted the curfew so campers can stay.