Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell proclaimed April as “Confederate History Month” initially without condemning slavery – a move that was met with support from the members of the “white nationalist hate group” Stormfront and Virginia “white nationalist hate groups”.
Update: Governor McDonnell has recanted, after criticism and after defending not including a condemnation of slavery in the initial proclamation, and has issued an update denouncing slavery as an “abomination” and not mentioning it as a mistake.
The members and supporters of “white nationalist hate groups” supporting Governor McDonnell’s proclamation for “Confederate History Month” speaks volumes about America: Stormfront, Virginia-based VDARE and their contributor Patrick Buchanan, commenters to the blog of Virginia Fairfax County headquartered American Renaissance, and Virginia-headquartered Occidental Dissent. Clearly there are a number of white nationalist hate groups” that seek Virginia’s new slogan to be viewed as “Virginia is for haters.”
At the the blog of Virginia Fairfax County headquartered American Renaissance, commenters defended the Civil War as merely the right of Southerners to govern themselves, and called the Civil War the “War of Northern Aggression.” One commenter “Herb” wrote at the Virginia-based American Renaissance: “I love to see the black leaders cringe when there is any celebrations of the Confederacy.”
Virginia’s Occidental Dissent leader stated: “I have come to dream about the glorious day when White Southerners wake up and sever our ties with these loathsome hypocrites forever… The Confederacy had the right idea in striking out on its own. Too bad we lost. I passionately despise our national government for similar reasons.” This is the same Virginia Occidental Dissent leader who on March 6, 2010 stated that he sought to commit a “hate crime,” using profanities and racial slurs about black Americans.
Virginia Governor McDonnell’s move was also popular with the “white nationalist hate group” Stormfront forum members.
One Stormfront forum member wrote “After living through a decade of attacks against the Confederate battle flag and school administrators suspending students who wear Dixie regalia, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) is, like a true Johnny Reb, fighting back.”
Another Stormfront forum member wrote “For 8 years we went without it, but its back again. Any WN [white nationalist] ought to consider themself [sic] a confederate – my people are from the North, but we all know where our allegiances would lie today.”
Stormfront "White Nationalist Hate Group" Forum Members Praises Virginia Governor McDonnell's Decision on "Confederate History Month"
On March 29, 2010, Stormfront forum member Daniel Cowart pleaded guilty to a terrorist plot that sought to kill 102 Americans, including beheading 14 black Americans.
Initial Media Reports and Resources:
Washington Post: McDonnell’s Confederate History Month proclamation irks civil rights leaders
— Washington Post reports: “Gov. Robert F. McDonnell, reviving a controversy that had been dormant for eight years, has declared that April will be Confederate History Month in Virginia, a move that angered civil rights leaders Tuesday but that political observers said would strengthen his position with his conservative base.”
— “The two previous Democratic governors had refused to issue the mostly symbolic proclamation honoring the soldiers who fought for the South in the Civil War. McDonnell (R) revived a practice started by Republican governor George Allen in 1997. McDonnell left out anti-slavery language that Allen’s successor, James S. Gilmore III (R), had included in his proclamation.”
— Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell’s Web Site: Confederate History Month
— Dot.Comments: “Civil War, Confederacy, Virginia, McDonnell”
— “RealConservative” states: “This is not a question of left or right, conservative or liberal, black or white.The Confederacy is in the history books as a misguided and failed experiment and that is where it should remain.Treason and racism should not be honored…this is an insult to those who sacrificed for the ideals of Democracy and Justice for All.”
Image from Robert E. Lee Memorial in Arlington, Virginia - Managed by U.S. National Park Service - Where R.E.A.L. Held Its August 28, 2009 Demonstration
Related Reports by R.E.A.L:
Virginia - August 28, 2009: R.E.A.L.'s Jeffrey Imm Challenges Confederate Nostalgia and Racial Hate at Robert E. Lee Memorial
August 28, 2009 – Virginia: Call for End to Racial Hate and Division at Robert E. Lee Memorial
We Have A Responsibility
— Jeffrey Imm in Arlington, Virginia: “We have a responsibility to challenge those who would use symbols of division to continue to spread hate and to challenge our shared values of equality and liberty. Reverend Timothy James of the Disciples of Christ recently stated that ‘for African Americans the confederate flag is a system of terror, oppression, separation, and racism.’ We shouldn’t need to be reminded of this. We have seen the use of the Confederate symbol of division used over and over again in our nation. We have seen the Confederate symbol of division used by the Ku Klux Klan. We have seen the Confederate symbol of division used by white supremacist organizations. Most recently, we have seen the Confederate symbol of division in the tragic terrorist attack in June on the Holocaust Memorial Museum. In Virginia and throughout our nation today, there are over 90 Neo-Confederate hate groups that use that symbol of our past divisions to spread hate and to attack our shared values of equality and liberty.”
DC: Witnesses Say Holocaust Memorial Museum Attacker Wore Confederate Soldier’s Cap
South Carolina: Confederate Flag Causes Christian Convention to Cancel
Minnesota — Report: “Old South Slavery Defender to Speak at Conference”
South Carolina: “Symbol connected to hate should be rejected”
South Carolina: ACC moves tourneys over Confederate flag dispute
Mississippi: The Tangled Web of Hate — Neo-Confederates and White Supremacism
Maryland: Halt to Distribution of Brochures with Confederate Flags in Schools
“Dear President Obama: Please Don’t Honor the Arlington Confederate Monument”