It sounds like an interesting dichotomy. But for myself, I don't think I could keep my mouth shut around some of the "antebellum apologists" long enough to conduct any sort of interview.
You can be proud of your past, and even celebrate the undeniable beauty that the (Rich, White) Antebellum South portrayed without denying the evils of slavery that made much of that beauty and grace possible.
Wear your hoop skirts, tour the mansions and celebrate the chivalry of the period, but don't deny that the same rich, white guy that was willing to duel to the death for Miss Daisy's honor was also willing to whip his slave to death for dropping a cup of tea on the floor. And willing to sell that slave's children into slavery away from his wife, who he was "breeding" so he could make better slaves to sell. You did not get the pretty part without the ugly part paying the bills.
The Laura Plantation in Louisiana is a fascinating step back into a different kind of historical tour. It is a French sugar cane plantation but it does not sugar-coat slavery in the least. In fact, quite the opposite. It is a moving experience. I'm not sure why people are so fascinated with the Gone with the Wind disneyfication of these old plantations. There is no reason to perpetuate a lie.
My mother made a point of taking us two older kids to the tiny town local theatre to see Gone With The Wind. She used to brag that our town was the 8th largest city in GA. Really. This is how they think. Something that is abysmal is worth praising. Shades of the orange man and the supreme criminals. In her martyrdom, she made us sit in the balcony where the black people used to sit on splintered wooden benches. At least there were cushioned seats for us. Much later I worked at Grady Hospital where the emergency room was dedicated to Ms Mitchell who died after having been struck down by a car in Atlanta. I’ve always thought that was an unfortunate accident, but knowing redneck GA, now I am not so sure. Mother would also make us sit in the “black” waiting areas at the doctor’s office. A stinky cubicle with wooden benches. She made us ponder the reason there were two water fountains sitting side by side in the same office building. She told us the story of when she was a little girl, why do they get colored water, thinking negros got koolaid and whites only got water. Now she is a demented shell of herself playing games on her phone and watching FOX with her racist husband and all she can say is illegal aliens. Pardon me, I have to go cry a little bit.
Thank you for giving still another view of a disturbing part of our history. It is far more complex than even those of us who were taught the truth grasped. I wonder how much my mother left out of her stories. The photos of her family through the decades showed the gradual change of our branch to white, but the stories persisted,
Perhaps if history textbooks referred to the southern institution that managed slavery as a "concentration camp" instead of a "plantation" it might help shed light on how the mini-oligarchs of the day obtained workers.
It sounds like an interesting dichotomy. But for myself, I don't think I could keep my mouth shut around some of the "antebellum apologists" long enough to conduct any sort of interview.
You can be proud of your past, and even celebrate the undeniable beauty that the (Rich, White) Antebellum South portrayed without denying the evils of slavery that made much of that beauty and grace possible.
Wear your hoop skirts, tour the mansions and celebrate the chivalry of the period, but don't deny that the same rich, white guy that was willing to duel to the death for Miss Daisy's honor was also willing to whip his slave to death for dropping a cup of tea on the floor. And willing to sell that slave's children into slavery away from his wife, who he was "breeding" so he could make better slaves to sell. You did not get the pretty part without the ugly part paying the bills.
The Laura Plantation in Louisiana is a fascinating step back into a different kind of historical tour. It is a French sugar cane plantation but it does not sugar-coat slavery in the least. In fact, quite the opposite. It is a moving experience. I'm not sure why people are so fascinated with the Gone with the Wind disneyfication of these old plantations. There is no reason to perpetuate a lie.
My mother made a point of taking us two older kids to the tiny town local theatre to see Gone With The Wind. She used to brag that our town was the 8th largest city in GA. Really. This is how they think. Something that is abysmal is worth praising. Shades of the orange man and the supreme criminals. In her martyrdom, she made us sit in the balcony where the black people used to sit on splintered wooden benches. At least there were cushioned seats for us. Much later I worked at Grady Hospital where the emergency room was dedicated to Ms Mitchell who died after having been struck down by a car in Atlanta. I’ve always thought that was an unfortunate accident, but knowing redneck GA, now I am not so sure. Mother would also make us sit in the “black” waiting areas at the doctor’s office. A stinky cubicle with wooden benches. She made us ponder the reason there were two water fountains sitting side by side in the same office building. She told us the story of when she was a little girl, why do they get colored water, thinking negros got koolaid and whites only got water. Now she is a demented shell of herself playing games on her phone and watching FOX with her racist husband and all she can say is illegal aliens. Pardon me, I have to go cry a little bit.
Thank you for giving still another view of a disturbing part of our history. It is far more complex than even those of us who were taught the truth grasped. I wonder how much my mother left out of her stories. The photos of her family through the decades showed the gradual change of our branch to white, but the stories persisted,
Perhaps if history textbooks referred to the southern institution that managed slavery as a "concentration camp" instead of a "plantation" it might help shed light on how the mini-oligarchs of the day obtained workers.