Goodbye Bobby Lee
October 26, 2023 4:23 PM Subscribe
Six years ago, white supremacists marched (ostensibly) to defend a statue of Robert E Lee in Charlottesville, Virginia. Today, two Washington Post reporters documented the process of cutting that statue up and melting the pieces down into ingots. (gift link)
From the article:
Six years ago, groups with ties to the Confederacy had sued to stop the monument from being taken down. Torch-bearing white nationalists descended on the Virginia college town to protest its removal, and one man drove his car through a crowd of counterprotesters, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring 35 others.
The statue’s defenders more recently sought to block the city from handing Lee over to Charlottesville’s Black history museum, which proposed a plan to repurpose the metal. In a lawsuit, those plaintiffs suggested the century-old monument should remain intact or be turned into Civil War-style cannons.
But on Saturday the museum went ahead with its plan in secret at this small Southern foundry outside Virginia, in a town and state The Washington Post agreed not to name because of participants’ fears of violence.
From the article:
Six years ago, groups with ties to the Confederacy had sued to stop the monument from being taken down. Torch-bearing white nationalists descended on the Virginia college town to protest its removal, and one man drove his car through a crowd of counterprotesters, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring 35 others.
The statue’s defenders more recently sought to block the city from handing Lee over to Charlottesville’s Black history museum, which proposed a plan to repurpose the metal. In a lawsuit, those plaintiffs suggested the century-old monument should remain intact or be turned into Civil War-style cannons.
But on Saturday the museum went ahead with its plan in secret at this small Southern foundry outside Virginia, in a town and state The Washington Post agreed not to name because of participants’ fears of violence.
A Righteous Iconoclasm.
posted by lalochezia at 5:02 PM on October 26, 2023 [10 favorites]
posted by lalochezia at 5:02 PM on October 26, 2023 [10 favorites]
Let's hope they find a fitting final use for the scrap metal. My vote would be to find a sewage treatment plant somewhere that needs new pipes for effluent transport.
posted by senor biggles at 5:17 PM on October 26, 2023 [16 favorites]
posted by senor biggles at 5:17 PM on October 26, 2023 [16 favorites]
According to the article, the plan is to make the ingots into a statue at the Black history museum.
posted by firechicago at 5:19 PM on October 26, 2023 [10 favorites]
posted by firechicago at 5:19 PM on October 26, 2023 [10 favorites]
I couldn't get through all of the techie bonus visual crap on this one, but I'm happy it happened.
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:31 PM on October 26, 2023
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:31 PM on October 26, 2023
The camera work is modest, but poignant. I like that they seem so clinical with their visors and suits on.
posted by Reasonably Everything Happens at 5:38 PM on October 26, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Reasonably Everything Happens at 5:38 PM on October 26, 2023 [1 favorite]
Replace it with Jews!
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 5:53 PM on October 26, 2023 [22 favorites]
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 5:53 PM on October 26, 2023 [22 favorites]
as a former c'ville townie, i'd be fine with that
posted by Clowder of bats at 6:41 PM on October 26, 2023
posted by Clowder of bats at 6:41 PM on October 26, 2023
fun to learn that the statue was made of shitty bronze. of COURSE the racist fucks cheaped out on it. of course.
posted by ZaphodB at 6:50 PM on October 26, 2023 [17 favorites]
posted by ZaphodB at 6:50 PM on October 26, 2023 [17 favorites]
Excellent! I liked the video clips. I feel like they captured the fun and wonder of melting down metal. (If you've never tried it, do! You can build a furnace that melts aluminum for less than fifty bucks.)
