Take that for Data! Coach speaks out against Memphis Civil War Memorials
David Fizdale is one of my favorite coaches. Not for his work on the basketball court but because he's the "Take that for Data" guy.
Credit: USA Today
If you don't know, last year during the NBA playoffs Coach Fizdale had one of the most hilarious and passionate post game interviews I've ever seen! Here's the clip..
Today I read that's he has spoken out against a couple of Civil War Memorials in the city he works, Memphis. Apparently there's a memorial in a park featuring Nathan Bedford Forest, who was the first Ku Klux Clan leader. His statue is displayed prominently in a park there and there's also another memorial dedicated to Jefferson Davis, a Confederate leader.
He's said he wants both those memorials removed immediately because of what he believes they represent.. hate.
This debate has been going on lately all over the news. These statues and memorials are displayed in areas that are predominantly black, there's been rallies and protests calling for their removal. There's also other groups calling for them to stay.
It's clearly a touchy subject, on one hand if the statues represent hate toward a race than perhaps they should be removed if they make people uncomfortable?
On the otherhand..you can't just erase history. Even if these figures were or weren't racist they still had a big part to play in American history.
Everyone knows history is cruel, it's full of unsavory figures and acts but can we not learn from it?
Do these monuments need to be taken away and the past events swept under a rug or can they be talking points for where we were and where we'd like to be as a society today?
Coach Tisdale is obviously of the opinion they should be removed and I'm wondering how you guys feel about it?
Should the statues be removed?
Thanks for reading and I'd appreciate you leaving your 2 cents below..
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You hit the nail right on the head. This has nothing to do with "hate" and it has everything to do with 1) rewriting history and 2) advancing a victim mentality.
This statue has stood for over 100 years and all of the sudden NOW it is a symbol of hate and oppression??? If anything, it should remain if only to serve as a reminder of just how far we have come as a nation.
The problem is men like David Fizdale don't want to admit that we've come a long way. If that were the case, they would have nothing to be offended at and rail against. If this statue does come down, do you think that's were they'll stop? There will always be another symbol of "racism" or "hatred" that will need to be attacked.
Thanks for sharing your opinion @sirstacksalot. I'm of the mind that we can't just get rid of the monuments and try to forget about history even if it's unpleasant? They could be used as reminders of how far we come too. For right or wrong alot of historical ppl have done things that today would be considered unsavory but you have to understand that those were different times. It's also possible those ppl could have done things that have benifited history. If we tried to erase every racist, woman beater, liar, cheater, child abuser, thief and murderer that's ever existed the history books would be empty lol
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No. History books have painted the picture that the US Civil War was fought over slavery when it was so much more than that. It was more over the north OVER taxing the south to the point that they couldn't take it any more. Taking down memorials is the dumbest thing ever. People are messing with over one hundred years of history. They are acting like little babies and it's ridiculous. How about the statues of leaders in the north that were slave-owners? You don't hear about them.
I'm with you man. We're renaming schools where I live even tho the names are people that founded our God dam city. Ppl are too sensitive now about everything. Thx for being one of the few with balls enough to state your opinion
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I think removing statues is enabling the victim mentality as well as trying to push an anti-white agenda. Maybe instead of tearing them down and destroying them the cities (governments) could sell them to collectors or private museums and raise money for the communities. There are better ways to deal with things other than throwing a hissy fit and vandalizing stuff.
Even the crows have figured it out. Don't waste energy on statues and inanimate objects. Just "poo poo" them and go on with your day...