Funny story, my freshman history teacher was talking about Coca Cola and called it Coke, one of the students literally though he was talking about cocaine and told his parents about it.
I'm German, and when I was 6 yrs. old, my grandfather told me stories about his glorious carreer during WWII. He also showed me pictures of him posing in his uniform with collar patches and medals and all that stuff. He was a really loving and kind grandfather, I admired him and forgot about the stories he told me until he he died. We cleared out his stuff, found the photos again, and I recognized that he was wearing the uniform of an SS officer on these pictures. My father was not surprised at all and told me, that my grandfather was stationed in the Netherlands during the war. We never talked about that before, and we never did again since then. It was more or less considered normal in my family, because "he was a child of his time" ... the Nazis killed more than 100.000 people in the Netherlands alone, just for being Jewish. I can definitely feel your Stone Mountain vibes!
That's real heavy. But on that note, don't you think that we in Germany have found a way to deal with this time trough extensive teaching etc. Of course there are still people who think it wasn't bad at all but overall I think the understanding of what happened is much greater than what Americans have about their history especially the parts they maybe would like to just forget.
@@MrOlstlp Yes we do. But it makes a huge difference to learn about history in school, and to see and feel what impact history had on the own family. While the majority accepts the historic facts in Germany, many families deny their involvement in it. That is maybe somewhat comparable to the situation in the southern states of the US.
@Mr. & Mrs Smith This message brought to you by the Louisiana Department of Transportation & Development, "Filling our pockets with your Federal Highway tax dollars"!
I grew up 5 minutes from Stone Mountain. I've been to the park and watch the Laser Show dozens of times. I've taken my own son, who is 18 now, and we always loved it and had a great time. But I never knew the true history of why they made the monument or put the carving on the mountain. That does disturb me. I never thought of it as a negative place. Yes it was about the history of war, but to me it never seemed like a "racist" monument. But knowing the truth now makes me think differently. Thank you, Joe, for this video. I learned something today.
I've lived in Atlanta. I NEVER once saw the Confederate Memorial on Stone Mountain as anything other than a great piece of art. It's a damn shame that so many memorials are being destroyed. People are already calling for the destruction of Mount Rushmore. What's next? Tear down the Washington Monument or level the Thomas Jefferson Memorial? This purge of history is WRONG.
@@mst163110 While I'd agree that this can go too far, the destruction of Confederate monuments IS NOT THE PURGE OF HISTORY, you're simply being hyperbolic and twisting the underlying motivation, which is a REFUSAL TO HONOR those who committed treason and fought to maintain the HORRIFIC INHUMANITY OF SLAVERY!!! Just as in Germany, you won't find any public statues honoring Hitler or the Third Reich, but you can learn about that period in any number of museums and libraries, and so it should be here. There is NO JUSTIFICATION WHATSOEVER to allow the existence of monuments THAT HONOR the Confederacy, they were traitors who, if they'd won, would have seen our nation cleaved into two separate countries, something that would have changed all history since, because only a united America had the strength and resources to save the world from the Nazi's in WWII and the Cold War against the USSR.
@@mst163110 What are they going to do next? Prevent people with certain names from entering public areas? It's going to be segregation all over again I worry.
In Norway we have a expression; Helt Texas ('completely Texas') we use about a situation that is disorganized, bewildering and chaotic. To put it bluntly, Texas means 'crazy' in Norwegian.
In Texas they have a saying "Norway". It means, " Let's help Nazis, we like Nazis to run our country". It's a put down, often directed at tourists from Norway, who seem arrogant and don't tip the waitress or pizza delivery guy- because when in Rome act snotty and superior.
Sounds like all they knew about Texas was our state legislature. That does fit the totally disorganized, bewildering and chaotic description. No man's wealth, health, wife or life is safe so long as the Texas legislature is in session.
3:35 it's a pluton, a magma upthrust that never reached the surface, the the surrounding ground eroded away from it. -dude who used to climb it weekly.
Good, I was scrolling down for a geological explanation. Figured it was too big and too far south to have been carried by the glaciers during the ice age.
HaHa! You are spot on about driving through Louisiana! I live in Atlanta now, and I have lived here off and on, since 1980 when my dad retired from the Army and we moved here. Imagine being a black teen of 12, living in Atlanta and going to Stone Mountain about once a month to see the laser show, or climb to climb the mountain, or to fish on the lake, etc. Fun fact 1: I went to SouthWest Dekalb High School from 1983-1986. "White Flight" happened during that period where at the beginning of High School, our school was 99% White, but by the time I graduated, it was 99% Black. Fun Fact 2: There is a city called Stone Mountain not far from the mountain. Every time we would play their High School in Football (Stone Mountain High), someone from their team would call someone on our team the N~~ Word and all heck would break loose. We (the SWD band) would have to run to load all of our gear onto the band buses and the drivers would speed off while the Stone Mountain fans would throw rocks at our buses and on occasion, someone would take a pot shot at the bus and we'd hear it ping off the bus. Fun Fact 3: At the time, there were Klans Men on the corners of the streets of Stone Mountain and in Jonesboro and in a few other places (Forsyth county is another) that would be handing out flyers for Klan rallies. My friends and I me Black, another Irish from NYC, another Cherokee Indian, would drive around looking for these people and try to get them to give us their flyers (all of the flyers). Fun Fact 4: When I joined the Marines, and was stationed out in California, It was a tradition to hang your state flag on the wall of the room of your barracks. At the time, Georgia had the Confederate flag incorporated into the state flag. I broke that tradition. Fun Fact 5: There have been plans floating around for decades to remove the Confederate Monument from Stone Mountain. Thanks for another thought provoking video Joe!
I was gonna say the same. Driven from Dallas to Florida a few times in my life myself... Louisiana roads are annoying as heck, it's like a roller-coaster ride at some points giving your car's shocks a workout with the drone of thuds as your tires cross over from one section of road to the next. The long bridges over bayous are the worst.
@@Gopherll No it doesn't. I don't know where you got your information from because I can't find that anywhere in the 1980 Census. What I did find was that in a 2005 Atlanta Regional Commission report, the population was 84% white in 1980 and 77% white in 1985. documents.atlantaregional.com/Land%20Use/Reviews/ID494/Community%20Assessment.PDF
In the early 1980s in college, we played Bob Newhart drinking game. If they said “Bob” you took a sip. If they said “Hi Bob” you had to chug your beer. A half hour tv show and you’d drink about 10 beers. Ok shows over, time to go to class.
As a guitarist myself I would love it if Joe done a video of him noodling or playing anything !! Wouls make a nice distraction from the worlds blah blah blah !
Jesus, just let the man have one thing in his life he can enjoy without the pressure of making it into a series of edited videos he has to share with the entire world!
As a Southerner, I have wrestled with the same things you have. Price of place, history, etc. At 70 years old, only three years ago, I came to the opinion you shared. I asked myself what was I proud of as I saw that tat very history was so painful for others. I realized I needed to adjust my thinking and I came to see that I was proud of the wrong things. I wanted instead to be proud of inclusion, proud of making everyone around me feel safe and like they belong to a country. I realized it was time we healed this country and its people.
@@Salsuero I agree. In South Africa we used to think racism will die with the old generation, but I see some of my old friends and family teach their children to be racist. Today I am not racist, but I fear many white and black South Africans will remain racist. I imagine it would be the same in the south of the USA.
@@ArleynH Only if you have fragile ego and refuse to take a compliment for what it is, while recognizing that there are many who will never achieve that which you have... sure, I guess that's how you could see me. 🙄
@@marinusvz It really is. It's systemic. It's not just parents teaching children, but it's also heavily built into our culture in ways people can't or refuse to see. We need a lot of work.
@@Nik.No.K Louisiana is one of the most resource and transit-rich states in America. Yet they lack in public services in every way. Bad roads are the face of a failed corporate model of governance. Even though Cuba & Venezuela are sanctioned by the USA and cut off from trade - they still manage to produce doctors and housing for the poor. America has mansions & penthouses; our Secretary of Education has 3 superyachts. Yet average folks can work 50 hours and still be broke!
I want to thank you for talking about this subject. I'm a southerner, a Texan, and a black man. I have a white, confederate soldier ancestor. He came back to Texas after the war and married a slave he used to oversee on a plantation and he renounced the institution of slavery, racism, and anti-miscegenation laws. We have this heritage AND it should not be celebrated. We should acknowledge it and teach it, but not celebrate or venerate it. You're right that all of these acts like changing the name of the master bedroom in a house are pointless and counter productive. We need to address the real problems that we face today in 2020. Thank you for speaking on this.
I'm a Black woman, and I've been to Stone Mountain years ago. I was impressed with the sculpture and the logistics behind pulling it off. I will say I am NOT in favor of any kind of removal of confederate statues or any changes to Stone Mountain, if any are proposed. It may not be a period our country is proud of, but it is a huge part of our history, and I think it needs to be maintained, not destroyed. Slavery has existed for thousands of years, and still exists today in other parts of the world. There is one thing our country should be proud of. We are the only country in the world to fight a war to eliminate slavery.
So why celebrate and honor the men responsible for killing 618,222 soldiers and 50,000 civilians that died in the Civil War and gave their all to keep slavery alive, with statues that tell nothing about what really happened. We have the battlefields, the books, the photographs, the stories, and museums to tell the horrors of Slavery and about the people who gave their lives to help end it.
Thank you Karen. It is good to hear a black woman express this opinion as I was afraid I was ignoring people's feelings when I say please keep the majesty of the mountains. I am reminded about when the Taliban took over in Afganistan and destroyed hundreds of Buddhist statues that were so very old and so very very big. My heart bled as each came down. I am not Buddhist but I rever history and effort.
@@stevyd A lot of the people who fought didn't fight for slavery. I know this is a surprise to everyone but my family was very poor and didn't even own slaves or approve of owning slaves, however, the changes the Republicans proposed would have devastated the south and I was told my ancestors fought for the right to leave the union. They didn't want the "damned Yankees" telling them how to lead their lives. It's a war we still fight today in some parts of the country where the laws passed aren't favorable to the area.
When I was a kid growing up in Austin, TX I had a confederate flag and my dad tried to point out to me that others saw that as racist thing(this is 1983). I thought he was nuts. For me back then it was being a rebel against society as a whole. Now you wouldn’t catch me with one for an reason. If something like that is so hurtful to others why would I want to promote it in any way. I am sure I can find some way to show how rebellious I can be without causing a whole section of society feel put down and hated. I had many black friends back then and not a one of them said a word about it.
You couldn't be blamed. CBS was running The Dukes of Hazzard through 1985, normalizing the Stars and Bars, and the whole Lost Cause aesthetic simply because "the yokels respond to it. They tune in."
Yeah, I feel you, my brother always had one on his wall growing up, dukes of hazard and what not, just thought of it as a rebellious thing. I also would not be caught dead with one now.
@@rollomaughfling380 yeah exactly, many people around my age first introduction to that flag was The Dukes of Hazard, I played with hot wheels with that flag and had no idea what it represented. The really funny thing is it's not even the real Confederate flag.
@ BRETT...Are You aware that the "so called Confederate flag" that everybody is talking about (now) was a late addition to the war between the states? I think that it was "SUPPOSED" to have been used by the tropps under the command of Robert E. Lee ??? Just sayin'... There is only one flag for which I will stand and salute. It's called the STAR SPANGLED BANNER ( I was born & raised in the South)
@@jtc1947 it was actually never used in battle, first it was a circle of stars and 3 stripes (hence why it was called the stars and bars) but that looked too similar on the battlefield to the union flag, so they changed it to the cross pattern (we're familiar with) in the corner on a flag of all white, but that was confused with the traditional white surrender flag, so they added a red stripe at the end. The only time the flag we think of as the Confederate flag was used was as the naval jack and it's color scheme was different, so the flag people can't let go of was never used by the confederates. They call it the "stars and bars" even though it's a cross, lol. The OG flag is the stars and bars.
Went to Stone Mountain about 25 years ago, as an adult, and my reaction was mostly, "Huh. Look at that." Of course I didn't know the history of the Klan involvement. However, my strongest reaction and memory is from touring the "Antebellum Plantation and Farmyard". We have looked into a number of the small huts that housed the slaves, and I began to notice something strange. The word "slave" was never used. I began checking every descriptive sign carefully; they were all "workers'" quarters or the "workers' kitchen", etc. Wikipedia calls it an "open-air museum"; more of an open-air rewrite.
I was born and raised in Chicago. Most of my adult life has been in the south. I enjoy letting people know that one of the things they cherish represents getting second place in a two-man fight. I don’t care if they get upset, because the ideals that were in the confederacy were crap.
A lot of these monuments went up during the 1910s-1930s, with more put up in the 60s (I think). Its original intention was not for some neutral sense of history. It was put up to send a message. Look. Just put all of these things in a museum. Let's focus on building a new future together.
My favorite put down was working with a guy from Alaska and we were on a job in New Mexico. Lots of guys from Texas on the job. They stopped bragging about their state when he pointed out how "dinky" Texas was. He'd then say that he only knew about Texas because of the pipeline welders who came to his state from Oklahoma. Damn he was funny. They'd talk about hunting feral hogs. And he'd talk about hunting Kodiak bears. They'd mention HUGE bass. He'd talk about 75 pound salmon. They'd talk about shrimping on the coast. He'd mention Bering Sea king crabs. They stopped bragging in the lunch shack when he was in there. Good times.
@inyrui You'd be surprised how open minded people over 30 are. In fact the 1960's and 70's were far more free and open minded than now in many ways. Sadly, I find a large percentage of so-called "liberals" these days are not liberal at all but intolerant of anything that conflicts with their idea of the way things should be. Being liberal 40 years ago meant being against big government, being self sufficient, being tolerant and respectful of others and so on. Now it's the opposite. Big government, socialism, call out culture, extreme intolerance of opposing views, even organized mob violence... these seems to define liberalism today. Sad. Truly sad.
