America and Nat Turner

[ESay]

Name a "white supremacist " or "holocaust" text that you think should be in a school library ?
Not all viewpoints are valid. Books that are just about hating are not valid.

"All men are created equal" is a good starting point for any society. Why would you argue against that ?

I am not arguing about that. On the contrary, I fully support that. But also I am quite wary with things which can have any relations with some forms of censorship.

 

[mikegriffith1]

Texas school district pulls 400 books from libraries after state GOP lawmaker’s inquiry

A Texas school district has flagged more than 400 library books for review following an inquiry from state Rep. Matt Krause (R). North East Independent School District in San An…

thehill.com

A novel based on the life of Nat Turner is one of 400 novels banned in a Texas School District. No specific reason is given for this.

I wonder if Americans are starting to re-evaluate the legacy of this historic freedom fighter ?

At one time I discussed this on here and a wave of right wingers condemned the man. However we live in changing times. The mask and vax mandates may have changed attitudes amongst this demographic. Folk who protest about wearing a mask must surely recognise a fellow freedom fighter, albeit one who was only railing against the benign institution of slavery not the full blown horror of face masks.

I believe that Mr Turner is an authentic folk hero for a nation lacking in these. Do my right wing brothers and sisters now feel the same ?

Nat Turner was a "historic freedom fighter" and a "hero"??? I guess if you believe in the Stalinist idea that the ends justify the means, you could call this vicious murderer a "freedom fighter" and a "hero," leaving aside the fact that he was also arguably insane.

Turner's gang did not just kill white men but also white women and children. Turner called on his gang to "kill all the white people." Turner explained that his killing spree was "indiscriminate" in order to "strike terror and alarm."

So, no, I don't regard Turner as a freedom fighter or a hero.

 

[Tommy Tainant]

Nat Turner was a "historic freedom fighter" and a "hero"??? I guess if you believe in the Stalinist idea that the ends justify the means, you could call this vicious murderer a "freedom fighter" and a "hero," leaving aside the fact that he was also arguably insane.

Turner's gang did not just kill white men but also white women and children. Turner called on his gang to "kill all the white people." Turner explained that his killing spree was "indiscriminate" in order to "strike terror and alarm."

So, no, I don't regard Turner as a freedom fighter or a hero.

What avenues were open to him in order to improve his situation ? Whites oppressed him and were his enemy.

 

[mikegriffith1]

What avenues were open to him in order to improve his situation ? Whites oppressed him and were his enemy.

If he had not murdered women and children, and if his killing had not been indiscriminate, I would be far less critical of him and could regard him as a freedom fighter.

Slaves who were mistreated had every moral, natural right to run away and/or to rebel. If I'd been alive back then, I would have helped runaway slaves in any way I could. But I draw the line at murdering women and children.

 

[Tommy Tainant]

If he had not murdered women and children, and if his killing had not been indiscriminate, I would be far less critical of him and could regard him as a freedom fighter.

Slaves who were mistreated had every moral, natural right to run away and/or to rebel. If I'd been alive back then, I would have helped runaway slaves in any way I could. But I draw the line at murdering women and children.

Those kids would have grown up to oppress him and rape his kids. Turner didnt kill enough of them.

 

[Otis Mayfield]

Those kids would have grown up to oppress him and rape his kids. Turner didnt kill enough of them.

Britain, our parent nation, gave us slavery.

We were British for over a 170 years.

 

[gipper]

Those kids would have grown up to oppress him and rape his kids. Turner didnt kill enough of them.

Damn that’s crazy. Are you really a Nazi? You justify killing defenseless children. WTF!

At any rate, banning books is Un-American.

 

[Tommy Tainant]

Damn that’s crazy. Are you really a Nazi? You justify killing defenseless children. WTF!

At any rate, banning books is Un-American.

But you bombed those kids in Hiroshima. They hadnt done anything. What is the difference ?

 

[gipper]

But you bombed those kids in Hiroshima. They hadnt done anything. What is the difference ?

Oh brother. I did nothing of the sort and have long condemned Truman’s horrendous war crime.

Dirty Harry was following practices the UK has long utilized. You must be so proud.

 

[Tommy Tainant]

Oh brother. I did nothing of the sort and have long condemned Truman’s horrendous war crime.

Dirty Harry was following practices the UK has long utilized. You must be so proud.

You might not have approved but your taxes paid for it. Nadolig llawen Gipper.

 

[gipper]

You might not have approved but your taxes paid for it. Nadolig llawen Gipper.

Jesus dude that means nothing, plus I wasn’t alive for over a decade after Truman’s war crime and wasn’t paying taxes until the 70s.

So, you condemn all Americans who paid taxes. You do know taxes are required and Americans can’t opt out paying them, without facing prison time.

Stop with the silliness.

 

[Pellinore]

Is it necessary to classify someone like Turner as either a heroic freedom fighter or a demonic terrorist? He was a particularly driven human being who struck back at the power structure that held him in bondage for his entire life; a society that practices purposefully-dehumanizing generations-long chattel slavery under the banner of universal equality and guaranteed freedom has to expect that to happen. If he were held on trial today, frankly, I could see the decision going either way, but I think lives such as his are best examined as a reflection on the society, without necessarily granting him either a halo or a pair of horns in the process.

It's also important to look at the reaction to his uprising. We will never know how many Black people were killed by retaliating white mobs, but the number was in the hundreds, many or most of whom had nothing to do with the revolt at all. I also don't think the US Code of Laws has a section allowing the hanging and decapitating of a prisoner, then flaying his corpse and handing out coin purses made from his skin.

 

[Tommy Tainant]

Is it necessary to classify someone like Turner as either a heroic freedom fighter or a demonic terrorist? He was a particularly driven human being who struck back at the power structure that held him in bondage for his entire life; a society that practices purposefully-dehumanizing generations-long chattel slavery under the banner of universal equality and guaranteed freedom has to expect that to happen. If he were held on trial today, frankly, I could see the decision going either way, but I think lives such as his are best examined as a reflection on the society, without necessarily granting him either a halo or a pair of horns in the process.

It's also important to look at the reaction to his uprising. We will never know how many Black people were killed by retaliating white mobs, but the number was in the hundreds, many or most of whom had nothing to do with the revolt at all. I also don't think the US Code of Laws has a section allowing the hanging and decapitating of a prisoner, then flaying his corpse and handing out coin purses made from his skin.

It isnt necessary but its a good indication of a country when you look at those that they venerate.

 

[gipper]

It isnt necessary but its a good indication of a country when you look at those that they venerate.

If you think your history is any different, you’re badly mistaken. Has there ever been a nation with history more heinous than the UK?