From Slavery to Genocide: The American Tradition of Hideous Moral Compromise

There are many differences between myself and a typical Republican. One of them: I do not shed a single tear if some monuments to General Robert E. Lee and other Confederate-era figures are being removed. Similarly, Gary Flowers, a black radio show host and civil rights activist, stated: "As a native of Richmond, I want to say that the head of the snake has been removed..."

In some parts of the country, Confederate flags were being taken down some years back, and Republicans didn't like it. The defenders of these flags and statues often say, “heritage, not hate.”

I say: Well, what if that heritage is one of hate?

However, in a way, the word "hate" almost misses the point, which is slavery. Hate is merely an emotion which anyone can have; slavery was an institution, and not one we should be viewing through purely nostalgic eyes.

And here's the thing: Even though much of the nation's history has a racist past, we don't want to erase history. Rather, we want to acknowledge that facts while we work to make it better. In the process, we don't need to keep monuments to racist figures.

That understanding should be the “new normal,” as well as accepting the general fact that things change over time.

Things people used to revere, for better or worse, are often now only seldom acknowledged, to become footnotes, or maybe even footnotes to footnotes.

Of course, some people also frame the issue in the spirit of a competition. They'll say, in so many words: "Well, actually, the Confederates were a bunch of losers."

Okay, technically, yes, that is true, and I don't shame anyone for pointing that out. At the same time, that almost misses the point, too.

A troubling thought: What if the Confederacy had won? Would they no longer be history's losers? Of course not! The main point is that the depravity of slavery is something we really should not celebrate. That is what makes them losers, not that they were strategically outdone on the battlefield. They would have been losers even if they kept winning.

And, oddly enough, for all those who point out that America did not itself invent slavery, I would say, "Okay, true. but we don't celebrate all of the other examples of slavery now, do we?" Well, I know I sure don't anyway (obviously, I cannot speak for everybody).

A Broader Point

I'm not big into statues and flags, personally, but of we do need to revere some largely irrational symbols, I think we can find a compromise that is worthy of our better angels.

History can provide you with some symbolic candidates to help you remember the times people struggled to attain freedom. We already know some of them well enough; Harriet Tubman, MLK, Frederick Douglass, Henry David Thoreau, and so many others ripe for the picking.

Not Done

I have made significant points already, but it wouldn't be enough. I have to say it: This country is not currently well-equipped to get rid of racism, hate, oppression, or even straight-up genocide, apparently...at least not yet.

In fact, hate and violence are a broader issue, and still disturbingly bi-partisan.

On January 9, 2024, years after the Charleston, S.C., church shooting in 2015, President Biden spoke out against white supremacy and ostensibly issues that would be related to Confederate statues. And sure enough, South Carolina should not honor "people who fought to maintain slavery in the United States."

At the same time, as an AP article on the Biden event notes: Some people in the crowd started protest chants of "cease-fire now" that were drowned out by audience members chanting "four more years."

As Biden was grandstanding here at home, some thought he was grandstanding on too many corpses abroad.

What cease-fire were they chanting about? You know the one.

It's an ongoing war between two groups I won't bother naming; and yes, some of the violence involves more than one side, for sure.

However, the story quickly involved a campaign that has all the appearances of being more successfully genocidal, but which I am not supposed to refer to as a genocide.

In fact, I am expected to cheerlead those efforts. After all, if I didn't cheerlead them, I'd be deemed bad. Right?

So maybe I will just refer to the violence of the more powerful side as "heritage," in honor of a supposedly fine tradition.

That's right. At least in this text, I am still not naming names, so I don't think Trump can technically threaten to deport me. And, sure, I know the death toll on one side is now much higher, but that's just heritage, right? And calling for a "cease-fire" was equivalent to being a terrorist — just as opposing the Iraq War (supposedly) meant I was head over heels in love with Saddam Hussein (Saddam never gave me his phone number, for the record).

So, really, the United States is in a tough place, on countless fronts. We have leaders who are fine with genocidal campaigns, an orange-painted lunatic who speaks of invading Mexico, Greenland, and even Canada. Where does our "heritage" take us next? Measles is spreading, too. What's next? Polio? Will we have witch-burnings, inspired by extremist religious figures like Greg Locke or neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes?