@@frontiermetals1218 That definitely would be very sad, if it were true. Honestly, everyone is intolerant of something. Liberals are intolerant of racism and discrimination, but is that BAD? I've run in liberal circles my whole life, and liberals really aren't what you seem to think. Of course you'll read this and declare you know more about it than me. But I, like many liberals, always have an internal struggle about whether being a liberal is still the right thing to be, and we have to prove that to ourselves again and again. But I don't see that happening on the other side. They seem to be like if they're on that side, that's where they're staying no matter what, even if their president shows himself to be shockingly ignorant and boastful about it, taking a lot of time to simply insult people he doesn't like, and declare anyone who disagrees as "fake" or "hateful". Anyway, I just don't think that anyone should be so locked into their ideology that they never question any part of it. Most, even all, of the liberals I know are very concerned about what's happening to others, while the other side is worried about what's being taken away from THEM. I think it's better to worry about everybody. For example, conservatives seem to be happy about anonymous "cops" spring up in Portland and just grabbing people and throwing them into the back of an unmarked van, because they think it's happening to liberals. Liberals are up in arms about this, but critically, they still would be even if it were CONSERVATIVES that were being abused. Liberals will fight against the abused of ANYBODY. Conservatives seem happy to just protect their own. That's a shame. Just saying.
The area around Hopkinsville Ky is fairly flat. Some hills but nothing really over about 200 ft of elevation. However just west of town about 6 miles out is Big Rock. It is a giant granite rock that is about 200 ft in diameter. It must have been pushed there by a glacier. You can see a small valley that is obviously the trail the rock was pushed along that goes for many miles.
I remembered going to Stone Mountain as a kid recently as well. I remembered going there for a laser show and enjoying it and then watching the last song being super sentimental about the confederate leaders and being confused. I was thinking, "Wait... didn't we beat the confederacy? Wasn't this a good thing? Why are we being all sentimental about these idiots?"
That was me on July 4th...Every. Single. Year. Loved the fireworks but that laser show was so odd with the animation of the relief and the way it seemed to romanticize the Confederate cause.
Obviously you’re looking for attention, because that’s a lie. I live in ATL, and have been to the park often. They do not play music glorifying the Confederacy. You’re sad virtue signaling is sad.
@@RowdyGrunt I haven't been in several years but the finale song was always Elvis' An American Trilogy... Which starts off with Dixie FFS. Evidently it's now the Lee Greenwood song, but for 15+ years it was Elvis
I'm Dutch, and though I do have some form of pride-of-place for all the contributions we made to modern society throughout history (and, yes, I know there's plenty of bad stuff there as well), I don't really understand pride-of-place as it refers to current society. Definitely not like, for example, pride-of-place still plays a major role in Latvia, where major events are organised with set intervals to show pride for the nation (which makes sense, in a way, seeing as how recent their independence has been obtained and how long they were suppressed). What I want to say with this is that I might not truly understand pride-of-place as others do. However, to me, no matter for who it has been done, carving a sculpture into the side of a mountain just seems arrogant, a defacement of natural beauty. Then again, this is probably what it's meant to do in the first place: no more powerful symbol than to claim an entire mountain your own... Hope nobody takes offence, as none is intended. It's just my opinion on the matter.
The kinda-sorta singular sense of the UD as it is today is a relatively new thing. For most of the history of the continent those of non-Native background tended to identify with their state rather than the country as a whole, much closer to what you might experience in the EU today rather than in the present US. Some of that has carried over, especially in the South.
Thanks. Yes, I've been to Stone Mountain, too. And yes, as a white guy in the south, I wasn't told anything about its true history & meaning. I was also young. It's amazing now to realize how we could be right in the middle of things and have no clue. But that's the culture of the white south; you're indoctrinated so softly (in most cases, of course), that you don't honestly don't see the bigger picture, and how your 'innocent' actions & beliefs affect a whole lot of people. You know what I mean: buying a little confederate flag at the concession stand. Crap like that. We're taught that these things are perfectly normal; we would never guess how others might see such things. Now I'm 55, and I see & understand so much, of which I had absolutely no previous inkling. As to the idea of sticking to the issue, and not worrying so much about the name of some pancake mix & syrup; there's a common psychological phenomenon going on here. Actually, there are at least 2 of them. One is that those white people who don't want anything to really change, will offer up minor, insignificant, cosmetic changes - instead of dealing with the real issue(s) (and, of course, specifically to draw attention away from said real issue(s). The other one is that of a sort of frantic - indeed, sometimes draconian - over-correction (that often also misses the main point.) It's what you mentioned about realtors not calling the main sleeping chamber the "master bedroom." There are some other, subtler reasons for things like this, but lets keep it simple. This second thing I'm talking about has plenty of examples (which have nothing to do with racial issues.) One is the idea that once we start diagnosing a new disease or mental illness, everybody suddenly seems to have it. Like Ritalin. Or how new drugs get vastly over-prescribed for years, until the 'industry' calms down. As John Mellencamp prophetically sang, "I know there's a balance / I see it when I swing past." What we need to do here [those of us white people who acknowledge that there is, in fact, a real problem with our behavior] is stick to the main issue. That's racism, the worst of which right now is exemplified by the police straight up murdering mostly unarmed black people simply because they're black (which IS what's happening.) We must face the fact that the police as an organization, started because of white people trying to enforce slavery. And the police - all over America - are still riddled with white supremacists and white nationalists, and other various kinds of racists. It's quite clear to me that they're sending a message specifically to black people everywhere - and that message is deplorable, disgusting, sickening, bad, evil, and wrong. For more info on the history of the police in this country - as well as a perspective I think all white people should hear (even kids in school), I encourage you to watch the Last Week Tonight UA-cam episode called simply, "Police: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) ". I hope it's an eye-opener for white people everywhere. But the police are just the current worst example. Racism goes on all over America - and the world - every second of every minute of every day. And in this country, it's us - the whites - who are doing it. But there are many, many manifestations of racism; some are horribly overt, and some are insidiously subtle. There's another UA-cam channel, by a man named Leon Thomas, called "Renegade Cut." In it, he talks about the politics and philosophy in different movies - some older & some newer. He goes into a lot of detail about key issues of racism, such as the institutionalized impoverishment and marginalization of blacks (by whites.) It's truly a great channel. I hope we can finally admit - as a group - that we're still doing all kinds of awful things, both gross & subtle, the reek of racism. And I hope we can finally really start fixing it. Thanks again, Joe. tavi.
Funny you should mention Renegade Cut - he just dropped another video today, it's right on-topic here and it's great (as usual) (or were you referring specifically to that and I'm just slow?)
lol cult. ever data point imagineable, bla people are more racis than whi. bla on whi crime is over TWENTY TIMES more common than the reverse. how about you adress that before writing a book about how you feel whi people are horrible. john oliver is debunked and every nonsense blatant lie bla liv matte cult has said is debunked. wake up
Hello fellow Englishman Joe :) I hope you are not fed up of me mentioning equivalents from the UK (I think it can help to relate to other countries so we can learn from each other) but we are having lots of similar issues here, the statue of Churchill has been vandalised, boarded up to protect it and calls for it to be taken down, as you can imagine we have many more examples here, I am from just outside Liverpool where 90% of the slaves from empire era travelled through and has many many statues related it to it, we even have a slavery museum aside Pier Head and I know your feelings on the Beatles but there was calls for Penny Lane to be renamed which ended up being a misunderstanding. Anyway I have gone on but we happily have Oliver Cromwell and William Wallace statues throughout the UK whom wanted to end it which I am more than happy about because it is our history, Churchill did many VERY bad things, in particular to India and Pakistan, the first somewhere very important to me yet I would be so upset if his statue came down. Excluding the very offensive (for example in Germany there are no swastikas or Nazi eagles) symbols, statues and in your case mega-art I think keeping them around means we still learn and talk about these issues so we can share in our disgust and grow as a people, or maybe I am just idealistic. I just find all this so exhausting, as a Brith who has travelled around India a lot I have had to make my peace with our history after seeing SOME of the horrors we have created but as many people in India told me "it's not your fault, it was politics and is history". ...just to go on a little tangent, I think the feeling I had being a British person at the massacre memorial in Amritsar, visiting the partition museum or seeing life in Kashmir is something we Brits should all experience at least once and then to see how the locals still treat you knowing all that history is something we should experience as much as we can!
The Indians are right - it's not your fault - and maybe it helped them in some ways (like improving the education system there - it likely hurt them a lot too) and you could help them more and they you. I don't think it makes sense to tear the statues down, as after they just become images, it'll be a sad day when those get erased too - and then what would anyone believe? Also, maybe you do want to talk to more of the oppressed people, as maybe you have misconceptions that cause you to be offended by something that maybe shouldn't be - I mean, I didn't know until now that the confederate flag was just pride of the South, rather than a hate symbol. Try it!
As an Indian I really appreciate your thoughts and concur what you said. I myself don't hold any Brit responsible for the crimes of their predecessors. Not expecting any apologies from anyone nor keeping anyone tied up on crimes their forefathers did during British rule. But in same breath, I can't stand Brits who somehow still manage to hold on to the idea that British Raj was for the benefit of the 'natives', and what all good came out of it.. pointing out to the railway network or anything. So in short, No apologies needed..but don't expect any Thanks as well. 😊
@@hrishijagadees1234 Lol if honest I have never heard a Brit say that (but of course I believe that you have) but surprisingly in Gujarat and West Bengal I met MANY who did indicate such things! Obviously you and I know no matter any benefits things like the railways were mainly built to support the British Empire to get the goods in and out of your country, I wouldn't go as far as say plunder (as its your country you may). I hope you and your family are safe, my friends there have told me all kinds of horrors. I was hoping (and have booked) to travel there in October with my dad, he has never left Europe and is a special holiday but tourism has to be a low priority there and really do hope all is OK.
I don't think that you have to worry too deeply about offending a great many people when being a truth teller. I highly doubt that your channels are magnets for the gleefully uninformed and anti-empathetic crowd whose feathers may be ruffled by such displays of understanding and self education.
Another excellent video. I hope you’re well. You look tired and perhaps a little sad. Even though it’s a (?) bittersweet memory, I’m envious. You have the memories and experiences. I was so lost in the clouds, all my life, that my past is mostly a blur lol.
This just came up in my feed and well said Joe... live the format and content on how you approached it. Completely took me by surprise and I also know more history and it's complexity.
Good to hear someone grappling with this so well. The fact that the KKK has played such as big role in the country is, as you say, very relevant. I am very much reminded of General Grant's words: "I felt like anything rather than rejoicing at the downfall of a foe who had fought so long and valiantly, and had suffered so much for a cause, though that cause was, I believe, one of the worst for which a people ever fought, and one for which there was the least excuse."
What I don't get is why protestors get offended over the past, when they benefit from it by having a country they live in with freedoms to protest in it?
@@extropiantranshuman My guess would be that the simple fact that they have darker skin has led to generations of physical, economical brutally. Lynching, burning crosses, being refused land ownership etc. Post civil war each freed slave was supposed to be given a parcel of land... After Lincoln was assassinated that part of the plan never happened. The Jim Crow era soon followed and this attitude has continued leading right up to George Floyd. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Carl B In only drove along the East of Poland between via Baltica and Kassa (Slovakia, aka Kosice). There were no highways there, then everything was rebuilt. But I recall the M7 to lake Balaton. Bang-bang-bang for a very long time. With a Trabant it was even worse.
@@carlb837 When you had been to Poland? I mean we have some bad roads in or between small villages. Maybe East part of the country is worse, but main roads are just fine.
The noise is created by the gaps between the bridge slabs - as Louisiana is a swamp mostly (the Mississippi River delta) - the highway is suspended above it on pilings.
Texas declared independence from Mexico only 13 years after Mexico declared independence from Spain...for many of the same reasons although really Texans didn't like that Mexican rule prohibiting slavery...so there's that.
Joe, I always enjoy watching your videos. I definitely lean right in my world view but the way you explain things in your videos leaves me understanding more than I did before. How often I feel we miss the mark by arguing on useless retoric, when we could just have an honest conversation and come together. As one American to another, thank you for being a voice of reason.
I think there's something to add to your realisation at the end: Americans* still have some growth to do regarding their ability to take a step back and question their history because their country** is still very young, in a way. As a European (a Frenchman to be precised), we are more used to question parts of our History because it has changed so much over the years (and by that I mean the balance of power has switched many times). We were Gallic, Romans, some parts of France were Spanish or German, a big part of Europe was the French Empire, at some point and, at another time, the same part of Europe was part of the Third Reich (Nazi Germany), and yet it all changed, reversed, reshaped, reset. You became independent in 1776 and drafted your constitution in 1787, around the same time (1789) we had our revolution too but, since then we drafted 5 other constitutions and once reverted to an Empire. What I mean is, you have a tendency to see your history as linear, probably linked to your myth of the"manifest destiny" but I think we see ours as cyclical, resetting and restarted regularly. I don't think you have yet realized that, when it's bad it's better to start over. But can you still do it? Would you want to do it? The longer you wait, the hardest it's gonna get... *I call Americans here the descendents of the non-native American people. **Here again, when I say "Their country" I consider the possession of those I refer to as Americans (see above). Both above mentions are made for ease of understanding but I'm aware that they are flawed and abusives.
@@akaiwarp indeed we do! I didn't say we were the masters of introspection. I guess I was just pointing out that we don't revere our founding documents as much as they do. If we realize they are inherently flawed and create antiquated or harmful situations to the point of being irredeemable (often admittedly through crisis and not mere introspection), we are less afraid of changing them, or at least it's on the table. The quasi hollyness status of the US Constitution is a real problem, I think, in America. In France we also have free speech and the right to bear arms, for example, but we were not afraid to band hate speech or highly regulate guns. I think it's because we don't see the way our country is run (articulated/constructed) in such a sacred way, as I believe they do theirs... Again, I conjectured it was because we had to change ours so many times throughout history, and I was implying that perhaps it is now time for Americans to change theirs in a truly profound way as well. In fact, it may be overdue.
Your informed opinion and ability to discuss it is a great thing. Even if many people disagree with it - it's your opinion and you shared it well! The really important thing that you nearly touched on is that we are not all required to have the same opinion. But it is good to respect other people's ideas. even if the conflict with your own.
Your channel is a favorite for the topics chosen, signature format, and manor of illucidation. Nice storytelling; sure there is no Irish blood? Spent many years between Houston, Galveston,Nacadochazez and Austin. Your perspective is profound. Thanks for sharing.
