Down Goes Silent Sam!

Just yesterday, I was thinking that there hadn’t been enough direct attacks of late on monuments to the American versions of Nazis, by which I mean those who committed treason in defense of slavery. Now I don’t feel that way!

Protesters toppled the towering Confederate monument at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Monday, perhaps ending — but also perhaps only intensifying — a debate over the propriety of a divisive symbol at a renowned public institution.

The statue, erected in 1913 and known as Silent Sam, fell after nightfall on the campus, brought down by demonstrators who regarded it as an enduring tribute to white supremacy. Although university officials had signaled their misgivings about the statue’s continued presence on their campus, they had argued that state law forbade them from moving the monument without a panel’s approval.

Critics of the statue celebrated its downing and tried to bury the soldier’s head in the North Carolina dirt. But the university, in a statement issued after the statue was brought down, said: “Tonight’s actions were dangerous, and we are very fortunate that no one was injured. We are investigating the vandalism and assessing the full extent of the damage.”

The university estimated that about 250 people were involved in Monday night’s demonstration. At least one person was arrested on charges of concealing one’s face during a public rally and resisting arrest, the university said.

Beautiful!

And lest anyone say this was history, note that this was put up in 1913, 48 years after the end of the Civil War, which is the equivalent of a Nazi statue being erected in 1993.

May this happen anywhere one of these statues still stands.

Also, I didn’t need a reason to root for UNC against Duke, but now I have another one.