Should SC Continue to Observe Confederate Memorial Day?

[Infinite1]

They were celebrating Confederate Memorial Day when I was a school kid in SC in the 1960s and it was a long held tradition by that point. It had nothing to do with Martin Luther King who was not really even famous until the late 60s.

^see Waccamatt and BrasilinSC comments above. The holiday may have existed, but state observance of the Holiday was tied to the MLK bill. Clearly an appeasement. I too think it is a redundant holiday. Regardless of the politics of the actual conflict, I think a specific American Holiday honoring the Confederate soldiers is akin to the English celebreating Independence day, IMO. I realize we are talking about a state issue, not a federal issue, but in my mind its all the same.

[krazeeboi]

Kinda reminds me of the MLK Day issue in Greenville, which was tied to observance of Good Friday, if I remember correctly.

At any rate, as long as McConnell is running things, you'd better believe SC will continue to celebrate and the flag will stay on Statehouse grounds--which is VERY unpatriotic, IMO.

[Spartan]

They were celebrating Confederate Memorial Day when I was a school kid in SC in the 1960s and it was a long held tradition by that point. It had nothing to do with Martin Luther King who was not really even famous until the late 60s.

Right, I'm not saying that it didnt exist until now, just that the state government's day off was not until recently.

Holiday time line

For 80 years, South Carolina law gave state employees three Confederate-related holidays:

1896: May 10, Confederate Memorial Day, and Jan. 19, birthday of Robert E. Lee, added as state holidays

1898: June 3, birthday of Jefferson Davis, added as state holiday

1978: Employees can pick one of the Confederate- related holidays or Jan. 15 as a day off

1983: National Memorial Day added as state holiday. Employees' optional holiday broadened to include any day they choose.

2000: Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Confederate Memorial Day become mandatory state holidays

[sonofaque86]

SC is a little backwards state anyways. I'm not even gonna sweat it. It's one backward thing after the other sometimes

[Mr.Marc]

I don't really see the point in it being an official holiday in SC in which State Government offices are closed. As stated above, the Conferederate Soldiers could celebrate along with the other soliders during Memorial day (it's only a couple of weeks away anyway).

As of yesterday, I feel neutral about the holiday. I observed four people dressed as Confederate soldiers standing in front of the state house. Everyone else in Columbia seemed to be on with their daily lives.

[krazeeboi]

And for the most part, people in Columbia don't really care about it one way or the other (more con than pro if anything). If you had to break it down by cities, Charlestonians are the ones that take stuff like this to heart moreso than any of our other cities.

[monsoon]

^see Waccamatt and BrasilinSC comments above. The holiday may have existed, but state observance of the Holiday was tied to the MLK bill. Clearly an appeasement. I too think it is a redundant holiday. Regardless of the politics of the actual conflict, I think a specific American Holiday honoring the Confederate soldiers is akin to the English celebreating Independence day, IMO. I realize we are talking about a state issue, not a federal issue, but in my mind its all the same.

Well we got a school day off in the 1960s. I was there and experienced it.

[Spartan]

And for the most part, people in Columbia don't really care about it one way or the other (more con than pro if anything). If you had to break it down by cities, Charlestonians are the ones that take stuff like this to heart moreso than any of our other cities.

True. Both sponsors of this bill are from Charleston.

[Charleston native]

And for the most part, people in Columbia don't really care about it one way or the other (more con than pro if anything). If you had to break it down by cities, Charlestonians are the ones that take stuff like this to heart moreso than any of our other cities.

I disagree...even though Chas politicians are the ones sponsoring the bill, many residents of the metro area aren't too concerned with it. I know plenty of people in the Cola area, the Midlands, and Pee Dee regions who are more concerned about it. But, I guess it just depends on who we talk to.

[krazeeboi]

I disagree...even though Chas politicians are the ones sponsoring the bill, many residents of the metro area aren't too concerned with it. I know plenty of people in the Cola area, the Midlands, and Pee Dee regions who are more concerned about it. But, I guess it just depends on who we talk to.

But that's what I mean--the movers and shakers in the Midlands, Upstate, and Pee Dee are less concerned about this than those of the Charleston area (notice I said less concerned, not concerned at all). Charleston is definitely the most provincial of all of our major cities, which should hardly be a surprise. Look no further than McConnell himself, who would probably start another war all over again if he could just so the South could have another chance at winning. You'd think some of those "good ol' boys" had a personal stake in the outcome of a war that was fought and lost by the South over a century ago.

[waccamatt]

But that's what I mean--the movers and shakers in the Midlands, Upstate, and Pee Dee are less concerned about this than those of the Charleston area (notice I said less concerned, not concerned at all). Charleston is definitely the most provincial of all of our major cities, which should hardly be a surprise. Look no further than McConnell himself, who would probably start another war all over again if he could just so the South could have another chance at winning. You'd think some of those "good ol' boys" had a personal stake in the outcome of a war that was fought and lost by the South over a century ago.

IMO, it's the whole reason South Carolina has remained economically depressed.