The city of Lyons, Michigan is pronounced "lions" if that gives you any indication of what Americans think about French pronunciation. I am torn between wanting to sound educated and worrying about sounding elitist. The USA truly is a country that revels in being unmoored from European traditions, while at the same time, revering a false whitewashed European "western civilization" trope.
@@Nphen What you are describing is very much that same as when Americans took over parts of PA from the French (Pittsburgh). They trolled hard on the French by mispronouncing all the names in the region. Duquesne PA is pronounced by the locals (for a couple hundred years) as Du-caine. I'mmmm pretty sure that's not how the French would pronounce it. Even then they were pissy about their language. But if you need a solid reason to use the French pronunciation of Bas, just consider that it is, literally, a technical term. It is part of the language artists use to describe technical processes, methods, styles, etc. Giff or Jiff aside, we can all pretty much agree that when speaking about technical information, it is better, and in some instances safer, to use correct pronunciation of terminology.
Ah, yeah. "bas relief". But then it's not "relief" for English pronounciation - "bah reuh lee ayf" or something, haha. EDIT: For my own education, do you also use the term "relief" (as in "I'm relieved") for the texture/bumpiness of a thing? That's the only use of "relief" in French, FWIW.
Texans revere the Alamo which was a loss and Oklahomans revere the 'Sooners' which were Land Run cheaters. What a proud history our two home states share. lol
Everything in US history happened basically yesterday in terms of basically any other place's history. Heck, I daily drive by a building that is 3 times as old as the knowledge of the existence of America
join the conversation He’s basically saying the US is so young, that by example , in his country he drives past a building that is 3x as old as the founding of it. In short his point is the United States history is really small.
Well, there’s evidence of civilization throughout the americas dating back 14,000 years, even longer if you watch certain UA-cam channels, won’t name names, it’s just not as well understood because they were largely wiped out, and much of their history and culture was destroyed.
Omg joe I love you so much, I’m from dallas too! Grew up there but live now in Seattle. Still have that Texas hyper pride though! “But we won our war 😎” haha. Great video like always.
HOW DID I ONLY DISCOVER THIS CHANNEL TODAY FOR THE FIRST TIME?! been watching joe for months now and only found it now. I’m so happy so many videos to watch!!
I assume many people in the south associate the confederate flag with general rebellion and not specifically what the rebellion at the time was rebelling against. Does that make sense?
Of course the preceding generation nurtured the lie that slaves where treated well and that they loved their masters. Bull shit. It’s the only way they could look at themselves in the mirror.
I was in the group of people who were calling BS on all of the outrage over statues and the confederate flag. But the more I have learned over the past few years, the more I'm horrified that those monuments and statues were created in the first place, and how anyone could accept monuments to the losing force of a war. People who were treasonous. Sure, they were morally right in their own mind, and true to their cause. If only their cause wasn't, arguably, second only to genocide in it's horror.
"second only to genocide in it's horror" is a ludicrous statement. Do you really think that slavery (which I assume you're referring to rather than the more general cause of the Confederacy itself) was worse than the horrors of WW2, or the slaughters of the Civil War itself? I have to suspect that what you've "learned" has largely consisted of leftist propaganda; particularly abolitionist depictions of slavery. Slavery was a historically normative institution found in every single human civilization at one point in time. Race based slavery in America lasted for about 200 years, and was only ended via external intervention rather than collapsing on it's own. Social systems can't last that long by being pure horror shows. They have to be tolerable to those at the bottom of the hierarchy to be stable.
Oh wait I see you somehow believe they were traitors? Sorry to burst your bubble however it was the union that betrayed the people and it was the union that invaded the confederacy. You and your ilk have been lied to and fooled, the civil war was fought over money period, not slaves, not the emancipation, pure human greed. At the time the south had all of the textiles and most of the cash crops. And when they legally removed themselves from said union the northern states got pissed because the south took all of that wealth with them. That is true history and that is truly what the war was fought over, perhaps pick up a history book printed before the millennium and you'll see just how much you've been fooled.
Hey Joe. Fellow Texan here. We won "our war" for independence in order to maintain slavery in Texas. Just pointing out the grim irony of that whoop. We need people like you to keep doing the work, and to lose the illusions that Stone Mountain and the Alamo perpetuate. Thank you for being honest about your journey.
huh that's funny i'm from Pennsylvania and was always taught that the Texas war of independence was because of there being so many white men in the area because the mexicans invited them as immigrants but then they never integrated and the Mexicans started passing harsher laws until Texas felt the need to rebel. if you have any good sources for your claim i'd love to read them
@@jessdriscoll1056 Here you go! It's right in the introduction. Slavery had been outlawed in Mexico, but was re-instituted after Texas won independence. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_slavery_in_Texas
There is only one truth when you are honest with yourself. An excellent video. It took me a few days to watch because I was afraid it was going to be a science video about a mountain somewhere. I liked your comments and your candor. And I liked your humor about driving through Louisiana.
Thank's Joe...I found myself listening/watching & mentally wondering to all you were saying & how I from the Bay Area can relate in someway? I also caught myself wiping my thumb above your head trying to remove the small smudge on my computer screen. That little smudge above your bookcase to the right of the electrical cord. I even licked my thumb while listening and rubbing this little smudge that would not move because that little smudge is on your wall not on my computer!!! A smudge is so very hard to remove Joe. Tm
I was taken there at 18 in 1998 to watch the Pink Floyd laser show. The park was packed with families of every color. I overheard a black guy telling his kids one of the men on the monument was Abraham Lincoln, and he didn't know who the other two were. It didn't really mater who these men were, nor the Klan history, because none of that was the draw. It was a beautiful park where Americans were united by their love of Lasers and Floyd. I can't think of a better way to protest those antiquated values. Being offended by art is getting us nowhere.
I’m a 35 yo from ga. My dad flew a confederate flag on his truck when I was a kid. It was not a symbol of hate for him. It was simply a way to say I’m from the south and proud of it. My parents raise me and my siblings to be respectful to everyone. They never once said or did anything mean or racist or even disrespectful to anyone of any race. They didn’t see the flag as a racist symbol. I understand the feelings toward confederate history to some degree but just know that the vast majority of southerners are good people and will treat everyone with respect until they are disrespected no matter the color of your skin. I don’t think we should take down most confederate monuments simply because they serve as a reminder of how far we’ve come. We just need to do a better job of teaching the history behind it and understand that if we don’t appreciate our history we can never grow beyond it.
_" until they are disrespected"_ Why does that only apply to supposed disrespect _towards_ southerners, but never to disrespect _by_ them? The so-called Confederate flag has two histories, first it was one of the symbols of the slave states that went to war to defend slavery (not just as it was, but for the right to expand it). And then in the 1960s, it was adopted again throughout the south as a direct response to the black voting rights movement. It was intended to symbolise opposition to equality for African Americans. It was chosen to be disrespectful, to be hateful. _That was its purpose._ Whether or not your parents used it for that is irrelevant, they flew and celebrated a symbol that was created to disrespect African Americans. Why should African Americans, hell any decent American, not respond in kind? Likewise for the erection of statues of Confederate generals. It was mostly pushed by the Klan in the early 20th century. You know, the KKK, the organisation that terrorised and murdered black people throughout the south. If you want to treat people with respect.... don't support things that were intended to disrespect them. How many more decades is the rest of your country supposed to wait for you guys to figure this out yourself?
1FatLittleMonkey you missed the point. The point I was trying to make is that a lot of people in the south do not see the flag as a symbol of hate or pride in the history of slavery. Quite the opposite. The slave owning history was gone very quickly and the flag took on a different meaning. Southerners are not at all proud of the history associated with slavery. A lot of people vote republican for that reason. It was the Democratic Party that owned slaves. The kkk was a democratic organization. The kkk also beat, raped, and killed white people too. White people who associated with black people and didn’t care about their skin color. White people who supported equal rights and desegregation. The part that you quoted from my comment “until they are disrespected” . I don’t know what you misunderstood about that. It doesn’t just apply to disrespect toward southerners. That’s not what I said. I said that my parents never disrespected anyone until they were disrespected. Maybe not the right wording but what I mean is they treated everyone with respect no matter who it was but they wouldn’t be walked on like a door mat. If you try to take advantage of them they would stand their ground. Like anyone should! I think you feel like I’m trying to justify some from of prejudice. I’m not. I’m simply saying that a lot of perceived prejudice is not that at all. If you don’t know the person it’s hard to know the meaning. I don’t think people should display anything like the confederate flag because of this. Even if they have good intentions it can come across as bad because people who don’t know you will undoubtedly misread your intent. People often assume the worst. By the way, my dad flew that flag 30 years ago and does not still fly the flag because of its contention. Because of the misunderstanding of the purpose for the flag he stopped flying the flag.
@@spatton7875 It's you who misunderstand the point: _"That’s not what I said. I said that my parents never disrespected anyone until they were disrespected. "_ No. Your parents celebrated a symbol of hatred, not pride. IT DOESN"T MATTER WHAT THEIR MOTIVE WAS. Flying it was disresprecting the people who were targeted by the shit-stains who created those symbols. Part of showing respect is understanding that. The excuses people in the south make to twist their history to ignore that IS DISRESPECTFUL. That's what I meant, you only recognise "disrespect" when it's aimed at you, you never ever recognise it when it comes from you. I mean, jesus h christ, you _still_ say: _"Because of the misunderstanding of the purpose for the flag"_ Please, try to understand this: the "Confederate Flag" was promoted in the '60s in direst response to the civil rights movement. It's purpose was to attack blacks. That's why they chose a symbol from the Civil War, and why it happened at that time. It exists to attack blacks. It was your parents who "misunderstood the purpose", and, like you, apparently still refuse to listen to anyone who tries to explain why. You want credit ("respect") for not flying a symbol of hatred, while still patronisingly refusing to understand that it was a symbol of hatred. Even when you stop using the symbol, you _still_ disrespect the people it was meant to attack by claiming that _they_ are wrong, you still refuse to accept that _you_ were wrong to use it in the first place. But you cannot and will not ever recognise that disrespect, but you bristle are the perceived disrespect from those who are merely responding to yours.
1FatLittleMonkey obviously you are not going to understand the point of the original comment. It saddens me that people feel the way you feel. There are so very few actual racists in our country today yet it still get the attention that it does. Yes they are out there. Don’t mistake what I say. There is no place in our society for racism. I will gladly do whatever I can to help stop it. However, most of the perceived racism has nothing to do with skin color. It has to do with the differences in the way people act. People tend to distrust people who act differently. As a breaded white man who works for a living and is often dirty from work I get distrusting looks quite often. But when I speak or act I go out of my way to be respectful and polite. That automatically disarms people and creates a trust or at least settles distrust. If more people acted this way there would be a lot less perceived racism. 99% of white people are totally onboard with putting racists in their place. Stop being hostile and we might actually be able to get something done. I’m on your side!
@@spatton7875 I'm from Warner Robins GA and I also work dirty, am white, and I've been around. Whites in this country do everything they can to NOT be around other colors because they can't stand different people. The politeness is only skin deep and for similar colored skin; as long as they cloister themselves with other whites, of course they seem respectful and polite. That changes as soon as the colored people are out of earshot; if you honestly cannot admit to that, well, that saddens me. We are recognizing just how two-faced these people are and that, in itself, is worse than outright racism. They are too small to admit their own feelings. Higher level cognitive function has risen greatly over the past 100 years, yet there are a large number of insulated people that refuse to admit that they haven't kept up. I believe, as your post first mentions it, the hostility is rising in you. That uneasiness that you feel is actually God telling you that you are wrong.
Never looked up my ancestry (I am 70). Reason- Small scale - I experienced the actions of my extended family and found just about every example of the human condition (good and bad). Large scale - I am related to every human being on earth - but will see nothing new.
You could also make an argument that it is important for people to forget their history. Or at least major parts of it. Look at the United Kingdom. Successive waves of brutal imperialistic invasions. Celts, Romans, Saxons, Angles, French, Danes, Dutch...etc...and all those tribes have intermarried and now they all consider themselves English. What would happen if they all clung to their ancient tribal identities?
I agree 100% but knocking down monuments and saying people are erasing history is a poor argument. If there are no statues of hitler, how do people remember who he was and what he did?
Gosh, you know..... Morning coffee before work was at least five times better because you shared this rant. There is more complimentary content to this than would appear on the surface. If you could see the true enjoyment in us all when we light up to your style, or the stand-up-and-hoot for winning "our war", then, please just take a moment to smile and know the very real good you do for those of us who might not be a patreon level fan, but in heart are no less up-lifted by your work. Many Thanks. Sam Hatman, soon to be UA-camr!
In 1989 the laser show had everything from B52s' "Love Shack" with cartoon animation to the Beverly Hills Cop theme with spyrograpgh stuff and "Proud to be an American" with eagles and flags and all that. It was a lot more than an Elvis rendition of Dixie. Other than a giant animation of the Confederates lining up with their respective carvings right before the fireworks you could totally forget it had anything to do with them or the Civil War.
I drove through Louisiana once and I remember that sound. I decided to stop and get some real Louisiana food. It was one of the nastiest restaurants I’ve ever seen and all the people looked like ex convict axe murderers. I sure they were lovely people, but I decided to drive to another state to eat my next meal. Not a good first impression.
Driving thru way northern Minnesota in the summer you'll hear the same sound but far louder: the bugs are mating dragonflies. The gas stations have garden hoses to backspray radiators so your vehicle won't overheat. BTW MN's state bird is the mosquito (15,000 lakes not 10,000).
Very true. But Dachau isn't a fun park where people go to have picnics atop the structures. Nor a glorifying statue in the middle of an intersection. Lots of intersections. So, I think that the question is more mixed. Moving some statues from the middle of prominent intersections to a museum or historical park, and replacing them with statues of famous local tennis players, say, might keep the memories but glorify different things.
More kinda depressing facts about Stone Mountain: 1. The park was officially opened on April 14, 1965, 100 years to the day after Abraham Lincoln's assassination. 2. In 1970, Vice President Spiro Agnew spoke at a dedication of the memorial carving. 3. Granite quarried from the backside of the mountain was used as the foundation of the Lincoln memorial.
