Whenever someone random tries to downplay confederate monuments to me and I don’t have the energy to put my work hat on, I just calmly say, “I don’t know it’s kinda like if we had statues of the 9/11 hijackers, only confederates killed more Americans.” Shuts them up every time.
i see ppl praising this, but mentioning these two things in the same sentence, makes it seem as if they comparing the two is somewhat ok, when it is absolutely not.
and this will of course feed more into anti-Muslim hate, which is already very normalised across the 'West'.
pls don't do this y'all
I hear your critique and get your concern. I view it as a way to subvert the assumption you nod to about *who* enemies of freedom and democracy are by placing those assumptions back on white racists and insurrectionists. It’s a shortcut to a longer intervention when that intervention isn’t possible.
yeah i understood that that, but i implore you to use a different example, because like this will only further normalise anti-Muslim hate, especially under ppl who consider themselves progressive.
I hear you. Thanks for engaging and I will definitely think about this. IME as a Black American it’s not progressives who are out of nowhere confrontational to me about the confederacy but people already entrenched in islamophobic/racist discourse. My intent…
in these rare exchanges when there is little space for education is to say something to challenge why they feel so much disgust around 9/11 but not the actual greatest threat to america that has ever existed. And I know intent and impact are different so I appreciate your challenging me.
so here is someone who agreed with you under ur post and said "I live in Richmond and believe you me we still get these dickheads and I’m gonna use this." and under says this under my post:
bsky.app/profile/jose...
Yes I think that is an easy swap in. Though I’m not sure people even know about or hate Timothy McVeigh enough these these days to get the gut punch I’m going for!
9/11 was still bad, and I don’t think it’s anti-Muslim to say so. No more than it’s anti-white to say the Confederacy was bad, which is exactly what the people supporting the statues claim.
