Tuesday, February 6, 2018

FIGHT OVER CONFEDERATE ROCK GETS PERSONAL IN SOCIAL MEDIA


Now that the Eagles have dispatched the Patriots, we're reminded of Brownsville's emotional Super Bowl, what to do with the Confederate Monument in Washington Park.

"It's not a monument!" claims Diego Lee Rot, music writer for the Brownsville Observer.


"It's a heavy roadside marker, an ugly one at that," Diego continued.

"Put the thing back at Elizabeth and Palm so drivers will know they're entering the Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway and, if they veer off the road at that point, they will total their car."

"I'm not sure that was ever the start of the highway," I responded.

"The original plan for the highway was to start at Arlington, Virginia, the home of the Confederate Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery," I continued, displaying knowledge gleaned from wikipedia.


Civil Rights March Near Selma, Alabama c. 1965
"The plan was to go south from Arlington, through Florida and across the South, ending at San Diego, California," I continued.

It's true.  Brownsville is not part of the original highway, just part of a extreme south spur.  There are actually about twenty of these roadside markers across the state and many others in Alabama and Louisiana.  My home state of Washington had several, but they've been removed or placed in museums.


The war of words continues in Brownsville, recently spilling over into my Facebook page.

It seems to have gotten personal between Javier R. Garcia and Rafael Collado.

2 comments:

  1. I think that focusing on this rock is a waste of time. There are more pressing things we should be concerned with than this eye sore! We live in one if the most CORRUPT cities/counties in the state of Texas. This discussion of the rock is only stirring up hate and bigotry. I, as a white woman, have been offended reading some of the nasty comments about the removal of this rock. Ppl seem to forget that many Hispanics in the Brownsville can be quite rude to non Spanish speaking individuals and in their eyes it's okay. Racism exist within their own culture. Fix the hate within your own culture!!

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  2. White woman offended by racism directed her way, supports rock encouraging racism. Gotcha.

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