As a Brit, I feel you. My grandfather was proud of the Empire and felt that being British made you exceptional. For a long time I myself thought that our best times were during the Imperial century, between about 1810 and 1910, when we ruled much of the world and the sun never set on us, when you could be and were expected to be proud of being British. I still don't buy into a lot of the narrative of post-Imperial/slavery guilt that we are often fed, because a lot of it is blatantly being done to shame us into accepting changes that really aren't in our interest over things that happened long before I was born. For all of that, though, as I've learned more I've had to accept that when we had the Empire we were often ruthless and sometimes outright evil in our conduct - the triangle trade, the opium wars, the Amritsar massacre and several famines all testify to that - and I've had to accept that our history is at best complex, and sometimes very dark indeed. So I do know where you're coming from.
How is giving equality and inclusion to everyone regardless of race, gender and religion bad for you? Everyone is safer when everyone is safe! What utter nonsense.
That a boy Joe..... 👍...... I learned a lot today watching you.... I always get the impression that you are the real deal and finding justice and truth is your primer motivation... Good deal 🤝
I've lived in the shadow of Stone Mountain all my life, I sometimes forget how unique of a place it is because I see it every day. This topic is so complex, yet so simple. If the monument simply stood as it is, as a "remembrance", I don't think that there would be nearly as many problems with it. It is the "hidden meaning (maybe not-so-hidden)" behind it that is the problem. I have been trying to think back through history to other "bad causes" that produced leaders that history respects, and how they were portrayed in history, and what makes the Confederacy and how we remember it differently. Erwin Rommel, Tadamichi Kuribayashi, Gengas Khan, and countless others. There are memorials to Japanese troops on islands in the Pacific, though the empire did horrible things. It begs the question, should we remove memorials such as these, or take them and re-christen them to a more true version of history?
When I was a kid my mom had us picking raspberries for hours each day one summer from our raspberry patch, and there was always raspberry jam cooking in the kitchen. I loved raspberries and raspberry jam, but after that summer I couldn't eat it for more than 10 years. I feel your BBQ Sauce pain. :-). I recovered though, thank goodness.
i feel you too. on one of my birthdays i ate a nice rosted liver (mabey sounds weird, i'm from Germany ;) its a nice meal like roast beef) and since then i never came close to eat this food again. Do you eat roasted liver in the U.S.?
@@carlb837 Fried or roasted liver used to be common here in England when I was growing up. A lot of my family still eat it. Liver, bacon, gravy, mushrooms and mashed potatoes with some type of veg. Can't stand the stuff myself though!
Joe, you should be proud. Proud that you are thinking about the current issues and the basis of the current belief systems. I’m a bit older than you, grew up in COLORADO and know the processing your doing well. You are a well educated person, being reasonable in seeing both sides of a coin, and I want to thank you for putting this searching process you’re doing out there for others to witness. I like your style and humor in how you present things. Don’t worry about pissing a few people off, they’ll get over it. Also, Must add, that I’m glad your background music is not playing in this presentation, it is nerving to hear the same in your main channel work as it is so lacking in the same dimensionality as your personality...in other words inane. Anyway, I like your style, and honesty, keep informing us so good on all that you learn.
lmao like 10 years ago in the netherlands we used to go to this camping, last 30 min of the road was like driving through lousiana haha brings back some memories
You have a way with words. I wish every one in the south HAD to watch this. Their attachment and obsession with these monuments is disturbing. Sure, before the internet it was possible to be ignorant about the truth and just think the monuments were about southern pride, the confederate flag too. I fell into thinking it was a harmless gag to use the confederate flag in satirical ways (when I visited Nashville in 2000 the gift stores had silly shirts and memorabilia that satirized southern-ness while using the flag). More recently I learned the true history and purpose of erecting the confederate monuments mainly because it’s not hard to learn... THE INTERNET! People need to quit being in denial, accept the real reason these monuments exist, and remove any item that serves to *honor* these ideals. It’s not removing history to tear down these monuments. Rewriting history is what the KKK and others in the south tried to do in response to reconstruction around the turn of the century. Rant over.
Teachers can travel at many more times than average. During the school year they have breaks for thanksgiving, christmas, new years, and spring break. During the 3 months of the summer, they can vacation any time 0:25
A decently balanced and thoughtful presentation. Being from the north, I was also impressed with Confederate monuments in the south, especially Stone Mountain, and had to think through the issues surrounding attachments to "the lost cause" and lionizing enemy combatants with monuments and other accolades and tributes.
I live in the ATL - my first visit to Stone Mountain and the 'laser light show' in 97 when I moved here for a job was an eye opener to the true nature of humanity, and just how far some will go to hurt and intimidate others - or just plain play ignorant and lacking of empathy to really care for others. Oh, plenty of people will support it and that's not ok but they still will - lets just remember who is carved on it, what they represented, and what was birthed in it's shadow and who paid for it. All of you who swear you're just paying tribute to your family that lived and fought in the war for the South - get the fuck over it, you don't have to feel bad about it, but hanging on to a shitty personal history and rubbing people's faces in it, is coming full circle now.. All that money spent to rewrite history and place all those monuments - a delaying factor to true justice.
I was more scared at Stone Mountain than any place in my life. I was raised in PA, and was stationed in Georgia while in the military. A girlfriend invited me to take her to Stone Mountain to see the laser show on the 4th of July. Being a Yankee at Stone Mountain is not at all dissimilar to being a black person at a KKK rally. There were two thoughts that crossed my mind. 1. I never spoke, I never said a word to her because I didn't want anyone to hear my accent. 2. For most of the night, I thought she had tricked me and at some point she was going to turn and just point at me(ala Donald Sutherland) and scream ' He is a Yankee' and I would be ritually sacrificed. Being from the north, I never realized until that night, how much hatred the south had for us and how angry they still were about the civil war. It literally was like a pep rally for Civil War pt2.
Ummm. No. I grew up in Atlanta, have been to Stone Mountain dozens of times. You clearly have an issue with southerners based on some type of stereotyping you’ve bought into. We have tons of people from all over the country/world come to Atlanta (it’s even got an international airport!! 😱) and lots and lots of tourists at Stone Mountain. To relate being a yankee at Stone Mountain to being a black persons at a KKK rally, is not only offensive, it’s stupid beyond belief.
@@aimeedouglas1584 HE WAS THERE, who are you to tell him that what he felt is WRONG? Get over yourself, you are not the arbiter of everyone else's feelings! Plus, I've heard MANY OTHER PEOPLE describe this creepy place in exactly the same way. And he DIDN'T say that he was talking about all of Atlanta. You're clearly a troll just looking to start a fight.
Jeff White I’m not a troll simply because my experience differs from your imaginary narrative. I LIVE in Atlanta and I also don’t believe a word of what he described. If he posts on a public forum, I am entitled to comment on his post. Why don’t you get over yourself?
Something to add about "Texas Pride" regarding the confederacy - I had friends at Southwest High School when the "Rebels" argument started in the 90s. That's the first memory I have of white people calling for the removal of a confederate flag. Texas has its problems, but I gotta admit the "Texans first" mindset has made it a surprisingly progressive state in some ways. Disclaimer: Also a Texas native, from the same area, IIRC. Also, your channel is a few months shy of being around as long as the Confederacy did. My point with that: the traitors lost. Yeah, I'm saying this to trigger the confederacy-lovers in the South that seem to have forgotten they're backing the loser traitors.
Imagine taking pride that your ancestors rose up against your nation that you claim to be patriotic about, all to protect their financial interests built on racism and slavery. Who were traitors.
@@dshoooda8788 All the Democrats in the South who supported segregation felt betrayed when LBJ pushed through the Civil Rights Act. Today those same racists and their descendants vote solidly Republican.
I love reading the comments of the people who are charmed by your take on things in general. You are reasonable and rational and, surprise, so are they! While it is the right thing to do. . .to examine ourselves and evaluate our roots, even to recriminate ourselves for what our ancestors did, we need to widen our scope to include all of human history. If we were able to feel all the pain felt by all humans who have ever lived, we would "burn out" in a fraction of a second. There are some amazing books out that explore an interesting truth about humans. . .Man has grown tired of the suffering and killing!!!! The first step toward a better place. . . .
Living in San Antonio as a transplanted Californian (at an early age, we got here when I was in 7th grade), I know EXACTLY this weird thing with the Alamo. It was something I’d learned about when I was younger, and when I finally saw it: 1)It’s smaller than you think, and how you get there and the roadways are, you sort of turn a corner and Bam! There it is. 2)It was very surreal to reach out and touch something that had that much history attached to it. It’s very eerie if you’ve never experienced something like that, and if you’re young and impressionable, and probably white, you connect things in weird ways, and it can be awe inspiring and create hero worship for those involved. Anyhowww- taking people and revealing the Alamo to them has always been a thing for people visiting SA, as well as proving there is in fact no basement. (Please get that reference!)
I worked there for 3 years back in the mid-90's, and live only a mile or two from the plant now. I still smell the BBQ sauce when I drive by or the wind is blowing toward my house.
The fact that you had to clarify Coca Cola and not cocaine is a true sign that you truly know your audience.
Yup, Coke and Cheese. :)
I was gonna say the same thing...lol
Funny story, my freshman history teacher was talking about Coca Cola and called it Coke, one of the students literally though he was talking about cocaine and told his parents about it.
I was so disappointed.
*sniffs deeply* Wait, what?
I'm German, and when I was 6 yrs. old, my grandfather told me stories about his glorious carreer during WWII. He also showed me pictures of him posing in his uniform with collar patches and medals and all that stuff. He was a really loving and kind grandfather, I admired him and forgot about the stories he told me until he he died. We cleared out his stuff, found the photos again, and I recognized that he was wearing the uniform of an SS officer on these pictures. My father was not surprised at all and told me, that my grandfather was stationed in the Netherlands during the war. We never talked about that before, and we never did again since then. It was more or less considered normal in my family, because "he was a child of his time" ... the Nazis killed more than 100.000 people in the Netherlands alone, just for being Jewish. I can definitely feel your Stone Mountain vibes!
That's some heavy sh*t.
That's real heavy.
But on that note, don't you think that we in Germany have found a way to deal with this time trough extensive teaching etc. Of course there are still people who think it wasn't bad at all but overall I think the understanding of what happened is much greater than what Americans have about their history especially the parts they maybe would like to just forget.
Patrick Steiner
I think I heard from somewhere else that Germans are taught NOT feel pride or patriotism towards their country.
@@MrOlstlp Yes we do. But it makes a huge difference to learn about history in school, and to see and feel what impact history had on the own family. While the majority accepts the historic facts in Germany, many families deny their involvement in it. That is maybe somewhat comparable to the situation in the southern states of the US.
@@stephanlange9157 Yeah sure I think that's very true. The personal connection to history is not really talked about
Your impression of Louisiana had me cracking up. I’ve never heard anything more truthful! Lol
I’ve been on that same road.
@Mr. & Mrs Smith This message brought to you by the Louisiana Department of Transportation & Development, "Filling our pockets with your Federal Highway tax dollars"!
In New Orleans I hit a pothole so deep it turned on my high beams!
Bumpy road take me home🎻🎻🎻🎶🎶🎶
I 2nd that. I live in la its not just i 20 its 80% of tha roads
I've always appreciated your honesty in these reflections that you share with us
I have seen the cold shoulder of inhumanity ....................... and sometimes it was mine.
I hope someday to be the man my dog thinks i am.
That is very insightful and tragic at the same time. Identifying the problem is half the solution. Now you have a direction.
I grew up 5 minutes from Stone Mountain. I've been to the park and watch the Laser Show dozens of times. I've taken my own son, who is 18 now, and we always loved it and had a great time. But I never knew the true history of why they made the monument or put the carving on the mountain. That does disturb me. I never thought of it as a negative place. Yes it was about the history of war, but to me it never seemed like a "racist" monument. But knowing the truth now makes me think differently. Thank you, Joe, for this video. I learned something today.
I've lived in Atlanta. I NEVER once saw the Confederate Memorial on Stone Mountain as anything other than a great piece of art.
It's a damn shame that so many memorials are being destroyed. People are already calling for the destruction of Mount Rushmore. What's next? Tear down the Washington Monument or level the Thomas Jefferson Memorial?
This purge of history is WRONG.
@@mst163110 While I'd agree that this can go too far, the destruction of Confederate monuments IS NOT THE PURGE OF HISTORY, you're simply being hyperbolic and twisting the underlying motivation, which is a REFUSAL TO HONOR those who committed treason and fought to maintain the HORRIFIC INHUMANITY OF SLAVERY!!!
Just as in Germany, you won't find any public statues honoring Hitler or the Third Reich, but you can learn about that period in any number of museums and libraries, and so it should be here. There is NO JUSTIFICATION WHATSOEVER to allow the existence of monuments THAT HONOR the Confederacy, they were traitors who, if they'd won, would have seen our nation cleaved into two separate countries, something that would have changed all history since, because only a united America had the strength and resources to save the world from the Nazi's in WWII and the Cold War against the USSR.
It's ok to take your kids to it if it's a teaching lesson, you know?
@@mst163110 What are they going to do next? Prevent people with certain names from entering public areas? It's going to be segregation all over again I worry.
@@russell2449 If it wasn't, then why are all statues being removed?
In Norway we have a expression; Helt Texas ('completely Texas') we use about a situation that is disorganized, bewildering and chaotic. To put it bluntly, Texas means 'crazy' in Norwegian.
Should probably be Florida, though lol
In Texas they have a saying "Norway". It means, " Let's help Nazis, we like Nazis to run our country". It's a put down, often directed at tourists from Norway, who seem arrogant and don't tip the waitress or pizza delivery guy- because when in Rome act snotty and superior.
In America we say, Helt Florida.
ronn mattson in KC we have a phrase, “Ron mattson”, which means to be a triggered fragile snowflake
Sounds like all they knew about Texas was our state legislature. That does fit the totally disorganized, bewildering and chaotic description. No man's wealth, health, wife or life is safe so long as the Texas legislature is in session.
3:35 it's a pluton, a magma upthrust that never reached the surface, the the surrounding ground eroded away from it.
-dude who used to climb it weekly.
Good, I was scrolling down for a geological explanation. Figured it was too big and too far south to have been carried by the glaciers during the ice age.
