Dear Fellow Southerners (In Reaction to Charlottesville)

Dear Fellow Southerners:

Let's have a talk, you and I, about the root of the riots in Charlottesville: the removal of the statue of Robert E Lee, a confederate general. I've seen many posts about how he is a southern icon, and how these g***amn yankees keep telling us that our historical figures aren't important.

On average, you probably didn't partake in the riots. But the general consensus, no matter where I have been in the South, is that Robert E Lee *is* a southern hero.

To which I ask: why? Why is he a hero?

Did you know that REL didn't support the secession of the South? He strongly encouraged Southern leaders against it. The reason why he fought for the South was because he couldn't handle the thought of him fighting against his family and neighbors, like so many people in the war did. (http://www.americanheritage.com/content/robert-e-lee’s-“severest-struggle”)

He didn't support the root of the issue: slavery. He was milquetoast as heck about the whole thing. He would write in letters that African Americans were the inferior race, and yet he raised money to send slaves to Liberia, and worked to liberate and educate slaves.

TL; DR: HE DIDN'T SUPPORT SLAVERY. HE DIDN'T SUPPORT THE IDEALS OF THE SOUTH. HE FOUGHT FOR HIS FAMILY, NOT THE CONFEDERACY.

After the war concluded, he worked hard with the president's reconstruction program. He wanted to rebuild the United States, and actively opposed radicalists who wanted to keep the states separate. At his funeral, he wasn't buried in his confederate uniform, and no one was permitted to wear theirs to his memorial events. Because he was not proud of having lost on behalf of the South.

There are so many more Southern war heroes. Heroes that have fantastic moral standing, who actually deserve our time and attention.

Heroes such as:

1. SERGEANT ALVIN YORK, WORLD WAR I, TENNESSEE: Received Medal of Honor for leading an attack on a German machine gun nest, taking 35 machine guns, killing 25 enemy soldiers, and capturing 132. (https://books.google.com/books?id=6c0MAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA60#v=onepage&q&f=false)

2. CORPORAL FREDDIE STOWERS, WORLD WAR I, SOUTH CAROLINA: led charges against two lines of German trenches (Cote 188). Continued as long as he could to fight with his men after being shot, but told them not to slow down when he collapsed, as they had made so much progress and his life wasn't worth their slowing down. Posthumously received a Medal of Honor (https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7430144)

3. SERGEANT HENRY JOHNSON, WORLD WAR I, NORTH CAROLINA: On watch in the Argonne Forest, he fought off a German raid in hand-to-hand combat, rescuing a fellow soldier while killing multiple German soldiers. (http://www.anb.org/articles/20/20-01908.html)

4. LIEUTENANT AUDIE MURPHY, WORLD WAR II & KOREAN WAR, TEXAS: forged papers to fight for the United States after the Pearl Harbor attack, due to being underage. Persisted in spite of many medical complications and participated in many US raids of Europe throughout the second World War. Considered America's most decorated soldier of World War II. https://books.google.com/books?id=fEgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA15&dq=life+magazine+july+16+1945+%22audie+murphy%22&hl=en#v=onepage&q=life%20magazine%20july%2016%201945%20%22audie%20murphy%22&f=false

5. CORPORAL MELVIN MAYFIELD, WORLD WAR II, WEST VIRGINIA: Mayfield is considered to be a huge source of inspiration for his men to eliminate all pockets of resistance in the Philippines. Heroic and often led charges on enemy caves. Awarded medal of honor for his bravery. (https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8602362)

6. GENERAL DWIGHT EISENHOWER, WORLD WAR I & II, TEXAS: actively served for forty-six years. Though he never saw active combat, he was famously good at managing difficult personalities, and commanded the "largest amphibious military invasion in history on the beaches of Normandy" (http://www.ibiblio.org/lia/president/EisenhowerLibrary/_General_Materials/DDE's_Military_Career.html), which was "a landing force of nine allied countries" (http://www.kansasheritage.org/abilene/ikeeyes.html)

7. GENERAL DOUGLAS MACARTHUR, WORLD WAR II, ARKANSAS: An American five-star general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. Received Medal of Honor for his service, following in the footsteps of his father before him. One of only five men to rise to the rank of General of the Army in the US Army (https://web.archive.org/web/20090814094306/http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/archive/2005-07/2005-07-24-voa2.cfm)

8. GENERAL IRA EAKER, WORLD WAR II, TEXAS: oversaw bomber commands in England. Insisted on during-the-day raids against Axis forces in order to minimize civilian casualties while maximizing damage to enemy troops (http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=EA010)

9. GENERAL CHESTER NIMITZ, WORLD WAR I & II, TEXAS: Commander in Chief of Allied land, air, and sea forces throughout the second world war. Instrumental in attacking Japanese naval forces and ultimately defeating the Japanese fleet. Promoted to US Fleet Admiral and received distinguished service medal. (http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20090604100137/http%3A//www%2Ehistory%2Enavy%2Emil/faqs/faq36%2D4%2Ehtm)

10. CORPORAL JAMES GARNER, WORLD WAR II & KOREAN WAR, OKLAHOMA: injured during the Korean War, for which he received a purple heart. Went on to become an actor, and accurately portrayed the US military in movies.

11. LIEUTENANT THOMAS NORRIS, VIETNAMESE WAR, FLORIDA: received medal of honor due to assist in ground rescue of downed pilots in enemy terrain. Went on to become an original member of the FBI's hostage rescue team. (https://navyseals.com/ns-overview/notable-seals/thomas-r-norris/)

In comparison... why is Robert E Lee still considered a southern hero?

(Side note: I know this is a women's health blog. But fascism is bad for women, so here we are.)