Is Trump losing the culture war?
Or do people just not care right now?
Martha emailed me a few weeks ago and said:
“I’d like to know if there’s any poll movement from the calls to ‘defund the police.’”
I now write my answer as the city of Richmond, Virginia—not to far away from where I’m sitting—is removing their statue of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson. The two cannot be viewed in isolation. The debates over each are similarly racially-charged, and both come with undertones from the right (namely the president) aimed to convey to white Americans (or at least the ones with conservative racial attitudes) that their status in society is coming under threat. That has made all the difference in how the media and activists have reacted to them. The statue of Jackson is now headed for a museum—need I say more? The right is clearly losing the culture war. At least right now
In fact, the debate over statues seems much likelier time me to bring up a cleavage in the campaign. That’s because most people think the police treat white and Black Americans differently and favor some type of reform. So let’s talk about the statues instead. (I hope Martha will approve the new direction. The specific calls to defund the police have faded in recent weeks anyway, and at any rate the answer to her question is that Biden and other Democrats have gained a lot of ground since people started the chants.)
The removal of Jackson’s statue in Richmond, the former capital of the Confederacy, actually comes as a bit of a surprise to me. I’m from an area of the country where the statues dedicated to Confederate leaders and soldiers are honored history and staple of “our” heritage and where the police are viewed as heroes. It is not lost on me that this is not the reality of these signals to most Americans in Milwaukee—or probably even in Richmond proper. Still, being exposed to the conservative heart of America has familiarized me with just how many people think this way, and how they are embedded in the power systems that govern many (most?) cities in America (and would usually decide things like whether or not to tear down a statue to a traitor, slaver and racist).
The polls reveal the same; most adults are on the side of the statues. 38% think they should be taken down, while 45% think they should stay up. And more voters (45%) think they are symbols of “Southern Pride” than think they are symbols of racism. It is worth noting, however, that most voters support removing Confederate symbols from state flags.
This is a bit paradoxical! If most people want the statues to stay up, why are they coming down? Why are Trump’s election numbers falling when most voters agree with his dog-whistle positions on confederate symbols?
The answer lies in issue prioritization. Most Americans who are actively angry about the statues are already firmly in Donald Trump’s camp. They certainly have no champion for their cause in Joe Biden. But those voters who have other things in their mind or don’t care much about the statues are looking up and seeing a worsening pandemic, an economic collapse that shows no signs of correcting and a president who can’t handle either of them.
Maybe the statues (and, for that matter, the calls to defund the police) would have mattered to voters in 2016. But it seems like voters have bigger fish to fry right now.
I was born and raised in the Mid South -- Nashville, Tennessee -- but born in a small town. We were absolutely raised to believe in Southern Pride with respect to the Civil War. Yes, we lost, but our soldiers were brave, never gave up, persisted for a long time even in the face of overwhelming economic and War Materiel deficiencies -- this was what we were led to believe.
It wasn't overtly about racism, but it certainly was a type of implicit racism. Fortunately, my mother was a Progressive Democrat and I was made aware of the racism behind this despite having everyone else in the extended family a believer in Southern Pride.
In 1968, as a 15 year-old, I wore a Humphrey campaign button to school and, on the bus, was called n***** lover and various other pejorative words and phrases. This was just after, during the summer before, being a Wallace supporter because all my friends were. My mother, upon finding this out, set me straight pretty quickly. I was lucky in that regard.
At the time, btw, the ONLY black person I had ever been in contact with was a sweet lady who would come to our house (she road the bus, my job was to go to the bus stop and walk her to our house in the all-white neighborhood for her 'protection') every Monday to wash and iron all our clothes (3 young boys go through tons of clothes in a week, all quite dirty after use) -- Miss Eula.
She was the most wonderful, soft-spoken, sweet lady ever created. Yet she exhibited great deference to me -- a silly teenager -- simply because I was white and that's what was expected of ALL blacks in the South at the time. As long as they "stayed in their lane" all was well. Get a bit uppity and the racism was elicited rather quickly and vehemently. I was perceptive enough to notice this despite being a dumb teenager. (Truth be told, ALL teenagers are somewhat dumb, but fortunately most grow out of that eventually, faster if one goes to college and meets a variety of people of all types and comes to realize people are people and it has none to do with skin color.)
All this to say, the statues are fine with me -- but put them in a museum somewhere, with an explanation of what they are all about. Which turns out to be a Bygone Era which is no longer applicable in the 21st Century. If we don't move on as a country (and especially the South which I love and am still proud to call myself a member of and still take pride in my heritage) soon then it's going to get much worse going forward.
The Time is Right, so to speak, to finally turn the corner in this country and "fix" the cultural problems that linger from the Civil War Era once and for all.
I believe if we Move the statues to a museum, provide those viewing the statues (especially school groups) with the history of our region of the country and point out how they no longer represent who we are as Southern People, then we can soften the harsh reaction from those who are hesitant to move on, sort of give them a "safe place" to inch themselves toward accepting, one and for all, that:
1. the South lost
2. it really was about slavery, not Southern pride
3. racism in any form against anyone is morally wrong
4. it's time to erase this sordid history and move on as a country.
IOW, let's not attack one's "heritage", let's adjust what that heritage stands for and learn to accept ALL other people for what they are, as they are, without prejudice against them for any reason.
The time is now to put this issue to bed once and for all. For my grandchildren's sake, if nothing else. As my grandpa often said, "You got to strike while the iron is hot."