Thank you for the information.
HaHa! You are spot on about driving through Louisiana!
I live in Atlanta now, and I have lived here off and on, since 1980 when my dad retired from the Army and we moved here. Imagine being a black teen of 12, living in Atlanta and going to Stone Mountain about once a month to see the laser show, or climb to climb the mountain, or to fish on the lake, etc.
Fun fact 1: I went to SouthWest Dekalb High School from 1983-1986. "White Flight" happened during that period where at the beginning of High School, our school was 99% White, but by the time I graduated, it was 99% Black.
Fun Fact 2: There is a city called Stone Mountain not far from the mountain. Every time we would play their High School in Football (Stone Mountain High), someone from their team would call someone on our team the N~~ Word and all heck would break loose. We (the SWD band) would have to run to load all of our gear onto the band buses and the drivers would speed off while the Stone Mountain fans would throw rocks at our buses and on occasion, someone would take a pot shot at the bus and we'd hear it ping off the bus.
Fun Fact 3: At the time, there were Klans Men on the corners of the streets of Stone Mountain and in Jonesboro and in a few other places (Forsyth county is another) that would be handing out flyers for Klan rallies. My friends and I me Black, another Irish from NYC, another Cherokee Indian, would drive around looking for these people and try to get them to give us their flyers (all of the flyers).
Fun Fact 4: When I joined the Marines, and was stationed out in California, It was a tradition to hang your state flag on the wall of the room of your barracks. At the time, Georgia had the Confederate flag incorporated into the state flag. I broke that tradition.
Fun Fact 5: There have been plans floating around for decades to remove the Confederate Monument from Stone Mountain.
Thanks for another thought provoking video Joe!
I was gonna say the same. Driven from Dallas to Florida a few times in my life myself... Louisiana roads are annoying as heck, it's like a roller-coaster ride at some points giving your car's shocks a workout with the drone of thuds as your tires cross over from one section of road to the next. The long bridges over bayous are the worst.
Most of the population of the town of Stone Mountain is black, so your story doesn't make sense.
@@Gopherll Well, apparently you can't read because I made it clear that I was talking about Stone mountain in the 1980's, not right now.
@@BoDiddly the 1980 census says it was a majority black area then too
@@Gopherll No it doesn't. I don't know where you got your information from because I can't find that anywhere in the 1980 Census. What I did find was that in a 2005 Atlanta Regional Commission report, the population was 84% white in 1980 and 77% white in 1985. documents.atlantaregional.com/Land%20Use/Reviews/ID494/Community%20Assessment.PDF
We should make these videos a drinking game. Every time he says Texas, we take a shot. : D
😊👍 Texan myself. 🤔
Texas! Texas! Texas! Texas!. 😉😆
Yee yee
That's not a game, that's suicide
1 minute in.... pass out drunk... he said Texas 36 times
In the early 1980s in college, we played Bob Newhart drinking game. If they said “Bob” you took a sip. If they said “Hi Bob” you had to chug your beer. A half hour tv show and you’d drink about 10 beers. Ok shows over, time to go to class.
Anybody else think Joe needs a guitar channel? Like a "Joe attempts to learn" series. I'd sub to that so fast, my fingers would snap.
Hey I have a beachfront house in Cabo I'd like to sell you!
That would be nice!
As a guitarist myself I would love it if Joe done a video of him noodling or playing anything !! Wouls make a nice distraction from the worlds blah blah blah !
I wish he had a foot pirn channel
Jesus, just let the man have one thing in his life he can enjoy without the pressure of making it into a series of edited videos he has to share with the entire world!
As a Southerner, I have wrestled with the same things you have. Price of place, history, etc. At 70 years old, only three years ago, I came to the opinion you shared. I asked myself what was I proud of as I saw that tat very history was so painful for others. I realized I needed to adjust my thinking and I came to see that I was proud of the wrong things. I wanted instead to be proud of inclusion, proud of making everyone around me feel safe and like they belong to a country. I realized it was time we healed this country and its people.
Better late than never, as they say. At least you evolved. Sadly, many of your neighbors refuse to and it appears as though they never will.
@@Salsuero god how patronizing can you be 🙄
@@Salsuero I agree. In South Africa we used to think racism will die with the old generation, but I see some of my old friends and family teach their children to be racist. Today I am not racist, but I fear many white and black South Africans will remain racist. I imagine it would be the same in the south of the USA.
@@ArleynH Only if you have fragile ego and refuse to take a compliment for what it is, while recognizing that there are many who will never achieve that which you have... sure, I guess that's how you could see me. 🙄
@@marinusvz It really is. It's systemic. It's not just parents teaching children, but it's also heavily built into our culture in ways people can't or refuse to see. We need a lot of work.
I'm a trucker and I deliver to Dallas all the time and I can confirm his impression of Louisiana is correct.
I've driven from Houston across Louisiana and it's absolutely accurate
I don’t understand this, are the roads just bumpy?
@@Nik.No.K Expansion cracks in the road. I drove through in a old RV and didn’t think I’d make it to Texas without shaking apart.
@@Nik.No.K Louisiana is one of the most resource and transit-rich states in America. Yet they lack in public services in every way. Bad roads are the face of a failed corporate model of governance. Even though Cuba & Venezuela are sanctioned by the USA and cut off from trade - they still manage to produce doctors and housing for the poor. America has mansions & penthouses; our Secretary of Education has 3 superyachts. Yet average folks can work 50 hours and still be broke!
Louisiana roads are built on top of swamp and marsh....
I want to thank you for talking about this subject. I'm a southerner, a Texan, and a black man. I have a white, confederate soldier ancestor. He came back to Texas after the war and married a slave he used to oversee on a plantation and he renounced the institution of slavery, racism, and anti-miscegenation laws. We have this heritage AND it should not be celebrated. We should acknowledge it and teach it, but not celebrate or venerate it. You're right that all of these acts like changing the name of the master bedroom in a house are pointless and counter productive. We need to address the real problems that we face today in 2020. Thank you for speaking on this.
I'm a Black woman, and I've been to Stone Mountain years ago. I was impressed with the sculpture and the logistics behind pulling it off. I will say I am NOT in favor of any kind of removal of confederate statues or any changes to Stone Mountain, if any are proposed. It may not be a period our country is proud of, but it is a huge part of our history, and I think it needs to be maintained, not destroyed.
Slavery has existed for thousands of years, and still exists today in other parts of the world. There is one thing our country should be proud of. We are the only country in the world to fight a war to eliminate slavery.
So why celebrate and honor the men responsible for killing 618,222 soldiers and 50,000 civilians that died in the Civil War and gave their all to keep slavery alive, with statues that tell nothing about what really happened. We have the battlefields, the books, the photographs, the stories, and museums to tell the horrors of Slavery and about the people who gave their lives to help end it.
Thank you Karen. It is good to hear a black woman express this opinion as I was afraid I was ignoring people's feelings when I say please keep the majesty of the mountains. I am reminded about when the Taliban took over in Afganistan and destroyed hundreds of Buddhist statues that were so very old and so very very big. My heart bled as each came down. I am not Buddhist but I rever history and effort.
@@stevyd A lot of the people who fought didn't fight for slavery. I know this is a surprise to everyone but my family was very poor and didn't even own slaves or approve of owning slaves, however, the changes the Republicans proposed would have devastated the south and I was told my ancestors fought for the right to leave the union. They didn't want the "damned Yankees" telling them how to lead their lives. It's a war we still fight today in some parts of the country where the laws passed aren't favorable to the area.
Uh... the US going to war over slavery isn't a good thing... Everywhere else it was a largely peaceful affair...
Man, I'd like to have some beer with you. Sometimes it looks like you are the person who speaks the most sense out of all my subscriptions.
When I was a kid growing up in Austin, TX I had a confederate flag and my dad tried to point out to me that others saw that as racist thing(this is 1983). I thought he was nuts. For me back then it was being a rebel against society as a whole. Now you wouldn’t catch me with one for an reason. If something like that is so hurtful to others why would I want to promote it in any way. I am sure I can find some way to show how rebellious I can be without causing a whole section of society feel put down and hated. I had many black friends back then and not a one of them said a word about it.
You couldn't be blamed. CBS was running The Dukes of Hazzard through 1985, normalizing the Stars and Bars, and the whole Lost Cause aesthetic simply because "the yokels respond to it. They tune in."
Yeah, I feel you, my brother always had one on his wall growing up, dukes of hazard and what not, just thought of it as a rebellious thing. I also would not be caught dead with one now.
@@rollomaughfling380 yeah exactly, many people around my age first introduction to that flag was The Dukes of Hazard, I played with hot wheels with that flag and had no idea what it represented. The really funny thing is it's not even the real Confederate flag.
@ BRETT...Are You aware that the "so called Confederate flag" that everybody is talking about (now) was a late addition to the war between the states? I think that it was "SUPPOSED" to have been used by the tropps under the command of Robert E. Lee ??? Just sayin'... There is only one flag for which I will stand and salute. It's called the STAR SPANGLED BANNER ( I was born & raised in the South)
@@jtc1947 it was actually never used in battle, first it was a circle of stars and 3 stripes (hence why it was called the stars and bars) but that looked too similar on the battlefield to the union flag, so they changed it to the cross pattern (we're familiar with) in the corner on a flag of all white, but that was confused with the traditional white surrender flag, so they added a red stripe at the end. The only time the flag we think of as the Confederate flag was used was as the naval jack and it's color scheme was different, so the flag people can't let go of was never used by the confederates. They call it the "stars and bars" even though it's a cross, lol. The OG flag is the stars and bars.
It wasn't that long ago, indeed. The Stone Mountain sculpture was finished in 1972.
in my fucking lifetime. i think we are in hell.
Wow
@@mercurywoodrose mine too 💔
I LOVED your “driving through Louisiana” impression.. laughed out loud!
Went to Stone Mountain about 25 years ago, as an adult, and my reaction was mostly, "Huh. Look at that." Of course I didn't know the history of the Klan involvement. However, my strongest reaction and memory is from touring the "Antebellum Plantation and Farmyard". We have looked into a number of the small huts that housed the slaves, and I began to notice something strange. The word "slave" was never used. I began checking every descriptive sign carefully; they were all "workers'" quarters or the "workers' kitchen", etc. Wikipedia calls it an "open-air museum"; more of an open-air rewrite.
Yup! People want to white wash it so they don't have to feel bad
I was born and raised in Chicago. Most of my adult life has been in the south. I enjoy letting people know that one of the things they cherish represents getting second place in a two-man fight. I don’t care if they get upset, because the ideals that were in the confederacy were crap.
Only one addendum to this video I’d make. The police is one manifestation of the problem. The problem is the desperate clinging onto white supremacy.
Wouldn't take much pride in that Chicago thing. Not to cherry of a history there. Except if pride can be taken in criminal history.
boochrisboo oooh cheap shot
@@happyundertaker6255 he's just butthurt his 'Guy' came second.
A lot of these monuments went up during the 1910s-1930s, with more put up in the 60s (I think). Its original intention was not for some neutral sense of history. It was put up to send a message.
Look. Just put all of these things in a museum. Let's focus on building a new future together.
And let’s not forget they were put up there by Democrats. Oh, the irony!
@@cryptocrush-823 are we really going to go there? Really?
@@cryptocrush-823 And let's remember that those Dems are now Republicans. Oh the embarrassment!
Not sure Stone Mountain would fit.
@@LucasDimoveo its true
Joe reminds me a lot of my buddies dad. Full of words of wisdom and just seems like a really cool guy to be buddies with.
Thank you for being a voice of nuance and understanding. Love your videos more and more with every one I watch!
Comming from a person born in NY and lived more than just half my life in Georgia. I say this is a great video.
👍👍👍
How do you know somebody is from Texas?...Wait 30 seconds they will tell you.
same with California
It is true.
My favorite put down was working with a guy from Alaska and we were on a job in New Mexico. Lots of guys from Texas on the job. They stopped bragging about their state when he pointed out how "dinky" Texas was. He'd then say that he only knew about Texas because of the pipeline welders who came to his state from Oklahoma. Damn he was funny. They'd talk about hunting feral hogs. And he'd talk about hunting Kodiak bears. They'd mention HUGE bass. He'd talk about 75 pound salmon. They'd talk about shrimping on the coast. He'd mention Bering Sea king crabs.
They stopped bragging in the lunch shack when he was in there. Good times.
Vegans!!!!
and those from Yorkshire ...
In many parts of the South, being involved with a person of another race is no big deal. Being involved with a Yankee however...
I'm from the south and my dad is a yankee. We get along okay.😄
@inyrui You'd be surprised how open minded people over 30 are. In fact the 1960's and 70's were far more free and open minded than now in many ways. Sadly, I find a large percentage of so-called "liberals" these days are not liberal at all but intolerant of anything that conflicts with their idea of the way things should be. Being liberal 40 years ago meant being against big government, being self sufficient, being tolerant and respectful of others and so on. Now it's the opposite. Big government, socialism, call out culture, extreme intolerance of opposing views, even organized mob violence... these seems to define liberalism today. Sad. Truly sad.
@@frontiermetals1218 That definitely would be very sad, if it were true. Honestly, everyone is intolerant of something. Liberals are intolerant of racism and discrimination, but is that BAD?
I've run in liberal circles my whole life, and liberals really aren't what you seem to think. Of course you'll read this and declare you know more about it than me. But I, like many liberals, always have an internal struggle about whether being a liberal is still the right thing to be, and we have to prove that to ourselves again and again. But I don't see that happening on the other side. They seem to be like if they're on that side, that's where they're staying no matter what, even if their president shows himself to be shockingly ignorant and boastful about it, taking a lot of time to simply insult people he doesn't like, and declare anyone who disagrees as "fake" or "hateful".
Anyway, I just don't think that anyone should be so locked into their ideology that they never question any part of it.
Most, even all, of the liberals I know are very concerned about what's happening to others, while the other side is worried about what's being taken away from THEM.
I think it's better to worry about everybody. For example, conservatives seem to be happy about anonymous "cops" spring up in Portland and just grabbing people and throwing them into the back of an unmarked van, because they think it's happening to liberals. Liberals are up in arms about this, but critically, they still would be even if it were CONSERVATIVES that were being abused. Liberals will fight against the abused of ANYBODY. Conservatives seem happy to just protect their own. That's a shame.
