Lost cause

Contrary to the Myth of the Lost Cause, slavery was not a benign institution that benefitted whites and blacks alike. It was a cruel institution maintained by force, torture, and murder. It thrived on the exploitation of black labor and on the profits made from sales of surplus slaves. The latter practice resulted in the breaking up of black families and the absence of any contract of marriage between slaves. Masters’ rapes of slaves resulted in additional profits, a whitening of the slave population, and white marital discord, which was “remedied” by idolization of white Southern womanhood.

MYTH OF THE LOST CAUSE

You may have seen that Lady Antebellum, the music group has become Lady A. The Dixie Chicks are The Chicks (their new video is dope!), the confederate symbol is coming off the Mississippi flag and that NASCAR forbade the use of the confederate flag in their races.  The racists are losing their shit and I’m cackling. Because fuck them all.

#Confederate monuments and symbols represent white supremacy and hate. They MUST come down! #LoseTheLostCause #WhoseHeritage pic.twitter.com/KFfdPEWAws

— Southern Poverty Law Center (@splcenter) June 30, 2020

The confederacy lasted only about five years. If you want to have an idea of that 'historical moment', Will and Grace lasted longer than the confederacy. Absolutely Fabulous lasted more than the confederacy. Queer as Folk in America lasted longer than the confederacy. But still, there's a huge push in the Southern states to keep it alive. It's ingrained in their culture of bigotry and racism.

It's also part of their everyday life. That's why the decry the dismantling of the monuments that have lionized that shameful moment in American history. Those children of the confederacy who sang the praise of the South by rote? They grew up to have children who believe the lies of The Lost Cause. History books were especially written by white supremacists to erase and modify the history of the confederacy. And that's nothing new. Check out this snippet of the Golden Girls (with Dan Cheade *squee!*). Blanche learning anti-racism. Who knew the Golden Girls could be so woke?

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A post shared by DJ Maseo (DE LA SOUL) (@djmaseo) on Jun 29, 2020 at 8:20am PDT

The Daughters of the Confederacy (and the KKK) put up those statues and monuments when they saw that segregation was not going to work. They knew they would become a stain in American history and decided to re-write it, starting three decades after the war was over. Oh, you live too far North to have those monuments? Remember you CAN find if there are racist monuments in your neck of the woods. The SPLC provides this handy 'Whose Heritage?' map that can be used to track hate. Apparently, there are not many in Illinois, but the more you get to the south, they spring up like mushrooms after the rain.

So the next time your racist cousin decries the 'destroying of history' because statues and monuments made to immortalize the losers in a shameful war are being torn down, you'll know what to say. You don't put up statues to immortalize the losers. May they all come down one day.

#BLACKLIVESMATTER
#ANTIRACIST

XOXO