Kind of hoping they make a bell with it.
posted by phooky at 6:58 PM on October 26, 2023 [2 favorites]
Kind of hoping they make a bell with it.
posted by phooky at 6:58 PM on October 26, 2023 [2 favorites]
I'm glad they did this (and thank you for the gift link), but it is so disappointing that it needed to be done under such secrecy to avoid threats and violence. This is something that should be public and celebrated.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:02 PM on October 26, 2023 [12 favorites]
posted by Dip Flash at 7:02 PM on October 26, 2023 [12 favorites]
In a lawsuit, those plaintiffs suggested the century-old monument should remain intact or be turned into Civil War-style cannons.
does someone have more details about the legal 'theory' behind this alternative or should i conclude that in America, if we can't have racist we are okay with gun
posted by dismas at 8:13 PM on October 26, 2023 [28 favorites]
does someone have more details about the legal 'theory' behind this alternative or should i conclude that in America, if we can't have racist we are okay with gun
posted by dismas at 8:13 PM on October 26, 2023 [28 favorites]
Cursed metal, just in time for all Hallow's eve.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 10:07 PM on October 26, 2023
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 10:07 PM on October 26, 2023
They should cast it into a civil war participation trophy.
posted by rouftop at 11:58 PM on October 26, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by rouftop at 11:58 PM on October 26, 2023 [7 favorites]
As a young citizen of Virginia attending public school I was required to take a course of state history where we were taught that Lee and Jackson were heroic figures. Just good old boys? Now imagining the school book's authors writing it by the tiki torch light while thinking Hitler did nothing wrong.
posted by nofundy at 1:37 AM on October 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by nofundy at 1:37 AM on October 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
They should cast it into a civil war participation trophy.That's what it used to be.
posted by nothing.especially.clever at 5:17 AM on October 27, 2023 [30 favorites]
A bell would be too easy for racists to re-appropriate as their own. I would vote for using the metal for the equivalent of Stolperstein for Slavery. Every building, institution, location that kept people as chattel should be marked. The records aren't as detailed as from the Holocaust but even just seeing the number of people enslaved at a place would be a good reminder.
posted by being_quiet at 6:35 AM on October 27, 2023 [13 favorites]
posted by being_quiet at 6:35 AM on October 27, 2023 [13 favorites]
Erin Thompson, an Art Historian and Art Crime expert who wrote an editorial about the destruction of the Lee statue for the NYT, said this on BlueSky:
They made me cut it because the source didn't want to use their name, but a Smithsonian official told me they didn't want these monuments because "museums aren't America's attic for its racist shit."
posted by firechicago at 7:12 AM on October 27, 2023 [40 favorites]
They made me cut it because the source didn't want to use their name, but a Smithsonian official told me they didn't want these monuments because "museums aren't America's attic for its racist shit."
posted by firechicago at 7:12 AM on October 27, 2023 [40 favorites]
The ingots this statue was melted into would make a pretty nice macguffin for a modern fantasy story.
Glad to see it gone.
posted by egypturnash at 8:12 AM on October 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
Glad to see it gone.
posted by egypturnash at 8:12 AM on October 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
I would vote for using the metal for the equivalent of Stolperstein for Slavery.
this times a thousand. When you screw up, you own it so you can move on. Until then, the US is just gonna be screwing around going over the same garbage time and again.
Also, to be noted - Stolpersteine are researched by the local community, and the entire endeavour is the result of one person's efforts. No reason something similar can't be undertaken in the US.
posted by From Bklyn at 8:30 AM on October 27, 2023 [6 favorites]
this times a thousand. When you screw up, you own it so you can move on. Until then, the US is just gonna be screwing around going over the same garbage time and again.
Also, to be noted - Stolpersteine are researched by the local community, and the entire endeavour is the result of one person's efforts. No reason something similar can't be undertaken in the US.
posted by From Bklyn at 8:30 AM on October 27, 2023 [6 favorites]
good
posted by supermedusa at 9:09 AM on October 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by supermedusa at 9:09 AM on October 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
so disappointing that it needed to be done under such secrecy to avoid threats and violence.
In New Orleans, we removed the Lee Statue, over the objections of the oil companies and the Lt Governor (newly re elected, barf). After the Klan burned the cars of the first contractors, the cost of removal went from 6 to 7 figures.
Lee was removed under the watch of roof snipers.
My dad complained about the cost to the City, but the new security was 80% of that cost. That was a strategy to stop the removal. Who were those snipers for, anyway? They were for the people cheering the statue s removal. The Klan made us pay their private security friends, one last racist tax on the way out for sure.
But you better believe we danced in the street. The party was free baby.
