Speaking of removing monuments … someone would like to take Stone Mountain in a different direction.
The more certain subjects change, the more debate about them sounds the same.
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Crossroads 
Wait…it’s heritage not hate, right? But who’s heritage?
The heritage that occurred in Georgia history. You may not like it, so that’s your right. What you cannot do is change history no matter how much the media and people like yourself want to.
Confederate Disneyland has always been a place of historical deception. When I visited with my 6 and 8 year old sons, we visited the “plantation” and were surprised by the neat house that “Mammy” lived in. We later learned that, in spite of the marker on the house, it actually had belonged to a white overseer not to a black woman.
We watched the laser show projected on the mountain in which ZZ Top and Stonewall Jackson played equally important rolls. The last few minutes shows Lee at Appomattox. He is depicted in such a humanitarian way, that the large audience sees him as a man who triumphs in defeat. When the crowd broke into applause, my autistic 5 year old turned to our applauding African American neighbor and said “If he had won, you’d be a slave.”.
It may be deception in your mind, but it is part of Georgia history. Feel free to never visit again.
Good luck with that in Georgia. Popularity of the site has plummeted. It is certainly not on most peoples’ must see list.
Not true.
http://www.ajc.com/news/business/stone-mountain-park-owner-were-50-bigger-than-10-1/nRBcG/
As an amusement park! I meant few go just to see the monument. Now there is some southern heritage for you — Davis, Lee and Jackson overseeing screaming kids. Jackson has rolled over in his grave.
“Jackson has rolled over in his grave.”
Not a small accomplishment, being asymmetrical and all.
Flops over?
It would be hard to know who goes just for the monument. The majority of people that go, go for the laser show.
Well that’s interesting, though certainly not the first time. I am always disturbed when the news gets the vociferous idiot (SCV Rep) for an interview.
That being said, I am sure the “Heritage” crowd will be all over this. Heck, we might even see some flagging take place….to add to the hundreds of other flags at that mountain. Regardless, good luck getting any such thing passed in the GA legislature to remove Confederate monuments. The company that operates the mountain will do much to lobby against such legislation because they will foresee a profit loss. The mountain’s own interpretation of itself has evolved over the years. The Museum now presents more “Dark” (their words) history for interpretation and the laser show’s tone has changed to include a diverse crowd.
I should not have read the comments to that article. I’ve got a much more depressing point of view of Georgians than I had before. I’m actually pretty depressed looking at the lack of knowledge of history in those posts that claim others need to read their history.
The True Southron have a sort of Batshit Signal they send out, for folks to swarm newspaper comment sections and online polls, and that’s part of what’s happening here. A number of the folks commenting there semi-pros at it, and aren’t from Georgia in any case. When you combine that with the tendency of unmoderated comments sections (on any subject) to become heaving piles of snarling resentment and sarcasm to begin with, it’s just a nasty mess.
In other words, don’t lose faith in the good sense of Georgians as a whole to sort through this.
I wonder how many posters were actually born and raised in Georgia. Last time I looked you can still travel and move anywhere in the world. Good luck finding paradise.
The petition to remove the carving has 35 signatures? Atlanta has apparently got a lot lower bar for major media coverage of a petition than NYC.
It’s up to 118 now, with just 24,882 to go. They’re almost up to one-half of one percent of the total needed to accomplish, um, nothing much.
I’m not sure that either the backers of this petition or those reacting to it recognize that it has no standing at all under the law; it merely gives people an opportunity to express their disapproval of Stone Mountain. I’m sure Georgia has established mechanisms at the state and local level for petitions that trigger action — not necessarily compliance with the terms of the petition, but at least acknowledgement of it — but those usually require in-person signatures of registered voters. An online petition at change-dot-org, “signed” with a mouse click by pretty much anyone with an e-mail address? Meh.
Let me know when there’s an actual bill in the Georgia legislature, proposing to remove the monument, that makes it out of committee. Until then, it’s all Kabuki (on both sides) that only serves to invigorate one’s supporters.
Do they flash the stars and bars on the clouds at night, or something?
Reb-man and Johnny, the Boy Secessionist?
Andy the park gets around 4 million visitors a year.There is a lot to do at the 3200 acre park and most is non-Civil War related. I have went with friends and never heard the Civil War brought up. I don’t think a 35 person petition means anything. Most people I have taken there from Europe,Canada and all parts of the US mainly marvel at the size and type of carving it is.
Charles, your information is correct. There is plenty to do at Stone Mountain, I’ve visited it several times and the civil war is not pushed down anyone’s throat.
Yes I’ve noticed their site has conveniently placed pictures and graphics and American flags. http://www.stonemountainpark.com/
When I saw the headline I thought “Uh-oh, another KKK revival?” It’s amazing to think those images were completed in 1972. Georgians tax dollars at work.
Stone Mountain Park receives $0.00 from the State of Georgia.
John Ashcroft wanted classic Roman/Greek statues clothed, The Taliban Ignoring international outcries Islamic militias demolished statues across the country including two towering ancient stone Buddhas. Art interpretation and censorship is nothing new . At one time my kind was burned at the stake for unorthodox views of religion. The carving on Stone Mountain Ga is a work of art, largest of its kind. It’s meaning should be interpreted by those that view it. It provokes different interpretation from those who view it. That what art does.
Is Stone Mountain more like the Afghan Buddhist rock carvings the Tailiban blew up or the statue of Saddam Hussein we toppled? Or is there a difference?
Neither, it’s the largest high relief sculpture in the world,
That’s what art does…..
It looks like an amazing work of art. The problem is not with the carving; the problem is how the tourism at the site treats it.
They treat it like commercialism. It is the Dollywood of Georgia. The laser show is interesting. The truth is, the Civil War part of the laser show makes up less than a quarter of the entire show.
“Joshism” The park is a lot more than the carving, the carving is just a part of the park. I have visited the park many times over the years growing up in the metro Atlanta area. It has a large lake,a golf course, a Swiss built sky-lift, a Scenic RR, hiking trails ,it hosts events like the Scottish Highland games, all types of concerts and festivals , a very large camping area, a large conference center and resort ,a large bird Habitat and a lot more things. I hadn’t visited in several years manly because it’s normally very crowded. I think the the laser show has about 30k or more some nights. It can make for a traffic nightmare at times.
There are at least two anti-petition-petitions up on change-dot-org now. Righteous chest-thumping all around, for petitions that have no status at all except as a means for people to express their objection to the monument, or their objections to the objections to the monument, or their objection to the. . . .
Just after having blasted Lexington and the South to her readers in the former Soviet Republic,
Russian Professor Anna Brodsky’s 350 signature petition brought down the flags in Lexington
Do you object to someone exercising her rights of free speech? Some American you are.
For Confederate Heritage-minded folks, the Lexington case chafes especially because, deep down, the Flaggers understand that (1) the ordinance was initiated, debated and passed through the usual mechanisms of local governance, and (2) there is relatively little support among Lexingtonians for overturning it now.
Now Brooks you should know that it is only free speech if you are talking about something other than America.
Billy’s like Border Ruffian … a lot of hot air. He wants democracy for himself, and no one else … like the slaveholding secessionists he worships.
Ouch.
My aim is true. 🙂
The difference, of course, is that the Lexington petition was a real petition, with real signatures of actual Lexington voters, organized and submitted according to local and state law. The change-dot-org petitions have no legal standing whatever.
Have you seen the petition? Do you know who signed it?