Stealthy removal on UT (Houston, Austin: renting, buying, installation)

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by Azure110

That will probably be next on the agenda.

Based on what context? You complain of straw man while essential referring to another straw man

[je4xff]

Originally Posted by Azure110

That will probably be next on the agenda.

Riiight. Is there some kind of Alex Jones conspiracy thing here I'm missing?

Originally Posted by Azure110

We are not Greek.

And? Statues have purpose throughout history. It's been this way for quite some time.

Originally Posted by Azure110

Sure...we can all relate to this because it is Stevie Ray Vaughn...right?

I mean, I would think local Austinites today would identify with Stevie Ray Vaughn more than General Lee, but my bad.

Originally Posted by Azure110

Strawman argument. Enough said.

Why would you say that? It's an exercise in empathy, try it. The point is that statues can be offensive because they have a way of commemorating the subject. I personally don't care about confederate statues one way or another, but I can recognize why it might be offensive to others.

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by ITO

The problem with abolishing history is that we lose it. A much better solution would have been to put up a plaque explaining the history, and adding context. Or better yet put statues of civil rights or even Union heroes near by to add context, to add conversation and balance.

Removing statues does not eliminate history, if it did we would have to have to erect statues of everything we ever did so we could remember it. You remove statues when you don't want to celebrate what they stand for, i.e. Symbols of Nazism in Germany. We still remember WW2 even without the statues, see how that works?

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by mudbug

Darrell Royal resisted black athletes as a coach at UT and other universities.
Lets change the name of the stadium.
Only makes sense and his issues are from the 1960's not the 1860's

I just heard on the radio yesterday that Salzburg Austria city council won't allow a street to be named in honor of Maria Von Trapp (of Sound of Music fame) because she spanked her children. Spanking is now illegal in Austria. Maria must therefore be viewed as a child beater, even though child spanking was normal and acceptable when she did it.

Not comparable to slavery, but in the same category of using today's standards to disavow historic people for participating in a norm or their time that is now (rightly) viewed as unacceptable. Now Maria Von Trapp isn't worthy of a street name in Salzburg. Sad. Meanwhile, Willie Nelson, "tax cheater" and "pot head" get a statue on the corner of the street named after him in downtown Austin.

Where does it end? Who decides?

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by austin-steve

Where does it end? Who decides?

It doesn't end, it just changes over time. That is not a bad thing. You just posted in the thread about changes in houses in Terrytown. Permanence in the physical world is a fallacy, we don't really need to get too hooked on it. Regardless of who or what has a statue (or street or school), the history hasn't changed and books are innately different than monuments/buildings. Books are private property, cheap, and varied (Robert E Lee, war here? Check! Robert E. Lee, despicable slave beater? Check!).

As for who decides? The people voted or appointed to offices, for the most part. Presumably their opinions are driven by their constituents.

Again, this issue is just an outlet for various factions to vent, it is nothing in reality.

[ScoPro]

Anybody know if the CoA has removed this highly offensive statue from the sidewalk on Congress Avenue?

It's bound to be highly offensive to the descendants of the slaves she & her hubby owned, not to mention the feminists because of the bare feet & low cut blouse, and also to the Million Mom marchers who hate big guns.

[je4xff]

Originally Posted by ScoPro

Anybody know if the CoA has removed this highly offensive statue from the sidewalk on Congress Avenue?

It's bound to be highly offensive to the descendants of the slaves she & her hubby owned, not to mention the feminists because of the bare feet & low cut blouse, and also to the Million Mom marchers who hate big guns.

Kind of a stretch but I'd be fine with that so long as we can replace it with the new guitar-wielding, doob-smokin', tax-cheatin' Willie statue.

[austinnerd]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

Again, this issue is just an outlet for various factions to vent, it is nothing in reality.

Sorta. While I agree that change is inevitable, for some, the broader issue is a seeming acceptance of a lack of ability to think in a mature/sophisticated way. The statue removals can be seen as an extension of the trend to prioritize symbolism over reasoning and balance, kowtowing to those who scream loudest and the distraction of focusing on symbolic gestures while continuing to ignore real issues (e.g. even if one agrees that confederate statues should be removed, does anyone really think that removing the statues will actually help the black single parent issues, etc). In that regard, it is indeed "something".

[iamwayne]

1950s Reece Committee, you're being played. Read up on what the committee reported to congress on tax exempt foundations and the outcome of our education system. Ever wonder why the government was purchasing all those "militarized" equipment? The US is being played into a civil war and once that happens, forget your rights because it was brought upon ourselves for being stupid and falling for this race bait trap.

[mudbug]

The sad part of this situation is a small very vocal group are demanding removal. If you oppose you are called every name in the book and take a chance on folks picketing your work or home. Same fashion as no one at pentagon talked about trans folks. Be prepared to be attacked in a very vicious way. No monument ever kept someone from being successful. Additionally where does it stop? 99% of Americans want a good job, good school, safety and healthcare when needed. 1% stirring pot.