The City then funded a study committee to change many street names en masse. That was even cooler.
If you watch the news, "Crime" is higher than ever. But crime has gone down, and the streets are paved. The TV owners are still mad! So, "Crime" is rampant, apparently. Even though the real problem with New Orleans is climate change, and insurability. Go figure.
posted by eustatic at 10:06 AM on October 27, 2023 [17 favorites]
In New Orleans, we removed the Lee Statue, over the objections of the oil companies and the Lt Governor (newly re elected, barf). After the Klan burned the cars of the first contractors, the cost of removal went from 6 to 7 figures.
Lee was removed under the watch of roof snipers.
My dad complained about the cost to the City, but the new security was 80% of that cost. That was a strategy to stop the removal. Who were those snipers for, anyway? They were for the people cheering the statue s removal. The Klan made us pay their private security friends, one last racist tax on the way out for sure.
But you better believe we danced in the street. The party was free baby.
The City then funded a study committee to change many street names en masse. That was even cooler.
If you watch the news, "Crime" is higher than ever. But crime has gone down, and the streets are paved. The TV owners are still mad! So, "Crime" is rampant, apparently. Even though the real problem with New Orleans is climate change, and insurability. Go figure.
posted by eustatic at 10:06 AM on October 27, 2023 [17 favorites]
My favorite thing are idiots on the Elon Musk hate speech social media platform comparing melting these down to the Taliban blowing up the Bamiyan buddhas. Yes, it’s just like that. Totally.
posted by misterpatrick at 11:11 AM on October 27, 2023
posted by misterpatrick at 11:11 AM on October 27, 2023
Oh he’s already posting replacement theory rhetoric about it, for those still following the “Is Elon Musk a white supremacist?” debate.
posted by Artw at 11:22 AM on October 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 11:22 AM on October 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
The Stolpersteine idea is great. It's immersive and it really makes you think when you literally stumble over one. In general, I think most statues are stupid, even when I like the person portrayed. Within moments, you've forgotten all about the history, and the statue just visual noise. Or on the other hand if it is great art, like the Marcus Aurelius in Rome, you don't care who the person is.
(I don't know if Marcus Aurelius did bad things, because I don't care).
Of course there are exceptions, though I don't remember any right now.
And thanks for this post.
posted by mumimor at 11:29 AM on October 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
(I don't know if Marcus Aurelius did bad things, because I don't care).
Of course there are exceptions, though I don't remember any right now.
And thanks for this post.
posted by mumimor at 11:29 AM on October 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
Let's hope they find a fitting final use for the scrap metal.
How about a memorial for Heather Heyer?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:41 PM on October 27, 2023 [10 favorites]
How about a memorial for Heather Heyer?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:41 PM on October 27, 2023 [10 favorites]
Let's hope they find a fitting final use for the scrap metal.
Cast em into Toilets. So Real Americans can continue their daily task of literally shitting on the memory of the white supremacist terrorist "confederate" traitors.
posted by mikelieman at 1:27 PM on October 27, 2023
Cast em into Toilets. So Real Americans can continue their daily task of literally shitting on the memory of the white supremacist terrorist "confederate" traitors.
posted by mikelieman at 1:27 PM on October 27, 2023
¡Adios!
I recently saw the Kehinde Wiley exhibition in SF at the de Young, and his statues — especially the one titled "An Archeology of Silence" — were really powerful.
Kehinde Wiley and Monument Avenue, in Richmond, VA.
posted by nikoniko at 5:50 PM on October 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
I recently saw the Kehinde Wiley exhibition in SF at the de Young, and his statues — especially the one titled "An Archeology of Silence" — were really powerful.
Kehinde Wiley and Monument Avenue, in Richmond, VA.
posted by nikoniko at 5:50 PM on October 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
Mod note: One removed; (presumed) misunderstanding about "Bobby Lee" referring to Robert E. Lee, not the contemporary comedian by that name.
posted by taz (staff) at 11:39 PM on October 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by taz (staff) at 11:39 PM on October 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
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posted by tiny frying pan at 4:28 PM on October 26, 2023 [3 favorites]