Kevin M. Levin talks down to Sarah Jones of the "New Republic" magazine.

Kevin M. Levin attempts to patronize Sarah Jones of the "New Republic." You can read the exchange here on Twitter if you are a member. I printed it out for my records.

https://twitter.com/KevinLevin/status/864241228333940737

In this conversation he is the expert talking down to Sarah Jones. He also uses his usual tactic avoiding debate on the issues by either questioning the competency of the individual or their right to debate the issue.

You really have to read the entire series this is one example. Not the capitalization of "WHY" and the expression "you would do well to consider."

Levin pulls out what he thinks will flatten Jones by asking whether she has been to Richmond. If Jones hasn't then she is some type of outside agitator. This is the theme of "Sweet Home Alabama" that Jones is an outsider.

Turns out that Sarah Jones is from Virginia and has been to Richmond many times.

Then it is more patronizing stuff.

Levin's patronizing of Sarah Jones is this article by Jones in New Republic.
https://newrepublic.com/minutes/142710/yes-tear-confederate-monuments

Levin blogs on this encounter.
http://cwmemory.com/2017/05/15/is-richmond-next/

Levin is bent out of shape that Sarah Jones doesn't think much of the efforts of the local historical societies and what cliques they make up and of which he is in good standing.

He can't comprehend that some figures in the larger national establishment are just coming out  and saying these statues need to go and really don't care what rationalizations or excuses or clever strategems the local historical cliques have come up with.

I wonder how long it is going to be before The Atlantic decides that Levin is retrograde.

I wonder if Texas legislators will have the gumption to stand up against white supremacy.

These are some links to stories about African American legislators walking out of the Louisiana House after it voted to protect Confederate monuments. Another is an article denouncing the legislation as part of white supremacy.

I wonder if Texas legislators would stand against Confederate monuments so strongly?

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/05/louisiana_black_caucus_confede.html

http://www.thenewsstar.com/story/news/2017/05/16/black-caucus-white-supremacy-behind-monuments-bill/101740970/

"Atlantic" magazine has article that it is time for the Confederate monuments to come down

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/05/the-motionless-ghosts-that-haunt-the-south/526668/

What is interesting about this article is that the liberal establishment and neo-liberal establishment is deciding that the Confederate monuments need to go and are providing the space for voices against Confederate monuments to be heard. This is an important change from the past where these type of publications mostly didn't discuss Confederate monuments.

The old story was the Confederate flag hurt feelings of African Americans, but if the flag was gone, then everything was okay. You had to be a radical to be against Confederate monuments.

As one major journal of public opinion follows the next it will develop that they all will adopt a position that they are for the removal of Confederate monuments. Support for Confederate monuments will be confined to reactionary magazines and websites and support for Confederate monuments identified with reactionary opinion.

Arguments for contextualization will be seen for what they are, an excuse to retain monuments or just plan oddball.

Dallas is the city of boosterism and real estate development is its highest moral value. So as Confederate monuments start being removed elsewhere Dallas will increasingly look backward for having Confederate monuments in prominent locations.

Here is a quote from the article.

Those monuments, that reverence for the Lost Cause and its leaders, do lasting damage to all who live in their shadows. It’s no coincidence that Richmond was the ideological powerhouse of “massive resistance”—defiance of the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education—during the 1950s. That constitutional monstrosity flowed directly from neo-Confederate ideology.

Confederate monuments are going down elsewhere.

Confederate monuments are going down elsewhere. Most notably in New Orleans. However, activity is ongoing in Charlottesville, Virginia and in Shreveport, Louisiana to remove monuments.

So far 2 out of 4 monuments in New Orleans have come down. My other blog has been covering the developments closely. The other blog if you are not aware of it is http://newtknight.blogspot.com/.

As soon as the 4th monument comes down, I think that an example will be set for the entire nation that these monuments need to go and they can be removed with a focused effort. As monuments are removed elsewhere, the idea that it can be done will have more and more credibility. Also, the cities which still have Confederate monuments will be seen as retrograde.

So these are the link to my blogging.

White supremacists march for the Robert E. Statue in Charlottesville, VA.
http://newtknight.blogspot.com/2017/05/white-supremacist-protest-in.html#.WRiHeGgrKiM

Washington Post column arguing for Confederate monument removal and rejecting excuses to retain them.
http://newtknight.blogspot.com/2017/05/hell-has-frozen-over1-washington-post.html#.WRiHs2grKiM

Behind the neo-Confederate groups are influential rich white people pushing to keep the Confederate monuments. In Dallas we very likely have the same.
http://newtknight.blogspot.com/2017/05/frank-stewart-is-outed-as-defender-of.html#.WRiIEGgrKiM

Efforts to remove Confederate monuments are starting elsewhere.
http://newtknight.blogspot.com/2017/05/effort-to-remove-confederate-monument.html#.WRiIZWgrKiM

Discussion that a revolution against Confederate monuments is starting in New Orleans.
http://newtknight.blogspot.com/2017/05/the-revolution-against-confederate.html#.WRiImWgrKiM

Sons of Confederate Veterans declares a boycott of New Orleans. I doubt this is of any consequence to New Orleans perhaps a benefit to the city.
http://newtknight.blogspot.com/2017/04/new-orleans-gets-better-sons-of.html#.WRiJo2grKiM

As Confederate monuments are removed from one city people in other cities will ask their leaders why there are still Confederate monuments in their city.
http://newtknight.blogspot.com/2017/04/when-one-prominent-monument-is-removed.html#.WRiKcmgrKiM


I will likely have more blogs postings at the other blog about monuments going down.

