I studied history at a college with a Confederate soldier monument during the biggest progressive social upheaval since the 1960s. I know just about every single way that old boy can be interpreted.
What those idealistic college kids and older antagonizers recently did in Chapel Hill was immature and will ultimately be a failure.
The history Silent Sam represents is flawed, but it belongs to all of us and is important. Knocking him down did not make you a better person or end the problems you perceive.
Why? Hundreds will rise in his place, and they’ll be flesh and blood and loud. Not silent.
It seems like politics are pulling our country apart. This hectic episode will further alienate the liberal student body and faculty from the conservative state government and its residents when unity is needed most.
If the protesters think they hold an enlightenment that all of those with battle flag memorabilia don’t, then they’ve failed to consider the sensitivity of the oppressed party. It is also ironic that some wore masks to disguise themselves, violating a law once aimed at the KKK.
I am a descendant of Confederate soldiers, and I am often thankful that William P. Rierson had children before marching off to war. He and another grandfather never came home and still lie in unmarked Virginia graves. Thinking about that pains me, and as a history lover, I will always be devoted to preserving their memory.
William P. Rierson served under Colonel James T. Morehead, Jr. a UNC graduate from a family of generous University benefactors. Silent Sam is far from the only local symbol of the Confederate past, as rebel generals, members of Congress and sympathizers are memorialized across the campus. Attending the school of slaveholding Confederate leaders as a descendant of their poorer followers, called Tar Heels, was a reflective experience.
Going to UNC during the Silent Sam trouble was, in fact, enlightening for this Southerner. It was critically important that I live among progressives for four years to truly understand both sides of Civil War commemoration. I cannot perfectly empathize with people of color who felt oppressed by Silent Sam’s presence on campus, but it is only right that I try to understand.
