Dallas is now following other city councils as it prepares to remove a Confederate statue at taxpayer’s expense no matter what the taxpayers want. In bold moves, city and area councils, are deciding that it is in their best interest to ignore the public input, ignore local and national polls, and ignore the high cost of statue removals while pushing ahead with the removal of these statues and monuments. They are doing this regardless of what the taxpayers want or request, and they are promoting a form of hysteria, filled lies to meet their agenda. National and local polling has found that most people do not want the Confederate statues removed. African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Caucasian Americans, and many others have spoken up asking such questions as “Why move this statue after a hundred years?” or “The statue is harming nobody, why move it?” or “I’ve never thought about it before, it’s just always been there. Why move it now?” At last count, an NBC 5 poll in Dallas online showed 79% thought that the city should not be removing the statue of Robert E. Lee from Lee Park. 21% supported removing it. Obviously, if this poll was representative of a public vote, the statue would stay; however, the council voted to move the statue, put it in storage, and move it someplace else…..someday. Former Congressman and Conservative speaker Allen West noted on his site (allenbwest.com) that he attended the council meeting. He points out that the city has a failing pension plan for employees such as police and firefighters, but they still want to spend money removing a statue from 1936. He also rightfully points out that nobody has ever complained about these statues until the shooting at a church in Charleston, South Carolina. In a prior post, West stood in front of the statue and stated that as a black man he did not feel the least intimidated by the statue. Arlene Barnum, a descendent of an African American Confederate soldier, passionately plead on social media for the defense of the statue as she has for others. Several times she challenged those voting to “not use the color of her skin” as an excuse for removal. She was one of over 70 people who spoke in favor of keeping the Caddo Parrish Confederate Monument in Shreveport, Louisiana recently. At that time only about 10 people indicated it should be moved. Ultimately the committee assigned to review it recognized overwhelming support to keep the monument, recommended that it stay, and offered that additional monuments to Reconstruction and Civil Rights should be built as part of a compromise. The city council, much like the Dallas city council, seemed to refuse to listen and is pushing forward with a vote that will likely force the removal of the statue. The statue in Shreveport alone could cost taxpayers over a million dollars just to move it and store it, and that does not even count for all the legal battles in Louisiana that will surely be filed once they make the decision. A quick run through social media reveals hundreds of comments stating the statue should stay. It has been on-site for well over a hundred years and most people do not seem bothered by it. Dallas, like most other city councils, continues to state that the statues represent white supremacy, slavery, and oppression. Continue Reading →
