Georgia: Statue of Racist To Be Removed From Capitol

Well done, Georgia.

After eons, a statue greeting visitors to the State Capitol in Atlanta is scheduled to be deep-sixed from the Capitol campus.

It’s not just any statue; it’s a 12-foot-high monument to little man named Thomas Watson, who was an avowed racist, as well as an anti-Semite and an anti-a lot of things that people value.

Here’s some ‘color’ on Mr. Watson, who with any luck will be forgotten entirely in a matter of a week or two:

An odd political figure who began as a 19th century liberal, who courted newly empowerment of African-American voters after Reconstruction, Watson evolved an advocate of disenfranchisement of blacks and a fulminating critic of anything the least bit foreign in the New South.

But that’s just old history-book stuff, right? Not exactly — and here’s why things like statues matter:

For years, whether at the in-state funeral of Corretta Scott King or Kasim Reed’s 2009 announcement that he would run for mayor of Atlanta, the statue has offered a discordant note. On the other side, the statue has occasionally served as a rallying point for states’ rights and Southern heritage enthusiasts.

‘Southern heritage enthusiasts.’ And precisely which aspect of Southern heritage would inspire a group to rally around a statue of Thomas Watson?

The food, no doubt.

By: rhb

Rob is a NYC-based Internet entrepreneur. He's also a businessman and job creator (wait: doesn't demand create jobs?) who understands the sense, and the eventual predominance, of the progressive agenda.