Monumental protests: what can the campaign for the demolition of Confederate monuments in the United States turn out to be

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi demanded that the Confederate statues be removed from the Capitol. The corresponding appeal is contained in her letter sent to the Joint Library Committee, whose mandate is to resolve this issue.

The speaker of the lower house of parliament, representing the Democratic Party, recalled the "Cornerstone Speech" of the Vice President of the Confederate States of America, Alexander Stevens, in which, according to Pelosi, "he straightforwardly and intelligibly presented the terrible truth about the Confederation."

“Our new government is based on a diametrically opposed idea; the cornerstone in its foundation rests that great truth that a black man is not equal to a white man, and slavish submission to a higher race is his natural and normal state, ”Pelosi quoted an excerpt from the famous speech of the Confederate leader.

• Nancy Pelosi
• Reuters
• © Kevin Lamarque

According to the speaker of the House of Representatives, the statues in the Capitol building should embody the ideals of the American nation.

"Although, in my opinion, it is extremely important to never forget your history in order to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, I also consider it unacceptable to glorify the violent racism of the Confederates in the sacred halls of the United States Capitol and other places of glory throughout the country," the letter says .

In total, 11 statues are installed in the congress building to figures who spoke on the side of the Confederate States of America. Among them are monuments to Alexander Stevens and Jefferson Davis - Vice President and President of the Confederation.

Fight with history

The Democratic Party supports the demands of protesters against racism, which have been taking to the streets of American cities since late May. Demolitions of monuments to the Confederates became part of these performances in a number of cities. So, the day before, the Asheville City Council in North Carolina unanimously voted to dismantle the Confederate monuments.

Earlier, Virginia Democratic Governor Ralph Northam announced his intention to dismantle the monument to the commander of the Confederate States of America, Robert Lee, installed in the state capital of Richmond. True, it has not yet been possible to implement this plan, since the court blocked the decision of local authorities, media reported.

In addition, the issue of changing the flag of the state of Mississippi is being discussed. According to his governor, Tate Reeves, this can be done by voting, rather than by decision of politicians.

• Protest in front of City Hall in downtown Seattle
• Reuters
• © Lindsey Wasson

Another initiative concerns the renaming of military bases named after the commanders of the Confederate army. According to media reports that cite anonymous sources, the Pentagon is ready to take part in a bipartisan discussion on this issue. The same opinion was expressed in the US Army Department. Also earlier, the command of the US Marine Corps ordered to remove the symbols of the Confederation from all objects of the unit, including flags, clothes, stickers. 

The head of the White House, Donald Trump, strongly opposed the renaming of military bases, saying that his administration did not intend to even consider such an idea.

“It has been proposed to rename as many as ten of our Legendary Military Bases, such as Fort Bragg in North Carolina, Fort Hood in Texas, Fort Benning in Georgia and others. These Majestic and very Powerful bases have become part of the Great American Heritage, the history of Victories and Freedom. The United States of America stationed and trained its HEROES in these holy places and won two world wars. Therefore, my administration will not even consider renaming these magnificent and legendary military facilities, ”the American president wrote on Twitter.

The debate over the demolition of monuments and renaming flared up amid mass protests and riots that swept the United States due to the death of 46-year-old African American George Floyd during police detention in Minneapolis. 

The protesters managed to ensure that the charge was brought not only to officer Derek Chauvin, who directly detained Floyd, but also to his colleagues. However, the protests do not subside. So, in Seattle (Washington), protesters built barricades, effectively taking control of a part of the city. Among the participants in the demonstrations are armed people.

At the same time, the local police are in no hurry to apply radical measures against the rebels. According to law enforcement agencies, although the demonstrators do not have the right to establish checkpoints in the city, the police are trying to achieve a peaceful solution to the problem.

For his part, the head of the White House does not share this peaceful approach of the Seattle authorities.

“Domestic terrorists have captured Seattle, which is, of course, controlled by left-wing radical democrats. LAW AND ORDER!" - Trump wrote on Twitter. 

Domestic Terrorists have taken over Seattle, run by Radical Left Democrats, of course. LAW & ORDER!

Passion in the United States has reached such a limit that experts do not exclude the possibility of a new civil war in one form or another.

