• klu9@piefed.social
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    2 days ago

    Well, when you put it like that, I guess Trump does deserve to go on Mount Rushmore.

    • logicbomb@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      That’s a hell of a concession.

      The entire idea of Mount Rushmore really is contrary to the spirit of America. We have presidents, not kings. It’s said that if George Washington wanted to stay in power, he could have easily done so and basically become a king. His contemporary critics were afraid he’d do exactly that.

      But Washington knew that we didn’t need kings, and he started the tradition of presidents retiring after two terms. I suspect he’d look at Mount Rushmore and be offended at the idea of treating presidents like that.

      Anyways, rather than adding somebody new, we should just knock all of the existing portraits off, and admit it was always in poor taste.

      • klu9@piefed.social
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        2 days ago

        Should but won’t. The nation can’t even bring itself to knock the portraits off Stone Mountain, idolizing its literal enemies.

        • logicbomb@lemmy.world
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          2 days ago

          I hadn’t heard of Stone Mountain. Here’s some details from its Wikipedia page.

          Stone Mountain is a quartz monzonite dome monadnock and the site of Stone Mountain Park, 15 miles (24 km) east of Atlanta, Georgia. The park is the most visited tourist site in the state of Georgia.

          Stone Mountain, once owned by the Venable Brothers, was purchased by the state of Georgia in 1958 “as a memorial to the Confederacy.”

          A memorial to the Confederacy is the most visited tourist site in the state of Georgia…

          Stone Mountain Park officially opened on April 14, 1965 – 100 years to the day after Lincoln’s assassination

          Fuck me, that’s trashy even for trash. Celebrating the assassination of President Lincoln.

          The park today is owned by the state of Georgia.

          Of course it is.

          Stone Mountain is well known for not only its geology, but also the enormous rock relief on its north face, the largest bas-relief artwork in the world. The carving, completed in 1972, depicts three Confederate leaders, Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and Stonewall Jackson.

          Imagine spending all that money to commemorate a thing that’s 100 years old and only lasted 4 years, just because it’s the only way you can think of to be outwardly racist.

          • kaidenshi@lemmy.world
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            2 days ago

            The park itself is actually really nice they just need to remove the awful mural. I don’t care if they leave it blank or replace it with a carving honoring Native Americans but it needs to go.

            • logicbomb@lemmy.world
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              2 days ago

              Destroy the mural. Take down the confederate flags and any other confederate memorabilia. Rename the park to Abraham Lincoln Park, and rename Stone Mountain itself to Emancipation mountain.

              It’s swell that the park is nice, but taking down the mural isn’t enough. We need to spit on its history.

          • plyth@feddit.org
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            2 days ago

            only lasted 4 years

            Do they commemorate the confederation or do they commemorate the old way of life that existed way before the confederation, and the confederation was only supposed to continue it?

            There must also be some feelings of alienation to be ruled by presidents who they didn’t want. In times of Trump it’s interesting to see that there is not necessarily an agreement but also no understanding of the motives of the South.