First they came for the equestrian statues of Robert E. Lee.
Then they removed his name from Lee Chapel at Washington & Lee University, where he is buried.
Then they came for the memorial to his horse Traveller.
Now they want to remove him from Virginia license plates.
A bill introduced by Del. Candi King, D-Woodbridge would direct the Department of Motor Vehicles to prohibit the issuance of license plates that make reference to the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, or any other prominent Confederate leader.
The Department of Motor Vehicles allows extensive personalization of the letters and digits in license plates for a modest surcharge. Motorists also can select from some 200 “special” license plates bearing names and icons of universities, charities, hobbies, and causes. The most recognizable is the “Don’t Tread on Me” plate, a favorite of conservatives and libertarians.
But there is also a “United We Stand” plate and a “Peace” plate favored by liberals and lefties. More akin to the Lee plate honoring Southern heritage, there is a Richmond Planet plate, honoring African-American heritage. The Richmond Planet newspaper championed African-American resistance to post-Civil War racism and segregation.
The people who honor Robert E. Lee do so not because he fought for the slave-holding Confederate States of America. They honor him as one of the greatest military leaders in American history, a man who epitomized the virtues of duty, integrity, sacrifice, and humility in his personal conduct, and as a leader of the reconciliation between North and South.
I understand why King, who is African-American, would not share the respect that many Virginians have for the man. I wouldn’t expect otherwise. But her personal feelings should not trump the ability of others to honor those whom they please. Her action, sadly, is typical of modern-day liberalism which fights the battle of symbols and ideas not with debate but by the suppression of discomfiting views.
Why not counter with something positive? Why not champion a license plate for, say, Booker T. Washington, a Virginia-born hero of African-Americans, or any other number of home-grown Civil Rights leaders?
Why can’t we celebrate the diversity of our heritage? Or are “diversity” and “inclusion” to be striven for only when lefties get to define what kind of diversity counts and who it’s important to include?
A side note: The bill restricts the use of Confederate names and iconography in the Personalized License Plate Issuance Guidelines. It does not reference “special plates,” even though the DMV website refers to the Robert E. Lee plate as a “special” plate. According to a precise reading of the bill, the Lee specialty plate would not be affected. Here are the current restrictions included in the personalized-plate guidelines:
- Profane, obscene, or vulgar in nature
- Sexually explicit or graphic
- Excretory-related
- Used to describe intimate body parts or genitals
- Used to condone or encourage violence
- Used to describe illegal activities or illegal substances
A personal note: My “personalized” license plate of the past 20 or so years is “Usuthu.” One hundred brownie points to anyone who can identify the meaning.
Published at baconsrebellion.com
7 comments
A different thought;
Many know Arlington as a resting place for our America’s Selfless Noble Warriors yet many today do not know that it was once the farm of Lee.
Now the Federal Government wants to remove his statue. The statue visually magnetizes those who don’t know but by the time they leave the learn the start of the history of this place.
One of mine was due to head to Paris Island so we spent a few days visiting some historical battlegrounds and memorials that we host throughout our beautiful historical state.
We made our way through Fredericksburg.
Upon the hill at the cemetery I said;
Imagine trying to come up the hill only to be picked off by men behind the wall, imagine being the man behind the wall. Think of the guys that were placing pontoons across the river to cross only to get picked off.
When you visit Fredericksburg you can still find bullet holes to stick your finger in and think.
We walked and made our way through town and came upon the granite auction block that at the time still stood on a sidewalk corner.
My son asked what it was.
I took the time to say;
Can you imagine being chained up on top of this rock to be sold or standing beside to watch your family be sold to someone right in front of you.
The auction block was removed in 2020 for various reasons to debate but make no mistake it is not there now for folks to stumble upon and question, to take in and learn a important part of Virginia History.
Sometimes out of sight may just end up being out of mind and with that will we soon forget?
Do you all know what caused slavery?
Answer;
The first American that didn’t want to work himself.
Ironically how that history of Virginia past is repeating itself today on our job sites with illegal immigration.
” They honor him as one of the greatest military leaders in American history, a man who epitomized the virtues of duty, integrity, sacrifice, and humility in his personal conduct, and as a leader of the reconciliation between North and South. ”
Bullshit.
Please stop the personal insults. First warning. Thank you.
I think we should add some plates to honor the new America!
Pancho Villa
Che Guevara
A few years ago when Bush was advocating his amnesty, his speech writer David Frum did an opinion piece in the NYSlimes all about the amnesty and the new yearning to be Bush Republicans should be on a path to citizenship.
I wrote to him and added a picture of one of the rallies for amnesty.
When they weren’t flying the flags of their native country, they had Che Guevara banners..
So Lee..a dead irrelevant to the new America white man…
If you do not like it-don’t buy it. Let it be our choice and not yours to take away.
Spot on !
BTW The uSuthu were the royalist faction in Zululand, more specifically they were the followers of Cetshwayo. The young Zulu warriors who clustered around prince Cetshwayo in 1856 during the Second Zulu Civil War formed the core of the uSuthu.
Suspect this is not the coorect answer ….
It is very close the right answer. In the 1960 movie “Zulu,” the Zulu warriors chanted Usuthu as a battle cry.