Just saying.
It’s true tho lol
Stone mountain is the largest single rock in the world. Like an iceberg it goes deep underground. It is remnants of a giant volcano.
That’s so weird to think about
Thank you for your honesty. This is positive and shows growth, maturity and good will toward people.
The area around Hopkinsville Ky is fairly flat. Some hills but nothing really over about 200 ft of elevation. However just west of town about 6 miles out is Big Rock. It is a giant granite rock that is about 200 ft in diameter. It must have been pushed there by a glacier. You can see a small valley that is obviously the trail the rock was pushed along that goes for many miles.
I remembered going to Stone Mountain as a kid recently as well. I remembered going there for a laser show and enjoying it and then watching the last song being super sentimental about the confederate leaders and being confused. I was thinking, "Wait... didn't we beat the confederacy? Wasn't this a good thing? Why are we being all sentimental about these idiots?"
That was me on July 4th...Every. Single. Year.
Loved the fireworks but that laser show was so odd with the animation of the relief and the way it seemed to romanticize the Confederate cause.
Apparently it was a draw.
The last song is Lee Greewood's "God Bless the USA". The next to the is Elvis' "American Trilogy"
Obviously you’re looking for attention, because that’s a lie. I live in ATL, and have been to the park often. They do not play music glorifying the Confederacy. You’re sad virtue signaling is sad.
@@RowdyGrunt
I haven't been in several years but the finale song was always Elvis' An American Trilogy... Which starts off with Dixie FFS. Evidently it's now the Lee Greenwood song, but for 15+ years it was Elvis
I'm Dutch, and though I do have some form of pride-of-place for all the contributions we made to modern society throughout history (and, yes, I know there's plenty of bad stuff there as well), I don't really understand pride-of-place as it refers to current society. Definitely not like, for example, pride-of-place still plays a major role in Latvia, where major events are organised with set intervals to show pride for the nation (which makes sense, in a way, seeing as how recent their independence has been obtained and how long they were suppressed). What I want to say with this is that I might not truly understand pride-of-place as others do. However, to me, no matter for who it has been done, carving a sculpture into the side of a mountain just seems arrogant, a defacement of natural beauty. Then again, this is probably what it's meant to do in the first place: no more powerful symbol than to claim an entire mountain your own...
Hope nobody takes offence, as none is intended. It's just my opinion on the matter.
You're right tho. Whats more arogant then have the nation carve your own face in a mountain?
The kinda-sorta singular sense of the UD as it is today is a relatively new thing. For most of the history of the continent those of non-Native background tended to identify with their state rather than the country as a whole, much closer to what you might experience in the EU today rather than in the present US.
Some of that has carried over, especially in the South.
Thanks. Yes, I've been to Stone Mountain, too. And yes, as a white guy in the south, I wasn't told anything about its true history & meaning. I was also young. It's amazing now to realize how we could be right in the middle of things and have no clue. But that's the culture of the white south; you're indoctrinated so softly (in most cases, of course), that you don't honestly don't see the bigger picture, and how your 'innocent' actions & beliefs affect a whole lot of people. You know what I mean: buying a little confederate flag at the concession stand. Crap like that. We're taught that these things are perfectly normal; we would never guess how others might see such things. Now I'm 55, and I see & understand so much, of which I had absolutely no previous inkling. As to the idea of sticking to the issue, and not worrying so much about the name of some pancake mix & syrup; there's a common psychological phenomenon going on here. Actually, there are at least 2 of them. One is that those white people who don't want anything to really change, will offer up minor, insignificant, cosmetic changes - instead of dealing with the real issue(s) (and, of course, specifically to draw attention away from said real issue(s). The other one is that of a sort of frantic - indeed, sometimes draconian - over-correction (that often also misses the main point.) It's what you mentioned about realtors not calling the main sleeping chamber the "master bedroom." There are some other, subtler reasons for things like this, but lets keep it simple. This second thing I'm talking about has plenty of examples (which have nothing to do with racial issues.) One is the idea that once we start diagnosing a new disease or mental illness, everybody suddenly seems to have it. Like Ritalin. Or how new drugs get vastly over-prescribed for years, until the 'industry' calms down. As John Mellencamp prophetically sang, "I know there's a balance / I see it when I swing past." What we need to do here [those of us white people who acknowledge that there is, in fact, a real problem with our behavior] is stick to the main issue. That's racism, the worst of which right now is exemplified by the police straight up murdering mostly unarmed black people simply because they're black (which IS what's happening.) We must face the fact that the police as an organization, started because of white people trying to enforce slavery. And the police - all over America - are still riddled with white supremacists and white nationalists, and other various kinds of racists. It's quite clear to me that they're sending a message specifically to black people everywhere - and that message is deplorable, disgusting, sickening, bad, evil, and wrong. For more info on the history of the police in this country - as well as a perspective I think all white people should hear (even kids in school), I encourage you to watch the Last Week Tonight UA-cam episode called simply, "Police: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
". I hope it's an eye-opener for white people everywhere. But the police are just the current worst example. Racism goes on all over America - and the world - every second of every minute of every day. And in this country, it's us - the whites - who are doing it. But there are many, many manifestations of racism; some are horribly overt, and some are insidiously subtle. There's another UA-cam channel, by a man named Leon Thomas, called "Renegade Cut." In it, he talks about the politics and philosophy in different movies - some older & some newer. He goes into a lot of detail about key issues of racism, such as the institutionalized impoverishment and marginalization of blacks (by whites.) It's truly a great channel. I hope we can finally admit - as a group - that we're still doing all kinds of awful things, both gross & subtle, the reek of racism. And I hope we can finally really start fixing it. Thanks again, Joe. tavi.
Funny you should mention Renegade Cut - he just dropped another video today, it's right on-topic here and it's great (as usual) (or were you referring specifically to that and I'm just slow?)
lol cult. ever data point imagineable, bla people are more racis than whi. bla on whi crime is over TWENTY TIMES more common than the reverse. how about you adress that before writing a book about how you feel whi people are horrible. john oliver is debunked and every nonsense blatant lie bla liv matte cult has said is debunked. wake up
I love hearing your thoughts Joe, great video as always!!!
Well done so enlightening thank you. Always love learning things I didn't know. Thank you.
Hello fellow Englishman Joe :)
I hope you are not fed up of me mentioning equivalents from the UK (I think it can help to relate to other countries so we can learn from each other) but we are having lots of similar issues here, the statue of Churchill has been vandalised, boarded up to protect it and calls for it to be taken down, as you can imagine we have many more examples here, I am from just outside Liverpool where 90% of the slaves from empire era travelled through and has many many statues related it to it, we even have a slavery museum aside Pier Head and I know your feelings on the Beatles but there was calls for Penny Lane to be renamed which ended up being a misunderstanding.
Anyway I have gone on but we happily have Oliver Cromwell and William Wallace statues throughout the UK whom wanted to end it which I am more than happy about because it is our history, Churchill did many VERY bad things, in particular to India and Pakistan, the first somewhere very important to me yet I would be so upset if his statue came down. Excluding the very offensive (for example in Germany there are no swastikas or Nazi eagles) symbols, statues and in your case mega-art I think keeping them around means we still learn and talk about these issues so we can share in our disgust and grow as a people, or maybe I am just idealistic. I just find all this so exhausting, as a Brith who has travelled around India a lot I have had to make my peace with our history after seeing SOME of the horrors we have created but as many people in India told me "it's not your fault, it was politics and is history".
...just to go on a little tangent, I think the feeling I had being a British person at the massacre memorial in Amritsar, visiting the partition museum or seeing life in Kashmir is something we Brits should all experience at least once and then to see how the locals still treat you knowing all that history is something we should experience as much as we can!
The Indians are right - it's not your fault - and maybe it helped them in some ways (like improving the education system there - it likely hurt them a lot too) and you could help them more and they you. I don't think it makes sense to tear the statues down, as after they just become images, it'll be a sad day when those get erased too - and then what would anyone believe?
Also, maybe you do want to talk to more of the oppressed people, as maybe you have misconceptions that cause you to be offended by something that maybe shouldn't be - I mean, I didn't know until now that the confederate flag was just pride of the South, rather than a hate symbol. Try it!
As an Indian I really appreciate your thoughts and concur what you said. I myself don't hold any Brit responsible for the crimes of their predecessors. Not expecting any apologies from anyone nor keeping anyone tied up on crimes their forefathers did during British rule.
But in same breath, I can't stand Brits who somehow still manage to hold on to the idea that British Raj was for the benefit of the 'natives', and what all good came out of it.. pointing out to the railway network or anything.
So in short,
No apologies needed..but don't expect any Thanks as well. 😊
@@hrishijagadees1234 Lol if honest I have never heard a Brit say that (but of course I believe that you have) but surprisingly in Gujarat and West Bengal I met MANY who did indicate such things! Obviously you and I know no matter any benefits things like the railways were mainly built to support the British Empire to get the goods in and out of your country, I wouldn't go as far as say plunder (as its your country you may).
I hope you and your family are safe, my friends there have told me all kinds of horrors.
I was hoping (and have booked) to travel there in October with my dad, he has never left Europe and is a special holiday but tourism has to be a low priority there and really do hope all is OK.
I don't think that you have to worry too deeply about offending a great many people when being a truth teller. I highly doubt that your channels are magnets for the gleefully uninformed and anti-empathetic crowd whose feathers may be ruffled by such displays of understanding and self education.
What a treat, here's one out in the wild! Ah yes, team sport politics, a true beacon of maturity and intelligent thought.
"Anti-empathetic?" You mean white people. Have the guts to make your racist comments without disguising them.
The Stone Mountain carving could be re-imaged as the Three Amigos, but it wouldn't work out, because in real life nobody likes Chevy Chase
I didn't care for him but not dislike...then i saw Community and learned about him.
Underrated comment. I literally LOL'd.
I'd carve in some rioters and looters.
So you're saying Chevy Chase is in-famous?
Keep the sculpture but above it carve in 50 ft. high letters “LOSERS.”
Another excellent video.
I hope you’re well. You look tired and perhaps a little sad.
Even though it’s a (?) bittersweet memory, I’m envious. You have the memories and experiences. I was so lost in the clouds, all my life, that my past is mostly a blur lol.
This just came up in my feed and well said Joe... live the format and content on how you approached it. Completely took me by surprise and I also know more history and it's complexity.
Good to hear someone grappling with this so well. The fact that the KKK has played such as big role in the country is, as you say, very relevant.
I am very much reminded of General Grant's words:
"I felt like anything rather than rejoicing at the downfall of a foe who had fought so long and valiantly, and had suffered so much for a cause, though that cause was, I believe, one of the worst for which a people ever fought, and one for which there was the least excuse."
What I don't get is why protestors get offended over the past, when they benefit from it by having a country they live in with freedoms to protest in it?
@@extropiantranshuman My guess would be that the simple fact that they have darker skin has led to generations of physical, economical brutally. Lynching, burning crosses, being refused land ownership etc. Post civil war each freed slave was supposed to be given a parcel of land... After Lincoln was assassinated that part of the plan never happened. The Jim Crow era soon followed and this attitude has continued leading right up to George Floyd.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Louisiana roads must have been built by the same guys who built Hungary’s M7 motorway.
Nagyon igaz :)
or the polish ;) hello from Germany
Carl B In only drove along the East of Poland between via Baltica and Kassa (Slovakia, aka Kosice). There were no highways there, then everything was rebuilt. But I recall the M7 to lake Balaton. Bang-bang-bang for a very long time. With a Trabant it was even worse.
@@carlb837 When you had been to Poland? I mean we have some bad roads in or between small villages. Maybe East part of the country is worse, but main roads are just fine.
The noise is created by the gaps between the bridge slabs - as Louisiana is a swamp mostly (the Mississippi River delta) - the highway is suspended above it on pilings.
Texas declared independence from Mexico only 13 years after Mexico declared independence from Spain...for many of the same reasons although really Texans didn't like that Mexican rule prohibiting slavery...so there's that.
You’re one of my favorite people. Thank you so much for all your excellent content. 😃
Joe, I always enjoy watching your videos. I definitely lean right in my world view but the way you explain things in your videos leaves me understanding more than I did before. How often I feel we miss the mark by arguing on useless retoric, when we could just have an honest conversation and come together. As one American to another, thank you for being a voice of reason.
I read "Stoned Mountain" and clicked on this thinking I'd see Joe stoned. Disappointed but still luv you
I appreciate how genuine you are with your thoughts on difficult topics like this.
I think there's something to add to your realisation at the end: Americans* still have some growth to do regarding their ability to take a step back and question their history because their country** is still very young, in a way. As a European (a Frenchman to be precised), we are more used to question parts of our History because it has changed so much over the years (and by that I mean the balance of power has switched many times). We were Gallic, Romans, some parts of France were Spanish or German, a big part of Europe was the French Empire, at some point and, at another time, the same part of Europe was part of the Third Reich (Nazi Germany), and yet it all changed, reversed, reshaped, reset. You became independent in 1776 and drafted your constitution in 1787, around the same time (1789) we had our revolution too but, since then we drafted 5 other constitutions and once reverted to an Empire.
What I mean is, you have a tendency to see your history as linear, probably linked to your myth of the"manifest destiny" but I think we see ours as cyclical, resetting and restarted regularly. I don't think you have yet realized that, when it's bad it's better to start over. But can you still do it? Would you want to do it? The longer you wait, the hardest it's gonna get...
*I call Americans here the descendents of the non-native American people.
**Here again, when I say "Their country" I consider the possession of those I refer to as Americans (see above).
Both above mentions are made for ease of understanding but I'm aware that they are flawed and abusives.
Very well said, considering you typed this in a second language very eloquent, bravo ;-)
@@akaiwarp indeed we do! I didn't say we were the masters of introspection. I guess I was just pointing out that we don't revere our founding documents as much as they do. If we realize they are inherently flawed and create antiquated or harmful situations to the point of being irredeemable (often admittedly through crisis and not mere introspection), we are less afraid of changing them, or at least it's on the table. The quasi hollyness status of the US Constitution is a real problem, I think, in America. In France we also have free speech and the right to bear arms, for example, but we were not afraid to band hate speech or highly regulate guns. I think it's because we don't see the way our country is run (articulated/constructed) in such a sacred way, as I believe they do theirs...
