Re: Confederate Monuments, National Polls are Irrelevant

It’s kind of funny to see the very same people who cheer for states’ (local) rights cite national polls in the debate about whether Confederate monuments should be removed or re-located. But here’s the thing, as a barometer for why monuments are under attack and even being removed these polls tell us nothing. In fact, they are largely irrelevant.

Here’s the Reuters/IPSOS Poll.

A majority of Americans think Confederate monuments should be preserved in public spaces, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll, a view that is at odds with efforts in many cities to remove them.

…or there is the NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll

asked voters if Confederate statues should remain or be removed. Sixty-two percent of the poll’s participants said that the statues should remain. Only 27 percent of the participants believe the statues should be removed.

Forty-four percent of African Americans believe the Confederate statues should stay in place, while 11 percent said they’re unsure. The remaining 40 percent of African Americans polled said the statues should be removed.

The only polls that matter are local. Communities in Charlottesville, Baltimore, Dallas, New Orleans and in countless other places throughout the country did not consult national polls when they decided to erect these monuments. At the time they didn’t even have to consult with the entire local population given the realities of leglaized segregation during the Jim Crow-era.

The birth, life, and possible end of any public monument hinges on the support within a community and the pressure they choose to exert on their elected officials. Like it or not, what we are witnessing is democracy in action.

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17 comments… add one
  • terry6400 Sep 18, 2017 @ 18:48

    If local communities should have the last word on monuments, then that leaves you idiots out. You don’t have a dog in the hunt, so shut up and let the local community handle the mess.

    • Kevin Levin Sep 19, 2017 @ 2:05

      Since when are people not allowed to exercise their First Amendment rights on relevant issues of the day? Local communities should have the last word on what happens. Anyone can speak out or am I no longer living in the United States?

      • terry6400 Sep 19, 2017 @ 4:07

        Actually you are NOT living in the same US that I’ve always known. The US is not the same, but we will soon not know just how much, cause our history is disappearing. Haven’t you noticed free speech disappearing lately too? Destroying monuments is destroying the free speech of the people who wanted the monuments. But that’s okay. Selective enforcement of free speech is okay in some folk’s opinion.

        • Kevin Levin Sep 19, 2017 @ 4:11

          You apparently do not understand the First Amendment.

  • Boyd Harris Sep 13, 2017 @ 11:54

    Yet again the spirit of the State’s Rights argument shows itself to be a specious argument. Like plastic wrap, it’ll mold to fit anything.

    • Reggie Bartlett Sep 13, 2017 @ 19:49

      Eh Boydster, how is that Platformism and May Day celebrations treating ya? Polls don’t matter unless they say Hillary Clinton has it in the bag, otherwise it’s all Neo-Confederate hooey or somesuch. Right?

      For starters, you can’t be an Anarcho-Communist. At best, that’s just being a confused authoritarian.

      As for the statues, I’m going to guess that the lions share of voters in places like Louisiana and Texas support keeping the monuments up, much like Mississippi and it’s flag. But take notice, New Orleans, Dallas, Baltimore, Austin, San Antonio, Lexington, Louisville, St. Louis, take a look as to how those counties voted in the last election. It’s just a one-way Democrat spree of virtue signalling.

      • Boyd Harris Sep 14, 2017 @ 5:17

        Never claimed to be an anarcho-communist, but I guess you googled my name and saw the cover photo of my Facebook page. I think Albert Parsons is a great example for the monument debate. He fought in the Confederate Army and it was not the end all/be all of his life. He moved on and sought to improve himself and the lives of his fellow laborers. He didn’t let past actions forever define him and prevent him from changing.

        Quick questions that is unrelated: Is that your real name? Because if so, its also a character name from the Harry Turtledove alternative history Southern Victory series.

        Thanks for the comment.

        • Reggie Bartlett Sep 15, 2017 @ 23:05

          No. We have met before. In person.

          And yes, my handle is from the character in Turtledove’s novels. And yes, said character was a Confederate everyman, murdered by pseudo-Nazis.

          • Boyd Harris Sep 16, 2017 @ 6:50

            Then you have the advantage, sir. But then I never saw much value in anonymity.

            I thought Turtledove’s series was pretty good up to WWII. Then it got a bit repetitive and predictable, but I finished it out.

      • woodrowfan Sep 14, 2017 @ 7:39

        interestingly, those counties also tend to be better-educated and contribute a lot more economically than do the red rural counties. huh,

      • Joshism Sep 14, 2017 @ 17:42

        “you can’t be an Anarcho-Communist”

        Yes, you can. It’s just not very effective and generally only works on a very small scale. An unrealistic political belief system is still a political belief system.

        Disclaimer: not an anarcho-communist, but I’ve known a few.

  • LuAnne Barnett Maldonado Sep 13, 2017 @ 10:57

    I think history and patriotism should be honored.You cannot wipe it out or erase it as certain people want. No one should be allowed to destroy other people’s property. No one has the right to hurt or destroy. The NAACP should stay out of it. Tax evaders should be prosecuted and jailed, Fairness is not being used. Its they get all and the Confederacy gets railroaded.

    • Kevin Levin Sep 13, 2017 @ 11:17

      Thanks for the comment.

      I think history and patriotism should be honored.

      Forget about the issue of removal or re-location for a moment. Do you believe that a monument to a man who was willing to give his life in a cause that would ultimately destroy the United States as we know it for the purposes of creating a slaveholding republic is an expression of American patriotism. Please, help me out here.

    • DBP Sep 15, 2017 @ 14:16

      I don’t think history should be destroyed. I am also 100% for the removal of these statues. The statues are not history.
      The Confederacy was garbage. It was a terrible idea pushed by terrible people. Who cares how those people would feel about it the loss of these statues?
      Also speaking of tax evasion, one of the big lies Lost Cause proponents push is that tariffs were a major reason for the cause. According to many proponents of the Lost Cause, the Confederacy was formed to avoid taxes.

  • Jimmy Dick Sep 13, 2017 @ 9:00

    The hypocrisy so many of them display in order to protect their ideology is astounding.

  • Paultourguide Sep 13, 2017 @ 4:48

    Exactly, this was a regional issue when they were erected to perpetuate the “Lost Cause” , and a local issue now.

  • neukomment Sep 13, 2017 @ 4:37

    Exactly! Thank you for stating clearly what I have thought all along. Local communities taking care of thier own affairs. It is probably a lirtle much to call these local movements the 3rd wave of “Reconstruction”, but their impotance is in the fact that local communities and state govermrnts are making the decisions without imposition from the federal level.

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