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Notes -
I was objecting to “Lee was such a perfect personification of the Southern patriarchal ideal of gentlemanliness that he invites leftist hostility like no other figure in US history.” That would require leftists to know enough about the man to form an opinion on his personal conduct. I think this is unlikely, and disdain for the man is driven more by his allegiance than the other way around.
You’re correct about my unfamiliarity with Civil War primary sources. I’m sure Lee was very articulate; elsewhere in tbis thread, his letters come across quite well. It’s not his gentlemanly credentials to which I object. No, I find it unlikely that “leftists” take offense at his personal charms more than his affiliation. If I—someone who grew up in the South, is actually interested in military history, and generally retains more Civil War trivia than was required for school—if I couldn’t think of a sage anecdote to show Lee’s personality, why should I expect the same from a random protestor?
Lee “inviting hostility” by being too cool and gentlemanly, or by “cutting too close to the bone,” is wishful thinking of the same sort which brings us “they hated us because of our freedom.” Cute, but not realistic.
Sometimes the simplest answer is the best. Slavery bad, therefore Confederacy bad, therefore dead Confederates bad, therefore statue must go. Or, as you suggest: outgroup bad, therefore people they admire bad, therefore statue must go. Yes, I would say that the latter approaches a personal enmity for you and yours, and I think that’s terrible. But I support protestors’ right to remove the statue on the former grounds. I will defend them against accusations that they are merely seething at men they couldn’t recognize on the street. There’s nothing personal about that.
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