Again, I conjectured it was because we had to change ours so many times throughout history, and I was implying that perhaps it is now time for Americans to change theirs in a truly profound way as well. In fact, it may be overdue.
Your informed opinion and ability to discuss it is a great thing. Even if many people disagree with it - it's your opinion and you shared it well! The really important thing that you nearly touched on is that we are not all required to have the same opinion. But it is good to respect other people's ideas. even if the conflict with your own.
Your channel is a favorite for the topics chosen, signature format, and manor of illucidation. Nice storytelling; sure there is no Irish blood? Spent many years between Houston, Galveston,Nacadochazez and Austin. Your perspective is profound. Thanks for sharing.
Just for education's sake: "Bah" relief. It's a French term meaning "low", because the figures are not fully 3 dimensional.
The city of Lyons, Michigan is pronounced "lions" if that gives you any indication of what Americans think about French pronunciation. I am torn between wanting to sound educated and worrying about sounding elitist. The USA truly is a country that revels in being unmoored from European traditions, while at the same time, revering a false whitewashed European "western civilization" trope.
@@Nphen What you are describing is very much that same as when Americans took over parts of PA from the French (Pittsburgh). They trolled hard on the French by mispronouncing all the names in the region. Duquesne PA is pronounced by the locals (for a couple hundred years) as Du-caine. I'mmmm pretty sure that's not how the French would pronounce it. Even then they were pissy about their language.
But if you need a solid reason to use the French pronunciation of Bas, just consider that it is, literally, a technical term. It is part of the language artists use to describe technical processes, methods, styles, etc.
Giff or Jiff aside, we can all pretty much agree that when speaking about technical information, it is better, and in some instances safer, to use correct pronunciation of terminology.
Ah, yeah. "bas relief". But then it's not "relief" for English pronounciation - "bah reuh lee ayf" or something, haha.
EDIT: For my own education, do you also use the term "relief" (as in "I'm relieved") for the texture/bumpiness of a thing? That's the only use of "relief" in French, FWIW.
@@KareSeriouslyKaren In French, Duquesne is more like Du-Ken. Du-caine is actually a fairly accurate representation allowing for a non-French accent.
@@pppaybackkk also Char-tears Crick (Chartier's Creek) and North Ver-sales. (Versailles)
Texans revere the Alamo which was a loss and Oklahomans revere the 'Sooners' which were Land Run cheaters. What a proud history our two home states share. lol
Everything in US history happened basically yesterday in terms of basically any other place's history. Heck, I daily drive by a building that is 3 times as old as the knowledge of the existence of America
@ anankin? MY CONFUSE? Pls esplain????
join the conversation He’s basically saying the US is so young, that by example , in his country he drives past a building that is 3x as old as the founding of it. In short his point is the United States history is really small.
@@oxyrisin Yep, but I was talking about the discovery of the American continent, not the foundation of the US.
Anankin12 Oh ok 👌. Well I was pretty close 😂.
Well, there’s evidence of civilization throughout the americas dating back 14,000 years, even longer if you watch certain UA-cam channels, won’t name names, it’s just not as well understood because they were largely wiped out, and much of their history and culture was destroyed.
Omg joe I love you so much, I’m from dallas too! Grew up there but live now in Seattle. Still have that Texas hyper pride though!
“But we won our war 😎” haha. Great video like always.
HOW DID I ONLY DISCOVER THIS CHANNEL TODAY FOR THE FIRST TIME?! been watching joe for months now and only found it now. I’m so happy so many videos to watch!!
I assume many people in the south associate the confederate flag with general rebellion and not specifically what the rebellion at the time was rebelling against. Does that make sense?
That's the impression they're trying to give off, but it's just a lie to hide their racism unfortunately
the reason they aren’t anarchists is because slavery is a violently coercive institution, and anarchism is based on consent
Of course the preceding generation nurtured the lie that slaves where treated well and that they loved their masters. Bull shit. It’s the only way they could look at themselves in the mirror.
What evidence do you base that on? Or is that just the assumption that makes you feel the least uncomfortable?
I was in the group of people who were calling BS on all of the outrage over statues and the confederate flag. But the more I have learned over the past few years, the more I'm horrified that those monuments and statues were created in the first place, and how anyone could accept monuments to the losing force of a war. People who were treasonous. Sure, they were morally right in their own mind, and true to their cause. If only their cause wasn't, arguably, second only to genocide in it's horror.
"second only to genocide in it's horror" is a ludicrous statement. Do you really think that slavery (which I assume you're referring to rather than the more general cause of the Confederacy itself) was worse than the horrors of WW2, or the slaughters of the Civil War itself? I have to suspect that what you've "learned" has largely consisted of leftist propaganda; particularly abolitionist depictions of slavery. Slavery was a historically normative institution found in every single human civilization at one point in time. Race based slavery in America lasted for about 200 years, and was only ended via external intervention rather than collapsing on it's own. Social systems can't last that long by being pure horror shows. They have to be tolerable to those at the bottom of the hierarchy to be stable.
Why were these statues created, do you honestly know? Or are you just repeating the lies academia has instilled within you
Oh wait I see you somehow believe they were traitors? Sorry to burst your bubble however it was the union that betrayed the people and it was the union that invaded the confederacy. You and your ilk have been lied to and fooled, the civil war was fought over money period, not slaves, not the emancipation, pure human greed. At the time the south had all of the textiles and most of the cash crops. And when they legally removed themselves from said union the northern states got pissed because the south took all of that wealth with them. That is true history and that is truly what the war was fought over, perhaps pick up a history book printed before the millennium and you'll see just how much you've been fooled.
You could look at it as monuments to stupidity. Who cares the intent of the people who put them up. What do you take from it.
@Z3R0 CHANC3 Pay no mind to the (wilfully or otherwise) ignorant. Obviously not worth your time.
Hey Joe. Fellow Texan here. We won "our war" for independence in order to maintain slavery in Texas. Just pointing out the grim irony of that whoop. We need people like you to keep doing the work, and to lose the illusions that Stone Mountain and the Alamo perpetuate. Thank you for being honest about your journey.
huh that's funny i'm from Pennsylvania and was always taught that the Texas war of independence was because of there being so many white men in the area because the mexicans invited them as immigrants but then they never integrated and the Mexicans started passing harsher laws until Texas felt the need to rebel. if you have any good sources for your claim i'd love to read them
@@jessdriscoll1056 Here you go! It's right in the introduction. Slavery had been outlawed in Mexico, but was re-instituted after Texas won independence. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_slavery_in_Texas
There is only one truth when you are honest with yourself. An excellent video. It took me a few days to watch because I was afraid it was going to be a science video about a mountain somewhere. I liked your comments and your candor. And I liked your humor about driving through Louisiana.
Thank's Joe...I found myself listening/watching & mentally wondering to all you were saying & how I from the Bay Area can relate in someway? I also caught myself wiping my thumb above your head trying to remove the small smudge on my computer screen. That little smudge above your bookcase to the right of the electrical cord. I even licked my thumb while listening and rubbing this little smudge that would not move because that little smudge is on your wall not on my computer!!!
A smudge is so very hard to remove Joe. Tm
I grew up in Southeast Texas since 80's and been thru Louisiana often enough to confirm that the roads make that sound....everywhere.
Disturb the comfortable. Comfort the disturbed.
Growing up in Shreveport, can confirm I-20 through Louisiana is quite the bumpy ride.
I-16 through Georgia is the same.
Just saw your name and had to say that the former Mudbugs goalie, Kenny Carroll, runs a rink here in Dallas. Great guy!
Haughton here lol so true!
I was taken there at 18 in 1998 to watch the Pink Floyd laser show. The park was packed with families of every color. I overheard a black guy telling his kids one of the men on the monument was Abraham Lincoln, and he didn't know who the other two were. It didn't really mater who these men were, nor the Klan history, because none of that was the draw. It was a beautiful park where Americans were united by their love of Lasers and Floyd. I can't think of a better way to protest those antiquated values. Being offended by art is getting us nowhere.
Good video :-) thanks for the thoughts, as always I really appreciate the humble way you go about things.
I’m a 35 yo from ga. My dad flew a confederate flag on his truck when I was a kid. It was not a symbol of hate for him. It was simply a way to say I’m from the south and proud of it. My parents raise me and my siblings to be respectful to everyone. They never once said or did anything mean or racist or even disrespectful to anyone of any race. They didn’t see the flag as a racist symbol. I understand the feelings toward confederate history to some degree but just know that the vast majority of southerners are good people and will treat everyone with respect until they are disrespected no matter the color of your skin. I don’t think we should take down most confederate monuments simply because they serve as a reminder of how far we’ve come. We just need to do a better job of teaching the history behind it and understand that if we don’t appreciate our history we can never grow beyond it.
_" until they are disrespected"_
Why does that only apply to supposed disrespect _towards_ southerners, but never to disrespect _by_ them? The so-called Confederate flag has two histories, first it was one of the symbols of the slave states that went to war to defend slavery (not just as it was, but for the right to expand it). And then in the 1960s, it was adopted again throughout the south as a direct response to the black voting rights movement. It was intended to symbolise opposition to equality for African Americans. It was chosen to be disrespectful, to be hateful. _That was its purpose._ Whether or not your parents used it for that is irrelevant, they flew and celebrated a symbol that was created to disrespect African Americans. Why should African Americans, hell any decent American, not respond in kind?
Likewise for the erection of statues of Confederate generals. It was mostly pushed by the Klan in the early 20th century. You know, the KKK, the organisation that terrorised and murdered black people throughout the south.
If you want to treat people with respect.... don't support things that were intended to disrespect them. How many more decades is the rest of your country supposed to wait for you guys to figure this out yourself?
1FatLittleMonkey you missed the point. The point I was trying to make is that a lot of people in the south do not see the flag as a symbol of hate or pride in the history of slavery. Quite the opposite. The slave owning history was gone very quickly and the flag took on a different meaning. Southerners are not at all proud of the history associated with slavery. A lot of people vote republican for that reason. It was the Democratic Party that owned slaves. The kkk was a democratic organization. The kkk also beat, raped, and killed white people too. White people who associated with black people and didn’t care about their skin color. White people who supported equal rights and desegregation. The part that you quoted from my comment “until they are disrespected” . I don’t know what you misunderstood about that. It doesn’t just apply to disrespect toward southerners. That’s not what I said. I said that my parents never disrespected anyone until they were disrespected. Maybe not the right wording but what I mean is they treated everyone with respect no matter who it was but they wouldn’t be walked on like a door mat. If you try to take advantage of them they would stand their ground. Like anyone should! I think you feel like I’m trying to justify some from of prejudice. I’m not. I’m simply saying that a lot of perceived prejudice is not that at all. If you don’t know the person it’s hard to know the meaning. I don’t think people should display anything like the confederate flag because of this. Even if they have good intentions it can come across as bad because people who don’t know you will undoubtedly misread your intent. People often assume the worst. By the way, my dad flew that flag 30 years ago and does not still fly the flag because of its contention. Because of the misunderstanding of the purpose for the flag he stopped flying the flag.
@@spatton7875
It's you who misunderstand the point:
_"That’s not what I said. I said that my parents never disrespected anyone until they were disrespected. "_
No. Your parents celebrated a symbol of hatred, not pride. IT DOESN"T MATTER WHAT THEIR MOTIVE WAS. Flying it was disresprecting the people who were targeted by the shit-stains who created those symbols. Part of showing respect is understanding that. The excuses people in the south make to twist their history to ignore that IS DISRESPECTFUL. That's what I meant, you only recognise "disrespect" when it's aimed at you, you never ever recognise it when it comes from you.
I mean, jesus h christ, you _still_ say:
_"Because of the misunderstanding of the purpose for the flag"_
Please, try to understand this: the "Confederate Flag" was promoted in the '60s in direst response to the civil rights movement. It's purpose was to attack blacks. That's why they chose a symbol from the Civil War, and why it happened at that time. It exists to attack blacks. It was your parents who "misunderstood the purpose", and, like you, apparently still refuse to listen to anyone who tries to explain why.
You want credit ("respect") for not flying a symbol of hatred, while still patronisingly refusing to understand that it was a symbol of hatred. Even when you stop using the symbol, you _still_ disrespect the people it was meant to attack by claiming that _they_ are wrong, you still refuse to accept that _you_ were wrong to use it in the first place. But you cannot and will not ever recognise that disrespect, but you bristle are the perceived disrespect from those who are merely responding to yours.
1FatLittleMonkey obviously you are not going to understand the point of the original comment. It saddens me that people feel the way you feel. There are so very few actual racists in our country today yet it still get the attention that it does. Yes they are out there. Don’t mistake what I say. There is no place in our society for racism. I will gladly do whatever I can to help stop it. However, most of the perceived racism has nothing to do with skin color. It has to do with the differences in the way people act. People tend to distrust people who act differently. As a breaded white man who works for a living and is often dirty from work I get distrusting looks quite often. But when I speak or act I go out of my way to be respectful and polite. That automatically disarms people and creates a trust or at least settles distrust. If more people acted this way there would be a lot less perceived racism. 99% of white people are totally onboard with putting racists in their place. Stop being hostile and we might actually be able to get something done. I’m on your side!
@@spatton7875 I'm from Warner Robins GA and I also work dirty, am white, and I've been around. Whites in this country do everything they can to NOT be around other colors because they can't stand different people. The politeness is only skin deep and for similar colored skin; as long as they cloister themselves with other whites, of course they seem respectful and polite. That changes as soon as the colored people are out of earshot; if you honestly cannot admit to that, well, that saddens me. We are recognizing just how two-faced these people are and that, in itself, is worse than outright racism. They are too small to admit their own feelings. Higher level cognitive function has risen greatly over the past 100 years, yet there are a large number of insulated people that refuse to admit that they haven't kept up. I believe, as your post first mentions it, the hostility is rising in you. That uneasiness that you feel is actually God telling you that you are wrong.
Never looked up my ancestry (I am 70). Reason-
Small scale - I experienced the actions of my extended family and found
just about every example of the human condition (good and bad).
