Removing statues is neither rewriting nor erasing history, unless there is little other record of that history.
In my town there is a statue of a woman who willed the money that created an endowment that allows us to have a very nice park system. Other than a small and little used park bearing her name, there is little public notice of her. It is valuable to keep her statue. Also important, her statue does not signal the second class status of any person.
Statues to Confederate soldiers have no similar value. We are not at risk of obscuring or losing the history of slavery or the Civil War. As well as being superfluous to remembering that history, these statues do signal second class status for many people, because they are not simply records of past events, but glorifications of those who fought for continued enslavement of other humans.
Pulling down statues of Columbus is also justified by these standards. We are unlikely to forget that he landed in the Americas (but as we now know, it was neither an unprecedented feat nor was it a successful achievement of his goal, so why should we care if it's remembered?), and he enslaved and slaughtered humans.
Likewise, the pulling down the statue of the genocidal King Leopold of Belgium. He should be remembered, as a warning of inhumanity but not honored.
So if you're arguing for keeping these slavery-honoring memorials, you're wrong. Your reasons are probably shallow, and for some few mendacious.
To be honest, when I first heard about the movement to pull down these statues a while ago, I disagreed with the idea, mainly because I did just view them as historical images rather than as actual endorsements of the confederacy or of slavery, racism , etc.
My disagreement wasn't particularly strong, but I just didn't see it as worth the effort to destroy them, given they were works of art, and their creation had already taken place.
But over time, it's become clear to me that a fair number of people do view them as symbols more than history or art (both positive and negative symbols, depending on which side is asked about them). And that has really changed my view on the issue.
So while I used to think they should be left alone, I think it is best if they were removed. I find it sad that it's come to this, but mostly that's just because I find it sad that racism of this sort still exists, and to the extent that people on both sides of the argument are viewing these statues as symbols of racism, then I feel there is no longer any question they should be removed.
You'll note I say both sides, implying that the people most vocal about not removing these statues also view them as symbols of racism. And that's despite the fact that they will generally object to that notion.
That's a judgement I've made from personal experience: like anyone else, I've occasionally observed that some people can't help but interject racist comments into their casual conversation. The only person I know personally who's currently objecting to the removal is someone I've always understood to be very racist (from his direct comments to me over time). A lot of that is the product of his upbringing (he's an old southern man), but I don't think your background excuses such talk completely.
I will note that every historical figure had flaws, not only racist, and most were offensive to some group of people.
My own views are so anti-hero worship that i'd be complacent about pulling them all down but I know i'm an outlier on that.
Yep, I agree on your point about historical figures mostly being flawed.
As it happens, I'm also not a fan of hero worship. I think it's fine to recognize people for their achievements, but it's silly to assume that such people are without blemishes. And in the case of living people, it can be extremely dangerous.
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