I can't agree that removing a statue is rewriting history. A monument, especially on public grounds, is something that is there in reverence of the particular person. If that person is deemed unworthy of reverence by society, removing their statue is something that might be reasonable to do. If that is the case, what's the problem? Are all monuments that were ever erected supposed to be kept forever and regardless of their meaning and the way society sees them?
Of course if something like that is to be done, it should be done after a public conversation has been had and with a good reason. The fact that there are people overdoing it, or blowing it out of proportion does not mean that some monuments are not reasonable to remove or change. Society should have a reasonable debate and discussion on what to keep and what to remove and if something like that has enough support, it can be implemented.
I personally as a person that doesn't even live in the US don't see a good reason for statues of confederate generals to be kept on public grounds.
Agreed, as another comment I've written states. The context of how it's torn down is the main issue, rather than necessitating eternal statues.
Well the general in question was a great man, he was one of the greatest generals at the time who happened to be fighting on the losing side, and he didn't even want the secession to happen, he was on the North's side, regarding slavery, and though it was horrible (not like we do, but very progressive for the time) but he felt the need to fight for his home state.
The point is these statues are of people who did great, notable, progressive things, but those things are ignored because of something else that these people consider bad now which to them, completely overrides anything good they did.
It would be like tearing down a statue of Obama 100 years from now because he ate chicken, and in the future everybody is a vegetarian and meat eaters are scum. Never mind all the great things he might have done.
Well, I honestly don't know what the case with his personal qualities actually is, but I am also sure there are people that revere him for the "wrong" reasons too. Still, that's an evaluation I'm simply not qualified to make, so I'll keep what you've said here in mind when continuing to think about this issue.