Protester: Toppling UNC Confederate statue was 'righteous'

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press


Jonathan Drew, Associated Press
Updated 2:26 pm CDT, Thursday, August 30, 2018

HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. (AP) — The protesters who brought down a Confederate statue at North Carolina's flagship university acted with "a righteous show of people power" after university leaders refused to remove it, one of those accused in the demonstration said Thursday.

Raul Jimenez, who was previously acquitted of helping topple another Confederate statue in nearby Durham, briefly appeared in court on misdemeanor charges of rioting and defacing a public monument. Three others have later court dates on the same charges of helping to tear down "Silent Sam" at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill on Aug. 20.

University and legislative leaders have demanded a hard look at how a "highly organized" group of protesters used banners to conceal their preparations to bring down the statue with a rope — and why police were non-confrontational. Thursday's hearing came a day after public records revealed that a town police chief assisting the campus force with crowd control told his officers to stay back not long before the statue fell.

Asked outside court if he knew about advance plans to topple "Silent Sam," Jimenez said: "I think what happened is the community came together and made a decision, whether it was that night ... whenever it was; that decision was to take down the statue."

Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/education/article/Officers-told-stand-aside-as-Silent-Sam-fell-13192829.php

[sandensea]

1. The other ones that need to go are the ubiquitous monuments to the Confederate soldier.

Almost every Deep South town with at least 10,000 people has at least one, usually in the main square.

This is a little like putting up monuments to al-Qaeda "fighters," considering the death and destruction the Confederates wrecked on the nation as a whole.

[pm_me_grey_paint]

2. They all should come down.

There's a Confederate memorial in downtown Pensacola honoring the "unsung heroes" whose just cause was to be a wonder and inspiration to the ages (I feel so dirty for writing that out).

For some strange reason, the supporters of that memorial staying in place don't like it when I ask when a memorial to the Al-Qaeda operatives behind the bombing of the Cole and the Iranians who laid the mines in the Persian Gulf that nearly sank the Samuel Roberts will be built as well since they obviously support the deaths of US Navy sailors as their proud heritage.

[sandensea]

3. Well said. Most Republicans these days are nothing if not hypocrites.

That's part of why we're here, I think.

Above all, welcome to DU! Happy reading, and happy editing.