[krazeeboi]

^Yes it has. It amazes me how two major players in the Confederacy, South Carolina and Virginia, have dealt with the defeat differently and have taken different paths since then. Of course, we know who got over it relatively quickly and charged on into the future, and we also know who acts as though they long for the return of the "old days". Compare the state of the two states today. Enough said.

[Spartan]

But that's what I mean--the movers and shakers in the Midlands, Upstate, and Pee Dee are less concerned about this than those of the Charleston area (notice I said less concerned, not concerned at all). Charleston is definitely the most provincial of all of our major cities, which should hardly be a surprise. Look no further than McConnell himself, who would probably start another war all over again if he could just so the South could have another chance at winning. You'd think some of those "good ol' boys" had a personal stake in the outcome of a war that was fought and lost by the South over a century ago.

I wasn't really suprised about McConnel though. He is the owner of the CSA Gallery... the largest Confederate memorabilia store in the State. Maybe even the South.

^Yes it has. It amazes me how two major players in the Confederacy, South Carolina and Virginia, have dealt with the defeat differently and have taken different paths since then. Of course, we know got over it relatively quickly and charged on into the future, and we also know who acts as though they long for the return of the "old days". Compare the state of the two states today. Enough said.

But there were also different economic forces at play. Virginia is better connected to the industrial north, and it was connected during the North's prime years. SC was not. All we really had up until the past 90-100 years was agricultural exports via Charleston. Virginia's cities are more industrial/northeastern in their feel. So call it what you will, but I disgree that Virginia is somehow in better off.

[krazeeboi]

Those are good points, but also look at Georgia and Florida, south of us. Of course they have their advantages as well, but we must also cease making excuses and accept blame for putting politicians in office who have kept us mired in the backwater for so long and not providing any true vision for our future as a state. We're surrounded by progressive states, states similar in history and advantages, but who always gets left in the dust? Good ol' South Carolina.

And check just about any list out there (per capita income, education, governmental efficiency, etc.), and I guarantee you Virginia ranks toward the top on the good lists and towards the bottom on the bad lists. Far too often our rankings are reversed.

[breed]

I found this fact from that same Wikipedia entry to be rather interesting:

"General Logan [credited for establishing what we know today as Memorial Day] had been impressed by the way the South honored their dead with a special day and decided the Union needed a similar day."

Of course... the dates don't line up. It says that Memorial Day was created in 1868... but Confederate Memorial Day was created in 1874. I don't know if that means there was some kind of unofficial Confederate Memorial Day celebrated, or if its just a wiki-fication of the facts. My hunch is that it's the latter.

[Jerseyman4]

I don't know if that means there was some kind of unofficial Confederate Memorial Day celebrated, or if its just a wiki-fication of the facts.

If theres a gut instinct feeling that something isnt right about Wikipedia, its probably you are right and the Wikipedia Memorial Day write-up is erronous. Most of teh time, Wiki is credible.

[mcashlv]

I completely agree. Wasn't this holiday instated to offset MLK Day and make all the rednecks happy?

You could just as easily say MLK Day was instituted just to make the blacks happy.

[waccamatt]

You could just as easily say MLK Day was instituted just to make the blacks happy.

MLK was a great AMERICAN; the confederacy tried to destroy the United States so I see no justification for that statement.

[CorgiMatt]

I am a descendant of three documented Confederate soldiers that I know of, all on my mother's side. My dad is originally from Indiana. I don't see Confederate Memorial Day ever going away in my lifetime in S.C. I don't think MLK Day and CMD should have been presented as a deal to appease two sides of an issue. One should have nothing to do with the other.

I don't agree with everything the United States does, including some of the wars it has fought/started, but I respect the courage of the soldiers who fought/fight the wars/war (or whatever it is). It's the same with the courage of my three great-great grandfathers who were Confederate soldiers.

I think of it this way. My mother grew up in a household with her parents, siblings and a grandmother who was a daughter of a Confederate soldier. I even have a picture of mom's other grandmother's father, another Confederate soldier. To me, that's getting pretty close to just yesterday. Maybe my age of 47 years and counting has something to do with my realizing that.

So I'll just keep on respecting Martin Luther King Jr. and most of the things he believed in and stood for, and I'll memorialize the Confederate soldiers who weren't as lucky as my three ancestors and didn't make it back home.

[TheSuperPope]

Well, just some interesting information, Oconee county council was suppossed to vote sometime this month on whether or not to remove CMD and (oh crap, the Greenville incident will happen again) MLK day. I know of quite a few people from that area of the state slightly angry at the whole thing... but only because of the removal of MLK day as a holiday for county offices.

Personally, the holiday just continues to show how our state would like to return to our past. I'm not saying the past shouldn't be remembered and respected, but it is the past and just that. The glory days of plantations, good ole boys, and everything else of 1800's SC have passed. When will our legislators realize this and promote some sort of advancement in our state?

[sonofaque86]

I think SC passed through some special time warp making us 50 years behind the rest of the country in alot of things. lol