After Palmyra ISIS Targets Monuments on U.S. Soil

I don't think that's true. I think it's more abstract than that.

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"There was a land of Cavaliers and Cotton Fields called the Old South... Here in this pretty world Gallantry took its last bow... Here was the last ever to be seen of Knights and their Ladies Fair, of Master and of Slave... Look for it only in books, for it is no more than a dream remembered. A Civilization gone with the wind... "

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I think many/most admirers of the Confederate flag are able to double-think that "pretty world" with the reality of slavery (and the post-Civil War repression of black Americans). You can't put an end to a symbol by burning it.

I know. This was just my emotional response.

As do I...

Would you call it "censoring content"?

In the old Testament, folk were often commanded to smash their detestable idols. Perhaps ISIS feels as if all of these American symbols are idols. Then again, they probably feel as if we worship money and football...so they may well target banks and stadiums.

For example, when they're taken down because the message is:(a) Hooray for Saddam Hussein!
(b) Hooray for Fascism! Heil Hitler!
(c) Hooray for Communism! Long live Stalin!Is that the sort of thing you have in mind? So, just to be clear. You do think that the American soldiers who took down the statue of Saddam Hussein are "fascists by definition" and "no better than the folks of ISIS"?

This is true. However, what you can put an end to is state sponsorship of a symbol. And that is pretty much the only thing that people are asking for when they want the confederate flag removed from the statehouse or when they petition to have the name of their school (whose attendance was 90% black children) changed from Nathan Forest.Further, nobody is taking the German route of outlawing such symbols. Everyone is still free to put these symbols on their pickup trucks or to fly them from flag poles in their yards. But asking the state to stop endorsing symbols of hate seems to be a very effective tool. It's also highly appropriate.No, burning symbols does not end them. But you could say the same thing about making laws against segregation. Outlawing segregation does not stop hate. But stopping state support for hatred does make a difference and asking the state to stop speaking (as opposed to private individuals) isn't fascism.

But where should we place the limits?Consider Stone Mountain Georgia, a large relief sculpture on the face of a quartz dome in Georgia. It is in a State Park and so definitely part of State funded items. Like the similar image found on the Stone Mountain Commemorative US half dollar issued in 1925 it depicts figures on horseback.None of the figures are identified on either example but the coin does say "Stone Mountain" on the obverse and "Memorial to the valor of the Southern soldier" on the reverse.There have been requests lately that the sculpture be destroyed.It certainly would be difficult to remove but not impossible.What would be the reasonable practice; should the sculpture be destroyed and the coins taken out of circulation and melted down?

Good question, and one that is pretty personal given that I grew up in Atlanta. During the time I was in elementary school, we made annual picnic trips to Stone Mountain at the end of the school year.The carving on Stone Mountain was Klan sponsored project that eventually was taken over by the state. It is a physical embodiment of the false 'Lost Cause' history that was taught after the civil war. I can still remember my 9th high school English teacher spouting that BS. That said, destroying the carving, in my opinion, is out of the question. Only a few people actually ask for that to happen. I am not one of them.What people do seem to want is to have additional attractions and features added to the park associated with the mountain that tell more of the history behind the civil war. I find that request completely practical. Of course the United Daughters of the Confederacy are completely opposed to the park being anything other than a shrine to three traitors.I don't care about the coins. I assume that they are all in the hands of collectors at this point, and that is fine. I don't think it is appropriate for the US government to mint any more of them, and I don't consider it fascist to request that they not do so.Edited by NoNukes, : No reason given.

And it didn't work, did it?

It is silly - but telling - that you compare the actions of the folks in New Orleans to those of soldiers in war.Do you really think them comparable?

Interestingly, this was one of the suggestions for settling the New Orleans controversy given by someone in the article linked to in the OP:

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"Removal of Confederate Symbols Turns Ugly in New Orleans" from CBS News:

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"Why take it down? Put a statue of somebody positive in black history right here, in the midst of Beauregard, or in the midst of Lee. We support that."

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A city full of statues doesn't sound like a bad idea.Though it might make it hard for some folks to find the nearest Wal-Mart.

I do perceive certain distinctions between them: distinctions which I ignored because your post, to which I was replying, also ignored them. However, since you wish to bring it up, let's look at the differences. The people of New Orleans, through their democratically elected representatives, decided which of the statues that they themselves owned they would like to have in their own public places. Whereas the invading American soldiers, like ISIS, were fighting a war, as you remind us, and, like ISIS, destroyed monuments that did not, in point of fact, belong to them, on land that was in no way theirs, and like ISIS they were not elected by anyone with a legitimate interest in the monument.It would follow that if the people of New Orleans are like ISIS in their approach to statues, those American soldiers must be more so.So, let's ask you again. Do you consider these soldiers to be "no better than the folks of ISIS"?Edited by Dr Adequate, : No reason given.

P.S: Just to remind you, here's what you wrote: You complain that I did not take into account the fact that the Americans soldiers were at war, but this is not a distinction that you yourself made. For some reason you did not qualify your post by adding "Unless the people involved are fighting a war, because no-one fighting a war could be a fascist or resemble ISIS". Had you written that, my reply to your post might have been quite different, though no more flattering to your intellect.Edited by Dr Adequate, : No reason given.

I would say that the majority of people who actively fight to keep the flag probably harbor some racist ideals, but I can tell you that all of the supporters actually believe there is some heritage to be retained from it outside of the institution of slavery. How much exposure do you have with the South? Because I've lived in all four corners of the United States and, hands down, the Northeast and the Midwest are the most racist. The South gets a bad rap because of its past, but there is nowhere in America where whites and blacks live among each other more harmoniously than in the South. While it unquestionably has created some problems, it's also bridged a lot of gaps.The Confederacy and its flag is a monument to a way of life that included corsets and sweet tea and Southern Belle's, and Southern gentleman, and of favoring states rights above unionism... And while I personally could care less because I don't identify as a Southerner, I can see why some are a little irritated that the negative aspects of the flag, such as slavery, is usurping all of the other innocuous things symbolic to it.It would definitely be unfair to assume that you are a de facto racist just because you fly the Stars and Bars. And it is definitely a mischaracterization to assume that it is somehow tantamount to the Crooked Cross of Nazism.At the same time, to be fair, those who fly it must also understand that there is a lot of negative connotation embedded with it due to the South's stance on slavery. I imagine if I were a black man, I might view it in a completely different light since a large part of the history is built on the backs of black slaves.That said... I have no dog in this fight. Burn it... Keep it... I'm indifferent. But that is my perspective, for better or worse. Edited by Hyroglyphx, : No reason given.