Reply #8: Did you know that January 17 is Lee's birthday, and used to be [View All]

celebrated as such? It was a state holiday in many Southern states. A lot of people objected to it being changed to a federal holiday to honor MLK, leaving Lee off the holiday list. Southerners still look at Lee as a great leader, like Washington.

I probably can't explain it so you'll understand, but consider all the conquered peoples you know about and how they cling to stories of past glories and past heroes, annually remembering events of centuries ago. In the U.S., Southerners were a conquered people less than 150 years ago and today their heroes, their battle flag, their song, are all branded racist by the people who conquered them. There's still a lot of resentment among the lower socio-economic groups, but they're told to "get over it."

You'd think DUers would understand why no one likes being told "get over it." ;-)