What Happened
I really put my foot in it, the day before April 4, 2018. The
Hell of the whole situation is that the “it” I put my foot in was my own crap,
and I did it because I violated the standards I believe Memphis is beginning to remember.
Here's the link to the Facebook thread that brought me to this point.
Christopher was right; while my assertion was based on evidence I personally gathered from sources that include the microfilm files at Benjamin Hooks Library and the Chronicling America website, my statement was not backed up with readily available facts. Then there’s the further fact that while I claimed I intended no insult toward anyone’s family, my entire approach (“imagined History” was a cheap shot) is insulting. And I call myself a teacher…
From where things stood on the third, it appeared I had two Facebook expected choices. I could have stepped up my “game” and turned an opportunity for constructive conversation into a self defeating data-dump sideshow. The other choice was to tuck tail and slink away.
I chose neither.
Sincerely:
I apologize to all Confederate Memphians. I have been painting you in with the alt-right version of white supremacy and that was
nothing but mean. There can be no Memphis
without you.
I apologize to Christopher. Thank you for your regard for your
fellows and for stepping up to the bully.
Most importantly, I apologize to you, Memphis . I broke a rule Jesus doesn’t want us
breaking, and I let you down.
You probably didn’t notice, but I haven’t made my Face Book
rounds since then. If it matters to you at all, my absence is part of what I
hope is a constructive act of penance I set for myself when I found my own words wrapped around my ankles.
I basically demoted my statement to a theory, and banned
myself from Face Book until I:
- Reexamined my own motives
- Found the first penny
- Produced a composition appropriate to the conversation (I have since upped that to two, this first one being the second one assigned).
Where I Stand
Make no mistake: I’m still convinced that removing the statues
was the right thing to do because of the message (intended or otherwise) they
send, and the oppression they engender.
That being said, I don’t believe that this should mark the
latest victory in an ongoing effort to rewrite Memphis History with a gigantic eraser. I do believe that the statue's removal can, at least in Memphis ,
be turned into an opportunity for constructive conversation that honestly
reassesses and even embraces our shared History. When I say honestly, I mean it in
the uncomfortable often painful sense of the word.
Look at it this way, without getting into
the technicalities of what defines a funerary monument just this minute, there is still the
question of what is to become of the graves of General and Mrs. Forrest. Who's looking forward to that conversation? I’ll just ask y'all this: Are we going to gear up for another season of reality show news
featuring the Alt-Right White Boys vs the Antifa Snowflakes, or are we going to
continue to keep family (however dysfunctional) business in the family?
Who’s going to define Memphis ?
Fox CNN and the social media news-trolls who are bent on division, or a more mature Memphis bent on reconciliation?
Peace Y’all
Now, about that First Penny…
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