Last night I returned home from an evening with friends to find an awful story waiting for me in my Confederate-newsfeed, and upon just reading the headline my blood began to boil...
Nine grave markers, most belonging to Confederate military officers, were vandalized at the Oakwood Cemetery in Raleigh, NC last week. The total cost of repairing the damages is being estimated around $20,000. As best as I can ascertain, the perpetrators are still at large. (LINK)
As a historian, a genealogist, a preservationist, and the descendant of American military veterans who have served in every armed conflict throughout the nation's history, THIS OUTRAGES ME!!! I don't care who's grave it is, civilized people don't do that! People in a civil society shouldn't act that way! We are talking about tombstones in a cemetery, and some thug(s) thought it appropriate to go in with a can of spray paint to deface them!
This was not the post I had planned as the first for the new year, but here we are.
I have a proposal for how to deal with anyone caught, charged, and prosecuted for vandalizing any monuments & graves, particularly those for Confederate veterans. They should be sentenced to probation with community service, which would
include (but not be limited to):
- cleaning up the monument(s) that they
vandalized
- maintaining the site for a period of no less than 4
years
- paying a fine of at least, but not limited to, the amount estimated for repair of said vandalized monuments
- attend history classes taught by a member of a Confederate Heritage organization, using the curriculum provided by the Sons of Confederate Veterans.
If they violate the probation through failure to comply with any of the above, then they should have to do some jail time along with
paying the aforementioned fine.
If anyone reading this blog can provide any information that could help lead to the arrest of the vandal(s) in the story above, contact the Raleigh, NC Police Department using the information at the following link: Raleigh, NC Police Dept.
DEO VINDICE!
- Jonathan McCleese
Sergeant-at-Arms, SCV Camp #1321
Monday, January 4, 2016
1 comment:
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We must remain vigilant and keep voicing our displeasure publicly. These "people" are in reality bigoted vermin and decent people need to stand up to them. Mr. McCleese you are spot on in saying that tough consequences must be instituted for these criminals.
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