I've got a better idea than destroying the existing bas relief in Stone Mountain

[MohRokTah]

Carve this just as tall as the existing bas relief to the left of it:



Then carve this the same size to the right of it:

[Ilsa]

1. I'd love to see the carving on the right.

And if we have to balance it with Grant, then let it be done!

[MohRokTah]

2. That's Sherman

As in the march to the sea, Sherman.

[Ilsa]

3. Oops, my bad. Old white warhorses all look the

Same to me, especially when they look like alcoholics.

[Telcontar]

10. That is some serious fucked up shit

Sherman suffered massive PTSD saving this nation. Show some respect

[morningfog]

12. Too soon?

[jen63]

14. Nice!

[Glassunion]

18. LOL!!!!

Omg, that's too damn funny.

[Marengo]

19. Too bad the General didn't extend the same courtesy to Native Americans...

A few quotes:

"we are not going to let a few thieving, ragged Indians check and stop the progress of [the railroads]."

"we must act with vindictive earnestness against the Sioux, even to their extermination, men, women and children."

"during an assault, the soldiers can not pause to distinguish between male and female, or even discriminate as to age."

[Igel]

21. He showed the same courtesy to Native Americans.

It's just that people get bent out of shape when the actions were against Native Americans. On a larger scale, against the South, it's viewed as justified.

In this case, there was equality of treatment and opportunity.

[Igel]

20. Sherman did some seriously bad things.

The whole "let's punish the civilian population as much as possible to demoralize them" thing.

Passing a farm and need food? Great. Take what you can carry. Then destroy the food that's stored, destroy the fields, kill the animals, destroy the housing, and destroy the equipment. Scorched earth policy--for the advancing troops. It left them with territories that really were set up to having starving populations.

It was a different time, but unless we want to be proud of intentional cruelty to the families of those fighting, let's not go there. (Otherwise the proper thing to do in, oh, Gaza is to intentionally target apts because they have civilians in them; in Afghanistan, raids should have been made on villages in Taliban-controlled territory for the purpose of destroying them, their animals, and their food crops. Only those really into hate and ill-will believed this was the case.)

[linuxman]

4. You'd just have to buy it out from under the current owner

It's private property.

[MohRokTah]

5. The state of Georgia owns the property.

It's managed by a private company, but the state owns it.

[linuxman]

6. Huh, no kidding.

I was under the impression it was owned by an individual or a trust.

[MohRokTah]

7. It was until 1958. eom

[Glitterati]

8. I have a better idea

Enclose it in a building and charge the racists a fee to go admire it.

Hide it from the rest of us and make it available only to the racists who want to PAY for it. Then, nobody but the racists have to see it, deal with it and support it.

Besides, if we put out a guest book, we can get a list of the racists in their own hand.

[Nye Bevan]

13. It's not possible to admire a piece of artwork while disagreeing with the artist's sentiments?

Anyone who might want to see "The Last Supper", for example, must be a Christian?

[Glitterati]

23. No need to shove it in the face of those who wish NOT to see it either

For some people, even YOUR definition of "art" is offensive.

You have no right to force ME to deal with it.

You do realize that the immediate community around this abomination of a "mountain" are 97% African Americans, right?

So they are forced to observe this "art" every day.

In. Their. Face.

[REP]

9. I like it

Sherman should have a torch in his hand, though.

This is good, too:

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

11. William Tecumseh Sherman, maybe the only name

that makes racist rednecks cry harder than hearing "Barack Obama"

[Music Man]

15. It's worth pointing out that Sherman was no abolitionist.

He was pro-Union, determined to crush the Confederates because they were traitors. But he believed blacks were inferior to whites and should remain slaves.

Just looking for consistency!

[REP]

16. He DID crush the Confederates

Pretty memorably.

[Bonhomme Richard]

17. I say just put a white flag in....

Lee's hands.

[Igel]

22. And he was a half-hearted abolitionist.

Freed many of his family's slaves, believed that in 20 years there'd be no slavery--and since slavery was evil, that was a great thing.

So the hero's tainted and the devil's not pure evil. Makes life tough for binary thinkers.

Both did their jobs, whatever their beliefs. Such was the interpretation of "honor" and "dignity" at the time.