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"Heritage, Not Hate" is a fucking brilliant slogan. On the level of "Pro-Life" or "family values" brilliant.
It frames the conversation around an opposition between the two terms, such that
heritage=good
hate=bad
But what if it's more like heritage=hate?
/1
"Heritage, Not Hate" is a fucking brilliant slogan. On the level of "Pro-Life" or "family values" brilliant.
It frames the conversation around an opposition between the two terms, such that
heritage=good
hate=bad
But what if it's more like heritage=hate?
/1
"Heritage not hate" conversations peaked previously in connection with Confederate statues when white nationalists held the "Unite the Right" rally at Charlottesville, Virginia, to protect a statue of Robert E. Lee, which the City Council had voted to remove. /2
The local organizer, Jason Kessler, said
"the first & foremost reason that we’re having this rally, is for that park & for that statue. It’s about white genocide. It’s about the replacement of our people, culturally & ethnically. & that statue is the focal point of everything."/3
"the first & foremost reason that we’re having this rally, is for that park & for that statue. It’s about white genocide. It’s about the replacement of our people, culturally & ethnically. & that statue is the focal point of everything."/3
In the weeks, months, and years following the event, liberal commentators rehashed tired, now-familiar scripts in which they reject the claim that the defense of Confederate flags and monuments is about heritage.
Historical organizations issued statements along the same lines./4
Historical organizations issued statements along the same lines./4
For example, the statement on Charlottesville by @NCPH—a professional association of academic & professional public historians—includes this claim:
"we have studied how notions of heritage are distorted to support racism, white supremacy, antisemitism, and white nationalism."
/5
"we have studied how notions of heritage are distorted to support racism, white supremacy, antisemitism, and white nationalism."
/5
This statement, and many others, reflect the consensus that “heritage” itself is not a hateful thing—an idea that white supremacists have been affirming for years when claiming to uphold the Confederate flag as a symbol of “heritage, not hate.”
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/6
The prevailing concept of heritage employed by those who opposed reverence for the Confederacy affirms this idea that heritage is not itself about hate— that it only becomes that when it is distorted.
But, see, they’re wrong:
Heritage as a concept is kinda all about hate.
/7
But, see, they’re wrong:
Heritage as a concept is kinda all about hate.
/7
In his book "The Heritage Crusade and the Spoils of History," David Lowenthal describes heritage as
"that which starts with what individuals inherit and bequeath."
This highlights its close relationship to the English word to “inheritance.”
/8
"that which starts with what individuals inherit and bequeath."
This highlights its close relationship to the English word to “inheritance.”
/8
Within Western patriarchal capitalist culture, the model for inheritance is grounded in the passage of property from a (male) property holder to his (legitimate) lineal descendants.
Another term that commonly appears both in the contexts of wills and of heritage is “legacy.” /9
Another term that commonly appears both in the contexts of wills and of heritage is “legacy.” /9
The Western model of “heritage”—whether familial, national, or world—is about descent-based ownership of a particular slice of the past.
The concept of heritage is thus inherently one of exclusive possession. And in the US, the groups who are excluded are always the same. /10
The concept of heritage is thus inherently one of exclusive possession. And in the US, the groups who are excluded are always the same. /10
In order for one person to own something, they must have rights to it that others do not have.
When that heritage is materialized in public space, it also conveys a sense of ownership rights over that public space. /11
When that heritage is materialized in public space, it also conveys a sense of ownership rights over that public space. /11
Long before white people erected Charlottesville’s statue of Robert E. Lee in the 1920s, white heritage has been asserted in public space.
Indeed, the materialization of white heritage has been one of the primary mechanisms of upholding white supremacy since since the 1780s.
/12
Indeed, the materialization of white heritage has been one of the primary mechanisms of upholding white supremacy since since the 1780s.
/12
So, when they mobilize to protect the symbols of whiteness in public space, the alt-right is in no way "distorting notions of heritage."
Despite the convenient opposition they draw between "heritage" & "hate," they're well aware of how these statues support white supremacy./13
Despite the convenient opposition they draw between "heritage" & "hate," they're well aware of how these statues support white supremacy./13
So are the #BLM protesters who tear down these statues, removing potent enforcers of the idea that the American past was white, and so the American present & future must be white, too; that white people have more rights to power over the cities in which these monuments stand./end
