American History Gone South

History has never been able to make me sick to my stomach before, but the Georgia resolution to pass the "Confederate History and Heritage Month" left my stomach with the same queezy impression as last night's big bean burrito-it didn't sit well.

Its not so much the fact that confederacy represents the institution of slavery. Its not even the fact that the state senate doesn't seem to see anything wrong with learning about the South's spirited efforts to maintain their right to institutional oppression that even upsets me.

It's the fact that they want to celebrate it.

Georgia was of course one of the proud slaveowning states in the union in the 18th and 19th centuries, and like any other southern state of that time, they felt it was their God given right to buy people, sell them, rape them, beat them, and most importantly, work them to death and reap the benefits. They felt so strongly, that they were willing to take up arms against the Godless North to protect that right, in a war where hundreds of thousands of Americans died nobly, in the name of confederacy.

So why wouldn't they want to commemorate that heritage? Why shouldn't little white boys and little black girls celebrate the proud confederate heritage of their past?

Maybe because calling it confederate heritage month tends to characterize an era in our history plagued with violently racist politics and exploitative economics, as more of a month long celebration or some type of jubilant extravaganza. It makes me sick to commemorate a group that represented a philosophy that caused death and destruction to my family. It's left me, and nearly all who look like me, to be born into this world without a distinct and proud family history, without any sense of self-worth.

Walter C. Jones of the Morris News Service when writing his article about the proposed month said that for many native southerners, the Confederate era represented a time of gentility, chivalry, and the deaths of over 30,000 Georgians.

I personally don’t care how many soldiers died, if it was for preserving the Confederate era of gentility, chivalry… oh and slavery. These people gave their lives to keep my people oppressed!! How am I supposed to seriously honor their deaths, when it takes all my mustard not to smile at the thought of it?

Everyone that willingly fought for the South; that fought for the noble cause of state’s rights and better representation, and chivalry, and gentility, and southern hospitality, as far as I’m concerned dropped the ball when they fought for slavery too.

Jones’ description epitomizes what I fear may occur if this resolution had passed—all the positives, admirable acts, and heroic figures will be included in the commemoration, but the ugly, negative aspects, the reasons why I loath the confederate era, will be discarded and eventually forgotten.

I’d be more inclined to agree with him if he added that the Confederate era was also a time of ignorance, and slavery, but he didn’t, and I guarantee the Georgia state legislature wouldn’t have either.

The is the same assembly, that when the idea was brought to them recently to issue a formal apology or statement of regret, the state NAACP chapter couldn’t find support to even get a resolution on the floor, but it wasn’t difficult to get a bill up for vote to praise the Confederacy, the driving force behind slavery.

Georgia State Sen. Jeff Mullis stated in response to an apology resolution that “If I had done something personally, yes, I would apologize”.

If it’s his position that as a state official, he personally needs to have done something to agree to an apology on behalf of the state of Georgia, he should have the same logic for the Confederate Heritage Month.

He didn’t personally have anything to do with planning or participating in the confederate rebellion, yet he was the Senator that introduced the Confederate Heritage Bill.

It’s ironic that Sen. Mullis wants to take claim for the Confederate Heritage Month as apart of his history, but cannot apologize for slavery in the state when it is apart of his history as well. It really makes no difference whether he was personally involved with slavery or not, Georgia was involved, and as a public official of Georgia it is his duty publicly recognize how this state has decimated the future of generations of people to this day because of slavery.

I said earlier that I have never gotten sick from history, unfortunately, there’s a first for everything.