Large scale - I am related to every human being on earth - but will see nothing new.
I think that it is essential that people understand their history.
You could also make an argument that it is important for people to forget their history. Or at least major parts of it. Look at the United Kingdom. Successive waves of brutal imperialistic invasions. Celts, Romans, Saxons, Angles, French, Danes, Dutch...etc...and all those tribes have intermarried and now they all consider themselves English. What would happen if they all clung to their ancient tribal identities?
drmodestoesq they need to know so they learn
u guys are twins
drmodestoesq agreed 👌
And worth noting that it isn’t “their history” - it’s other people’s history, not their own
I agree 100% but knocking down monuments and saying people are erasing history is a poor argument. If there are no statues of hitler, how do people remember who he was and what he did?
That actually took some balls and incredible honesty.. Good job bro being real teaching reality by example.. Well done
Gosh, you know..... Morning coffee before work was at least five times better because you shared this rant. There is more complimentary content to this than would appear on the surface. If you could see the true enjoyment in us all when we light up to your style, or the stand-up-and-hoot for winning "our war", then, please just take a moment to smile and know the very real good you do for those of us who might not be a patreon level fan, but in heart are no less up-lifted by your work. Many Thanks. Sam Hatman, soon to be UA-camr!
In 1989 the laser show had everything from B52s' "Love Shack" with cartoon animation to the Beverly Hills Cop theme with spyrograpgh stuff and "Proud to be an American" with eagles and flags and all that. It was a lot more than an Elvis rendition of Dixie. Other than a giant animation of the Confederates lining up with their respective carvings right before the fireworks you could totally forget it had anything to do with them or the Civil War.
You needed to add the sound of millions of bugs hitting the front of car. Add a bad smell and you're half way to driving through Louisiana
And squealing tires while attempting to dodge various ladders, lumber, and other various miscellaneous debris in the road.
I drove through Louisiana once and I remember that sound. I decided to stop and get some real Louisiana food. It was one of the nastiest restaurants I’ve ever seen and all the people looked like ex convict axe murderers. I sure they were lovely people, but I decided to drive to another state to eat my next meal. Not a good first impression.
Driving thru way northern Minnesota in the summer you'll hear the same sound but far louder: the bugs are mating dragonflies. The gas stations have garden hoses to backspray radiators so your vehicle won't overheat. BTW MN's state bird is the mosquito (15,000 lakes not 10,000).
Course the obvious question is... Where are you going to get a big enough sharpie to draw the mustaches? :p
I love that you have followed in your parent’s footsteps and become an educator, you are my favorite teacher! 😜
Its important that people know who they are and what they stand for. The worst thing is forgetting about it. That's why they don't dismantle "Dachhau"
Very true. But Dachau isn't a fun park where people go to have picnics atop the structures. Nor a glorifying statue in the middle of an intersection. Lots of intersections. So, I think that the question is more mixed. Moving some statues from the middle of prominent intersections to a museum or historical park, and replacing them with statues of famous local tennis players, say, might keep the memories but glorify different things.
"Eating bug piss" - Joe Scott 2020 , Looking forward to that shirt when it comes out 🤔
More kinda depressing facts about Stone Mountain:
1. The park was officially opened on April 14, 1965, 100 years to the day after Abraham Lincoln's assassination.
2. In 1970, Vice President Spiro Agnew spoke at a dedication of the memorial carving.
3. Granite quarried from the backside of the mountain was used as the foundation of the Lincoln memorial.
As a Brit, I feel you. My grandfather was proud of the Empire and felt that being British made you exceptional. For a long time I myself thought that our best times were during the Imperial century, between about 1810 and 1910, when we ruled much of the world and the sun never set on us, when you could be and were expected to be proud of being British. I still don't buy into a lot of the narrative of post-Imperial/slavery guilt that we are often fed, because a lot of it is blatantly being done to shame us into accepting changes that really aren't in our interest over things that happened long before I was born. For all of that, though, as I've learned more I've had to accept that when we had the Empire we were often ruthless and sometimes outright evil in our conduct - the triangle trade, the opium wars, the Amritsar massacre and several famines all testify to that - and I've had to accept that our history is at best complex, and sometimes very dark indeed. So I do know where you're coming from.
How is giving equality and inclusion to everyone regardless of race, gender and religion bad for you? Everyone is safer when everyone is safe! What utter nonsense.
@@mellie4174 Two year old comment...still, why are you getting defensive about equality and inclusion when I haven't mentioned either?
That a boy Joe..... 👍...... I learned a lot today watching you.... I always get the impression that you are the real deal and finding justice and truth is your primer motivation... Good deal 🤝
Always love listening to ol' Joe! 😄
I've lived in the shadow of Stone Mountain all my life, I sometimes forget how unique of a place it is because I see it every day. This topic is so complex, yet so simple. If the monument simply stood as it is, as a "remembrance", I don't think that there would be nearly as many problems with it. It is the "hidden meaning (maybe not-so-hidden)" behind it that is the problem.
I have been trying to think back through history to other "bad causes" that produced leaders that history respects, and how they were portrayed in history, and what makes the Confederacy and how we remember it differently.
Erwin Rommel, Tadamichi Kuribayashi, Gengas Khan, and countless others. There are memorials to Japanese troops on islands in the Pacific, though the empire did horrible things.
It begs the question, should we remove memorials such as these, or take them and re-christen them to a more true version of history?
When I was a kid my mom had us picking raspberries for hours each day one summer from our raspberry patch, and there was always raspberry jam cooking in the kitchen. I loved raspberries and raspberry jam, but after that summer I couldn't eat it for more than 10 years. I feel your BBQ Sauce pain. :-).
I recovered though, thank goodness.
Lol my grandma used to make homemade mayo, and my uncle ate SPOONFULS of it, after a few weeks we got tired and refused to eat mayo for years lol
i feel you too. on one of my birthdays i ate a nice rosted liver (mabey sounds weird, i'm from Germany ;) its a nice meal like roast beef) and since then i never came close to eat this food again. Do you eat roasted liver in the U.S.?
My neighbor's house burned down when I was a teenager and I couldn't eat barbecue sauce for a few years. I love the stuff now. I relate 100%.
@@carlb837 I would say it is not a common American dish.
@@carlb837 Fried or roasted liver used to be common here in England when I was growing up. A lot of my family still eat it. Liver, bacon, gravy, mushrooms and mashed potatoes with some type of veg. Can't stand the stuff myself though!
Joe, you should be proud. Proud that you are thinking about the current issues and the basis of the current belief systems. I’m a bit older than you, grew up in COLORADO and know the processing your doing well. You are a well educated person, being reasonable in seeing both sides of a coin, and I want to thank you for putting this searching process you’re doing out there for others to witness. I like your style and humor in how you present things. Don’t worry about pissing a few people off, they’ll get over it. Also, Must add, that I’m glad your background music is not playing in this presentation, it is nerving to hear the same in your main channel work as it is so lacking in the same dimensionality as your personality...in other words inane. Anyway, I like your style, and honesty, keep informing us so good on all that you learn.
Thank you for doing this video. I went down a deep geology kick after it so that was awesome.
lmao like 10 years ago in the netherlands we used to go to this camping, last 30 min of the road was like driving through lousiana haha brings back some memories
anyone who's been across Louisiana on Interstate 10 knows EXACTLY what his impression is about.
I drive it daily...🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️
Road snakes?
Hahaha. True.
Im from opelousas 😔
pdutube it’s from lines in the concrete as you drive across the bridges
You have a way with words. I wish every one in the south HAD to watch this. Their attachment and obsession with these monuments is disturbing. Sure, before the internet it was possible to be ignorant about the truth and just think the monuments were about southern pride, the confederate flag too. I fell into thinking it was a harmless gag to use the confederate flag in satirical ways (when I visited Nashville in 2000 the gift stores had silly shirts and memorabilia that satirized southern-ness while using the flag).
More recently I learned the true history and purpose of erecting the confederate monuments mainly because it’s not hard to learn... THE INTERNET!
People need to quit being in denial, accept the real reason these monuments exist, and remove any item that serves to *honor* these ideals. It’s not removing history to tear down these monuments. Rewriting history is what the KKK and others in the south tried to do in response to reconstruction around the turn of the century.
Rant over.
Teachers can travel at many more times than average. During the school year they have breaks for thanksgiving, christmas, new years, and spring break. During the 3 months of the summer, they can vacation any time 0:25
A decently balanced and thoughtful presentation. Being from the north, I was also impressed with Confederate monuments in the south, especially Stone Mountain, and had to think through the issues surrounding attachments to "the lost cause" and lionizing enemy combatants with monuments and other accolades and tributes.
thank you for reminding me not to drive through Louisiana
I was thinking the same thing! And then I remembered, I live here.🤬🤬
I live in the ATL - my first visit to Stone Mountain and the 'laser light show' in 97 when I moved here for a job was an eye opener to the true nature of humanity, and just how far some will go to hurt and intimidate others - or just plain play ignorant and lacking of empathy to really care for others. Oh, plenty of people will support it and that's not ok but they still will - lets just remember who is carved on it, what they represented, and what was birthed in it's shadow and who paid for it. All of you who swear you're just paying tribute to your family that lived and fought in the war for the South - get the fuck over it, you don't have to feel bad about it, but hanging on to a shitty personal history and rubbing people's faces in it, is coming full circle now.. All that money spent to rewrite history and place all those monuments - a delaying factor to true justice.
Pronounced as “bah” relief. Spelled Bas-Relief. Weird French word.
It's almost a law that every French word must have a silent letter.
Wow Joe this was incredibly insightful and makes perfect rational logical sense. Thank you for putting to words what so many have been thinking
I was more scared at Stone Mountain than any place in my life. I was raised in PA, and was stationed in Georgia while in the military. A girlfriend invited me to take her to Stone Mountain to see the laser show on the 4th of July. Being a Yankee at Stone Mountain is not at all dissimilar to being a black person at a KKK rally. There were two thoughts that crossed my mind. 1. I never spoke, I never said a word to her because I didn't want anyone to hear my accent. 2. For most of the night, I thought she had tricked me and at some point she was going to turn and just point at me(ala Donald Sutherland) and scream ' He is a Yankee' and I would be ritually sacrificed. Being from the north, I never realized until that night, how much hatred the south had for us and how angry they still were about the civil war. It literally was like a pep rally for Civil War pt2.
Ummm. No. I grew up in Atlanta, have been to Stone Mountain dozens of times. You clearly have an issue with southerners based on some type of stereotyping you’ve bought into. We have tons of people from all over the country/world come to Atlanta (it’s even got an international airport!! 😱) and lots and lots of tourists at Stone Mountain. To relate being a yankee at Stone Mountain to being a black persons at a KKK rally, is not only offensive, it’s stupid beyond belief.
@@aimeedouglas1584 HE WAS THERE, who are you to tell him that what he felt is WRONG? Get over yourself, you are not the arbiter of everyone else's feelings! Plus, I've heard MANY OTHER PEOPLE describe this creepy place in exactly the same way. And he DIDN'T say that he was talking about all of Atlanta.
You're clearly a troll just looking to start a fight.
Jeff White I’m not a troll simply because my experience differs from your imaginary narrative. I LIVE in Atlanta and I also don’t believe a word of what he described. If he posts on a public forum, I am entitled to comment on his post. Why don’t you get over yourself?
Wasn’t this guy in “Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia?”
Did he ever get his milksteak?
Yes. Kind of cool he has his own channel. Charlie
I didn't even realize Stone Mountain existed much less know all that history about it.
Something to add about "Texas Pride" regarding the confederacy - I had friends at Southwest High School when the "Rebels" argument started in the 90s. That's the first memory I have of white people calling for the removal of a confederate flag. Texas has its problems, but I gotta admit the "Texans first" mindset has made it a surprisingly progressive state in some ways.
Disclaimer: Also a Texas native, from the same area, IIRC.
Also, your channel is a few months shy of being around as long as the Confederacy did. My point with that: the traitors lost.
Yeah, I'm saying this to trigger the confederacy-lovers in the South that seem to have forgotten they're backing the loser traitors.
This is also true, the Confederacy were traitors to the United States.
Imagine taking pride that your ancestors rose up against your nation that you claim to be patriotic about, all to protect their financial interests built on racism and slavery. Who were traitors.
It wasn't the "south" it was the "democrats"
@@dshoooda8788 All the Democrats in the South who supported segregation felt betrayed when LBJ pushed through the Civil Rights Act. Today those same racists and their descendants vote solidly Republican.
@@therealuncleowen2588 LBJ had a famous quote regarding that move and its wrapped in racism
I love reading the comments of the people who are charmed by your take on things in general. You are reasonable and rational and, surprise, so are they! While it is the right thing to do. . .to examine ourselves and evaluate our roots, even to recriminate ourselves for what our ancestors did, we need to widen our scope to include all of human history. If we were able to feel all the pain felt by all humans who have ever lived, we would "burn out" in a fraction of a second. There are some amazing books out that explore an interesting truth about humans. . .Man has grown tired of the suffering and killing!!!! The first step toward a better place. . . .
Living in San Antonio as a transplanted Californian (at an early age, we got here when I was in 7th grade), I know EXACTLY this weird thing with the Alamo. It was something I’d learned about when I was younger, and when I finally saw it: 1)It’s smaller than you think, and how you get there and the roadways are, you sort of turn a corner and Bam! There it is. 2)It was very surreal to reach out and touch something that had that much history attached to it. It’s very eerie if you’ve never experienced something like that, and if you’re young and impressionable, and probably white, you connect things in weird ways, and it can be awe inspiring and create hero worship for those involved. Anyhowww- taking people and revealing the Alamo to them has always been a thing for people visiting SA, as well as proving there is in fact no basement. (Please get that reference!)
There's a Kraft plant in Garland, TX that makes BBQ sauce. Took a tour 20 years ago, still can smell it.
Too many racist in texas for me, I feel sorry for people of color in that state ☹️.
@@zacharyrivera566 I've lived in a lot of places, there's racists and other shitty people everywhere
I used to take my children to Hersey Park in Pa. You want to smell the chocolate. YUM!
I worked there for 3 years back in the mid-90's, and live only a mile or two from the plant now. I still smell the BBQ sauce when I drive by or the wind is blowing toward my house.