Rob Reads: “Virginia school board votes to restore Confederate names to two schools”

According to this CNN article, Virginia’s Shenandoah County School District voted to restore the Confederate names of two of it’s schools

I know a lot of these changes were made as knee-jerk reactions in the aftermath of the George Floyd murder; but in the case of removing these Confederate names (and statues) was long overdue.

Heritage or hated?

I’m not from the South (although I lived there for 8 years) so the whole “heritage” argument by Southerner is weak, at best. If heritage was so important to Southerners, then why weren’t the elements of the Confederate flag added to Southern states’ flags until AFTER the integration movement of the 1950s and 60s?

A 4 Year tradition?

The Confederate States of America only lasted from 1861-1865 (and was never formally recognized by the US as a sovereign state). Since some Southerners are so hell-bent on paying homage to something that last a whopping 4 years, does this mean we should also pay tribute to other institutions that have lasted LONGER than 4 years? Take, for instance, the TV character Dr. Fraser Crane. With 10 season on Cheers, another 10 season on his own titular spin-off and another 1 season on the Fraser reboot, Kesey Grammer holds the distinction of playing Fraser longer than any other character in television history. That’s right: Fraser Crane has lasted 5 times LONGER than the Confederate States of America. Should we have schools named after him? What about statues in town squares?

And what of The Simpsons? Good God, that show has lasted 30 seasons! Where is our Bart Simpson Elementary School?

A Waste of Money

The CNN article explains that the whole process of changing the names of these TWO school could run six figures. Is something this…comsetic…really the bestst way to spend money set aside for education?

Ultimately the Shenandoah County Schools is. Oh mic school district is a public school district. if this is what the taxpayers choose to spend their tax money on, that’s up to them. I just don’t wanna hear this particular school district complaining when there’s not enough money for some other we real need that they have.

I’ve been saying for years that the Civil War is the cultural, social, and political flashpoint of the history of the United States. Everything that this country was and everything that this country has been ever since culminated in those four years between 1861 and 1865.

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The article: Rob Reads: “Virginia school board votes to restore Confederate names to two schools” first appeared on Rebuilding Rob.

4 responses to “Rob Reads: “Virginia school board votes to restore Confederate names to two schools””

Susan Taylor

May 11, 2024

Were both of these name change decisions made by six board members? Seems very much to be majoring on minors. And since when is $304,000 easily tossed around for something like a name change when you know there are students in need and programs that need funding. What would actually be in the best interests of the students and the community?

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1. rebuilding rob
  
  May 11, 2024
  
  It really makes you wonder what peoples priorities are, doesn’t it?
  
  I lived in South Carolina from 2004 to 2012. The school district i taught in when I lived there had an immediate backlash to MLK Day being a federal and school holiday.
  
  As a result, the school district came up with a “confederate memorial day “that was also a school holiday. The district scrapped it a few years later, but STILL…
  
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  1. Susan Taylor
    
    May 11, 2024
    
    I went to one semester of college in south carolina. I thought my southern roommate who referred to me as a yankee and actually referenced the civil war had to be an anomaly. But it seems like there is a real sense of not being over that loss.
    
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  2. rebuilding rob
    
    May 11, 2024
    
    I’ve heard people down there, half jokingly, half seriously referred to the Civil War as “The War of Northern Agression“
    
    Even the wording on some of the historical markers at Fort Sumter is ridiculous. This is not an exact quote, but some of them will say things to the effect of “the union won; but the confederacy fought valiantly”
    
    Seriously, you can’t make this stuff up.
    
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