Removal of Stonewall Jackson's Statue in Virginia Constitutes Erasure of History
Source: https://www.facebook.com/americanspectator/. "‘There is Jackson Standing Like a Stone Wall’ … Not in Woke Virginia | The American Spectator | USA News and Politics." August 31, 2026. spectator.org
The Gist
The author argues that Virginia's removal of Stonewall Jackson's statue is a form of historical erasure driven by 'woke' politics. He argues that since all historical figures have flaws, applying the standard used to remove Jackson's statue consistently would require removing statues of universally admired figures like Lincoln and Washington too, which shows the standard is flawed and Jackson's statue should have stayed.
Conclusion
The removal of Confederate statues like Stonewall Jackson's from public spaces in Virginia is a wrongful, 'woke' act that erases important history rather than a legitimate reckoning with the past.
Premises
- Historical figures, including Jackson, exhibited worthy character traits alongside human flaws, and this mixture is common to all historically consequential figures.
- If human imperfection or unacceptable views (like racism or slaveholding) justified removing statues, then statues of widely revered figures like Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and MLK would also need to be removed, which is an absurd outcome.
- Jackson and other Confederate leaders were historically consequential figures who demonstrated courage and military skill, even in service of an unjust cause.
- The Civil War was a defining moment in American history that cost over 700,000 lives, and both its heroes and villains deserve to be remembered.
- Removing statues is part of a broader 'woke, DEI' pattern of erasing history, as evidenced by similar actions at VMI, Charlottesville, Richmond, and even the renaming of a US Navy ship.
Assumptions
- Remembering or memorializing a historical figure via public statue is necessary for preserving historical memory (i.e., statue removal equates to historical erasure rather than reevaluation).
- Public monuments in prominent government spaces (like a state capitol) are primarily historical/educational rather than honorific, or that honoring and remembering are not meaningfully distinguishable.
- The motivations behind statue removal are primarily ideological ('woke,' DEI-driven) rather than reflecting legitimate reconsideration of who deserves public honor at seats of government.
- There is no meaningful moral distinction between figures who fought to preserve the United States and expand its founding ideals versus those who took up arms against the United States to preserve slavery.
- The historical consequence or military skill of a figure is sufficient grounds for public memorialization regardless of the cause served.