“It is possible that the Black Lives Matter movement could push the United States into a new civil war. The fact is that many in America are already beginning to believe that the system of slavery, racism over the past hundred years has created a certain system of economic debt in relation to the colored population. Therefore, a movement may appear for the redistribution of income and wealth. And this ultimately should lead to the creation of a new economic system, ”said Vladimir Vasiliev, a researcher at the US and Canada Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in a commentary to RT.

Moreover, the sympathy of many Americans for the Confederates is also quite explainable, the expert believes. Although the southerners suffered a military defeat at one time, they showed the highest level of morale and became a model of valor and honor, he noted.

“Therefore, already from 1880-1890. in America, their rehabilitation began. The erection of monuments in honor of the Confederates led to the fact that the white population of the southern states that were members of the Confederation considered that their rehabilitation had taken place. It also supports racism in an implicit form, at the level of value orientation, ”Vladimir Vasiliev explained.

“The main trigger of the confrontation”

Street clashes between supporters and opponents of the demolition of monuments to the Confederates occurred in the United States and earlier. So, in August 2017, riots swept the city of Charlottesville (Virginia) after local authorities decided to dismantle a monument to Robert Lee installed in the city park.

This aroused the indignation of the conservatively white public. A group of right-wing radicals organized a protest march against this decision. The event, whose participants used the symbols of the Confederation and the Third Reich, grew into skirmishes with opponents from among left activists.

• Clashes in Charlottesville
• Reuters
• © Joshua Roberts

It should be noted that about a month before these events, the march of the ultra-right racist organization Ku Klux Klan also took place in the city, whose members opposed the demolition of the monument to Lee.

At the same time, the right-wingers made it clear that they perceive Donald Trump almost as their political patron: after the events in Charlottesville, the former leader of this organization David Duke even thanked the president for the words “truths”.

“Thank you, President Trump, for the honesty and courage that allowed you to tell the truth about Charlottesville and condemn left-wing terrorists from Black Lives Matter / Antifa (Black Lives Matter -“ Life of Black People Matters. ”- RT ),” he wrote.

Thus, he commented on Trump’s words that “both sides” were to blame for the clashes between anti-fascists and ultra-right.

According to Vladimir Vasiliev, it was the appearance of the Trump figure in the political horizon of the United States that provoked the growth of contradictions in American society.

“Trump is the main trigger of this confrontation, which began in society. Initially, he made it clear that for him the ideal is America of the past. In turn, the Democrats would like to transform America into another society so that it becomes a minority society, as a result of which it will be necessary to rewrite the constitution and change the principles of the federal structure. Today there is a struggle for the future of America, ”the expert emphasized.

Yuri Rogulev, director of the US Roosevelt Foundation for the Study of the United States at Moscow State University, has a slightly different point of view. As the expert noted in an interview with RT, similar clashes have occurred in the United States before, even during the presidency of Democrat Barack Obama.

“Such events occur periodically. Another thing is that the Democrats are now emphasizing that moment that the basis of the electorate of Trump is exactly the white Americans. They argue that it was his policy that provoked these protests. But in fact, this issue has been corroding American society since its inception, Trump may accelerate some processes, but it is not their cause, ”the expert is sure.

“Direct protests in a controlled direction”

The Democratic Party is actively using protests and indignation of the population against the Trump administration, Vladimir Vasiliev believes.

“Indeed, Trump’s position on current issues contrasts with the mood of the protesters. And this allows the Democrats to gain additional political points. Prior to this, the political technologists of the Democratic Party focused on benefits, and promised to increase support for the non-ferrous population. However, for the three years that Trump has been in power in the country, economic growth has been observed, so they were afraid that this argument would not work, ”the expert explained.

Therefore, now Democrats are focusing on symbols, talking about the demolition of monuments, which are the "birthmarks" of racism. Due to this, they want to mobilize their electorate, added Vasiliev.

• Donald Trump
• Reuters
• © Kevin Lamarque

“However, it is important for democrats to send protests in a controlled and politically correct direction, because if radicalization continues to increase, this will lead to the emergence of new leaders. The top party of the Democratic Party is afraid of this, because it wants to maintain political control, ”the expert explained.

A similar point of view is shared by Yuri Rogulev.

“The scale that took the protests this year gave the Democratic Party a powerful trump card against the Trump administration. At the same time, it is difficult to judge on whose side public opinion is now, since many Americans do not like robberies and looting. Republicans also use protests for their own purposes, promoting their agenda and rallying their own electorate, ”the expert summed up.