The south was so defeated and poverty stricken after the war that people weren’t thinking about statues, just survival. First, the south was brutally occupied and controlled by an invading army. It seems that the statues were mainly built mostly form 1910 to 1930ish. By then, Reconstruction was over (1876) and the region had begun to recover a bit, but not much. I think the statues were more monuments to the mythical “Lost Cause” than to Jim Crow, but they did occur simultaneously, and the former contained the later. Probably they were as much “in your face” symbols of regional pride. Certainly they stood guard over Jim Crow, but it’s an irresponsible jump to say they were primarily erected “to physically symbolize the white terror against blacks.” They may have accomplished that, but it’s hard to make a case that that was the primary motivation for building them.

It’s difficult for northerners to understand how much the white south loathed Reconstruction. You have to keep in mind that the south is the only part of the US in history ever to be defeated in battle, invaded and occupied by a foreign army. No northerners ever had to experience that. It left scars on the southern psyche that shaped the south of a hundred years and are still felt today.

If it had been attempted to pull these statues down in, say, 1965 outright armed rebellion would have occurred. Now much of the south has changed enough for this to be considered. But to work it must be local and voluntary. It must be decided by local towns and cities, not outside organizations and agitators, modern carpetbaggers, or it will provoke more hatred and resentment. I don’t think the statues in Alabama and Mississippi will be leaving soon. That’s OK. Respect the locals. Let this be an organic process. It will come to pass.

But if Antfa and its minions descend on southern cities descend on southern cities and arrogantly demand their way “right now,” resentment will flare and blood may flow. You wouldn’t like it if outsiders came to your neighborhood and coerced you into making choices or else. It’s time to slow down and let reason into the process. It will win in the end.