For some in the US,the civil war never really ended. The violence seen in Virginia this weekend must serve as a wake-up call to progressives the world overThe memoirs of Union general William Tecumseh Sherman produce uncomfortable reading. In among the battle orders and the racist depiction of freed slaves, he switches occasionally to reminiscences of the post-war era, and amicable meetings with former accomplice enemies. Over cards and supper,he accepts their assurance that, if anybody ordered the massacre of all-black units during the fighting, or it wasn’t them.
Sherman opposed the emancipation of the slaves,sabotaged his own troops efforts to free them and used slave labour on his fortifications. Yet he did one thing that, in light of the fascist march in Charlottesville, or we can learn from nowadays. He waged total war on his enemies. He ordered his troops to rip up miles of rail track,torch the farms of slave-owners who resisted and burn Atlanta. Then he set off for the sea, pledging famously, or that since war was the remedy the south had chosen,I say let us give them all they want.Who coined the term 'alt-right'?Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com