Trump stupidly thinks research on "transgenic mice" is about "transgender mice," so he's opposed to that (Maybe get some of those trans-cat kids filling up our schools to chase after 'em, but keep them away from the immigrants supposedly eating cats and dogs).

This all sounds strange, but it absolutely seems like where we are at. Trump is truly making us look like the stupidest place n Earth.

It truly is our own heritage that's doing this to us, too, and to others around the world who happen to be in the military-industrial complex's strategic, money-making path. As he's spreading rotten ideas like a cancer in our system, Trump is forming a bizarre and frightening alliance with leaders like Putin, Kim Jong Un, the Saudi royal family, Hungary's Viktor Orbán, and so on. It truly is like an "Axis of Evil," married with stupidity.

Basically, it's proving that evil and stupidity go together like hand in glove.

But we are told this is also happening for freedom, to protect people, and that it's legally just and right. Democratic Senator John Fetterman is urging us to be fair to Trump. On his own pathetic show, Bill Maher on HBO is saying we need to ease up on critiquing the orange one.

It all suggests that stupidity, cowardice, and complicity in evil are just normal things. Not liking this is supposedly weird.

Opposing Cease-Fires Was Normal, Too

For quite a while, the corporate media said any cease-fire would be a poor excuse for a compromise, even if it might save lives. Remember that? If you wanted even a brief pause to the killings, you were an outright maniac (or something).

However, I think there have been worse compromises than a cease-fire.

Want an example of a worse compromise than these things?

Always remember this: The U.S. Constitution referred to a slave as a "person held to service or labor" and counted them as three-fifths of a person. Some thought that was a good compromise back in the day, to the point where it is literally called the "Three-fifths Compromise."

Now, I certainly don't rail against all parts of the U.S. Constitution, because there are definitely some good things in it. However, this compromise against plain morality was not good. In fact, the only good thing about it: It reminds us that the United States was a deeply flawed place, and potentially still is, and always shall be.

So, some people say we should be free to celebrate history and cultures without hiding who and what they really are. They are proud of their sacred traditions and think we should stay frozen in time or maybe turn the clock back to relive the glory days.

Yes, some people were, and still are, very proud of Confederate-style racism. As one source notes:

"After the Civil War, photographs of lynchings, usually made by unidentified photographers, were published as postcards, often inscribed with racist texts or poems, to be distributed, collected, or kept as souvenirs. The distribution of these postcards through the United States Postal Service was banned in 1908."

History is disgusting, and nostalgia for hate is disgusting. Love of genocide is also disgusting. Still, plenty of Republicans love hating minorities, and make it their bread and butter. They basically love everything that is terrible and wrong, want to not only keep the memory alive, but relive many of those same policies.

Hell, recently, Ben Shapiro said we should pardon Derek Chauvin, the cop who needlessly murdered George Floyd. Not very long ago, Tucker Carlson had on a guest who claimed the Holocaust was just a whoopsie on Hitler's part, happening just because Nai Germany was low on resources. Elon Musk (who later did the Nazi "seig heil" salute at Trump's inauguration) praised the interview, then later deleted his Tweet (or X-cretion, as they might be called on "X").

Nazis and Klansmen seem to be more unafraid to express themselves these days, thanks to the GOP (and, tellingly, there is no talk of Trump designating the KKK or any neo-Nai group as a terrorist orgniation).

Of course, the irony is that the Republican Party was created largely as an anti-slavery party, and earned the ire of "Dixiecrats." In fact, many Republicans are quick to note how the Republicans were actually the party of Lincoln.

However, now the party of Lincoln has become the party of the neo-confederates, the neo-nazis, and the party of law and order has become about shredding the Constitutional protections against theocratic government and cheerleading dictatorship.

Both parties are, to some extent, worthy of blame for taking us here. However, when Republicans try to claim this country is an honorable place, steeped in morality and tradition to be proud of, a person of conscience may need to find the nearest puke bucket.