Lee’s statue is gone. What it unleashed remains.
© Hadley Green/The Washington Post
That it had to be done in secret says it all.
The Robert E. Lee statue that propelled white nationalists to wield torches and march through Charlottesville couldn’t be destroyed in a known place at a known time. Of course not.
The foundry that agreed to melt down that oxidized metal — after others refused — couldn’t be publicly revealed. Of course not.
The people who witnessed the melting of that statue couldn’t keep the location trackers of their phones on. Of course not.
Charlottesville’s Lee statue meets its end, in a 2,250-degree furnace
A few days ago, The Washington Post published a detailed account of the end of the Confederate general’s statue, a structure that before it was removed from its pedestal had prompted public and persistent displays of hate. That statue was at the center of the Unite the Right rally in 2017 that drew white nationalists to Charlottesville. Remember that? They chanted things such as “Jews will not replace us!” and “White lives matter!” That day, punches were thrown, people were shoved and a man rammed his car into a crowd of counterprotesters, injuring dozens and killing Heather Heyer, a 32-year-old with a passion for social justice.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/lee-s-statue-is-gone-what-it-unleashed-remains/ar-AA1j0nHK?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=6e2e9d613ec14daea20eed8b02c8c6f1&ei=27