You can sign up for email notification at all my blogs.

Comedy Central on Plantation weddings

http://www.cc.com/video-clips/8qcrzr/the-nightly-show-with-larry-wilmore-planning-a-plantation-wedding

I think it raises issues. However, I think that it ends up excusing plantation weddings.

Click on image to see it all. You will have to wait through a commercial.

Article about plantation weddings

The article is about the disturbing trend to have plantation weddings ignoring slavery.

http://www.salon.com/2014/01/05/disturbing_wedding_trend_getting_married_at_a_plantation/

This is another article commenting on "creepy" plantation weddings.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/10562901/Creepy-wedding-trend-Plantation-Weddings-Lets-get-married-at-a-former-slave-plantation.html

This one is fairly interesting where a couple doesn't get it why an African American wedding planner wouldn't want to do a plantation wedding.
http://affinitymagazine.us/2017/01/08/dear-white-people-plantations-should-not-be-romanticized-nor-white-washed/

The Arlington Hall at Robert E. Lee Park was given a Vendi Award by the American Association of Certified Wedding Planners.

http://dweddings.com/2017/01/18/congrats-to-the-aacwp-vendi-awards-nominees/


Maybe they should change their name to the Confederate Association of Certified Wedding Planners.

Facebook pulled the Reject Racist Robert E. Lee Event page. UPDATE: Letter delivered 1/24/2017

A certified letter has been sent to Mark Zuckerberg about the Reject Racist Robert E. Lee Event page.

https://www.facebook.com/events/241643326251832

I would suggest that persons who put up Facebook Event pages print them out as content is added so if Facebook pulls it, you will have some record. Also, it needs to be considered whether any anti-Racist events should be planned or promoted on Facebook if racists can get the Event page pulled.

Click on the image to see it in its entirety.

This is the letter.

                                                       January 14, 2017

                                                                                   

                                                                                

Mr. Mark Zuckerberg

Chief Executive Officer of Facebook

1 Hacker Way

Menlo Park, California 94025

Dear Mr. Zuckerberg:

I had an event page, Reject Racist Robert E. Lee, on Facebook.  Professor Phillips and I were doing an item on the Robert E. Lee Park in Dallas, Texas. It was basically an item about race, space, and place where we are practicing using social media and creating media. We do a lot of articles, but I have thought that we need to move to producing other media.

Michael Phillips is the author of, “White Metropolis: Race, Ethnicity, and Religion in Dallas, 1841-2001,” Univ. of Texas Press. I am a co-editor of “Neo-Confederacy: A Critical Introduction,” by the Univ. of Texas Press and “The Confederate and Neo-Confederate Reader,” by the University Press of Mississippi. My resume is online at http://www.templeofdemocracy.com/curriculum-vitae.html.  In 2015 I was awarded the Spirit of Freedom Medal by the African American Civil War Museum in Washington D.C. for my life’s achievements.

Imagine my surprise to find after the event that the page was pulled down by Facebook.

This was the URL.

https://www.facebook.com/events/241643326251832/permalink/241733749576123/

Additionally I was the recipient of a rather opaque email stating that I had violated the “Terms of Use” and slandered me saying I had engaged in abuse. The email had no information as to which posting or activity violated the “Terms of Use.” I replied to the email making inquiries about which posting or activity of mine might be considered a breach of the terms of service and have not gotten a reply. I also note that the email doesn’t provide any link for which a person might make an inquiry. Copy of email and my reply enclosed.

Further, supposing only for the purpose of argument, that a specific posting was in violation of the terms of service, why would the whole event page have to be pulled down rather than the specific offending post? Further if there was a desire to improve participation in Facebook I would think that indicating what was in violation of “Terms of Use” would be helpful. It would be instructive of what behavior to avoid.

The pulling of the Reject Racist Robert E. Lee Facebook event page raises important questions. If someone is having a Facebook event page as part of an anti-racist event, could it be deleted by Facebook upon complaints being made by racists to Facebook? In particular if the event was against institutional racism, could an institution get Facebook to pull the page?  More generally for anyone is whether their page or event be pulled capriciously after an investment of time and energy into it.

It also seems that a page can be pulled without a means of the person who had their page pulled knowing why or having any redress.

I am writing this letter to inquire as to what happened.

1     1. What specifically was in violation of your “Terms of Use” on the event page? Please provide the entire material which you decided was in violation of the “Terms of Use” in its entirety.

2. What “Terms of Use” did it violate? Please be specific as possible not only in regards to the item in your “Terms of Use” for which you felt it violated, but also why you felt the item violated those terms. If it is in reference to your “Community Standards” please be specific which standard it violated and how you felt it violated this standard. These are the terms I see online. https://www.facebook.com/terms. These are the community standards I see online. https://www.facebook.com/communitystandards.

3. What was the complaint or complaints made about the item that you then decided was in violation of your “Terms of Use?”

4. Why was the entire event page pulled down rather the specific offending item?

5. Why doesn’t your email notification of a violation of the “Terms of Use” provide any information what the item violating your “Terms of Use” was and what term it violated.

I look forward to your reply.

                                                           Sincerely Yours,

                                                            Edward H. Sebesta


This is the return receipt of the certified letter. You can see that it was delivered 1/24/2017. Click on it to view it.