List of Offensive Monuments, Streets, Names in NOLA as Designated by TEDNola is Puzzling

Touro Infirmary historical marker NOLA

A few weeks ago a Louisiana blog The Hayride posted the list of monuments, structures, buildings, street names etc. that the radical Take 'Em Down NOLA group wants changed or removed because they are "symbols of white supremacy in New Orleans."

Let's take a moment to look more closely at some of those "symbols."  I can't quite fathom the reasoning behind some of them.

The World War I Memorial Arch: a history of the Arch can be found here. What TEDNola finds offensive is that there are four tablets on the arch and the names are "segregated."  This excerpt is from the history page:

The monument is a handsome granite structure 28 feet 6 inches high, 21 feet 2 inches wide, and 7 feet thick. It will bear four bronze tablets, one to contain the names of those who died in service, two the names of white men who served, and a fourth the names of negroes who served.

The history of the monument is intriguing. It "was originally located in the center of Macarty Square, bounded by Alvar, N. Rampart, Pauline, and Burgundy Streets. In 1951 it was moved to the

WWI Memorial Arch NOLA

edge of the square near Burgundy Street, where it remains today."

Much of the funding was raised by door to door canvas in the Ninth Ward:

The idea originated with Dr. E. S. Kelly, a prominent citizen of the ward. He organized a committee which obtained $8000 through a house-to-house canvass, personal subscriptions and several entertainments, all the money being raised within the boundaries of the Ninth Ward.

All 1,200 names on the arch can be found here, yet according to TEDNola, the monument must come down because it is a symbol of white supremacy. Never mind the sacrifices and lives of those 1,200 people. That means nothing, apparently.

This is unfathomable.

Another targeted site is Touro Hospital - the name is offensive because it is named for Jewish philanthropist Judah Touro who built a cemetery and a synagogue in New Orleans as well as an infirmary for soldiers suffering from yellow fever, which later developed into the largest free hospital in the state. His charitable donations covered the entire nation, and even extended to Christians being persecuted in Jerusalem, yet his name is offensive and must be eradicated because according to TEDNola, he was "a Jewish slaveholder."

According to the Philanthropy Roundtable, Judah Touro was influenced by his former abolitionist boss and bought slaves to manumit them.  Max Kohler's essay in Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society affirms this. One of Touro's bequests was $10,000 to his Haitian born clerk, Pierre Casanave, who parlayed that bequest into his own personal fortune.

Perhaps TEDNola should do more research?

The list goes on and on and even includes offensive lamp posts on Rampart; some of the targets designated by TEDNola have more obvious ties to Confederate history than others, but the point remains the same - where does the slippery slope end?

The Civil War was part of our American history and cannot be denied. But beyond that, where does our offended culture stop? Once you allow one "offended" group to succeed in removing and renaming historic elements of our culture, you can't deny other offended groups the right to do the same. It is a two way street.

Who gets to decide what is offensive? If we decide football is barbaric, causes lifelong health hazards for participants, and evokes painful memories of Roman gladiatorial games where slaves were used, are we going to tear down the Superdome? What if I'm offended by animals held in cages and denied their right to live a life of freedom, are we going to do away with the Audubon Zoo? Ridiculous, yes. But the point is the same.

Mayor Landrieu is under the impression that these four targeted Confederate monuments cause racial division in the city. Apparently he believes that once removed this division and tension will go away, but he would be mistaken. TEDNola has no intention of stopping with these four and will continue to push their agenda through whatever means necessary.

Mayor Landrieu is a fool if he allows himself to be manipulated by this hate group.


Previous Posts at DaTechGuy blog:
Mayor Landrieu's Plans to Remove Monuments in the Dead of Night Exposed (4/17/2017)
The Slippery Slope is Now Open (3/27/17)
A Disappointing Ruling from the 5th Circuit (3/13/17)
Still Fighting the Civil War (2/5/17)
Mayor Mitch Landrieu's Solution to 172 Murders: Equity Circles (12/26/16)
Removal of Historic Confederate Monuments in New Orleans Thwarted -- For Now (12/21/2015)
Report from Louisiana: Update on the Confederate Monument Removal Controversy (1/18/2016)
The Lives of My Ancestors Mattered Too (2/1/2016)
The Ongoing Battle of the Confederate Monuments: An Update (4/18/2016)
Confederate Monuments and Unintended Consequences (6/27/16)
Report from Louisiana: Revisionist History and Confederate Monuments (9/19/2016)
Report from Louisiana: Mass Shooting in New Orleans While Landrieu Fiddles (11/28/2016)



Previous Posts on This Blog:
NOLA Confederate Monument Removal Scheduled for 1:00 a.m. Monday (4/22/17)
The Confederate Battle Flag Rises Again in South Carolina (2/6/17)
Can the Violence in NOLA be Alleviated with Equity Circles? (12/26/16)
Shreveport Work of Art Still Needs Funding for Restoration (10/22/16)
Can You Help Clio? Restoration Fundraiser is Now Underway (9/5/16)
Epperson Demands UDC Remove Confederate Monument Within the Year (7/6/16)
Epperson's Continued Attack on the Confederate Monument (6/22/16)
Report from the Caddo Commission Meeting in Which Ken Epperson Blasts "Jake-Leg Bloggers" (6/9/16)
Caddo Parish Confederate Monument Under Attack (5/19/16)
Joseph Welsh Texada's Life Mattered Too (1/31/16)
The Heartbreaking Removal of the New Orleans Confederate Monuments (1/17/16)


If you like this post, please Share!  If you LOVE this post, please donate!