As emblems of the Confederacy all across the country are being dismantled, a Texas Antifa group has picked an odd target for their angst — a well-loved statue of the Republic of Texas’ first President, Sam Houston.
Sam Houston was a badass if ever there was one. Not only was he an honorary Cherokee, but it took him a measly 18 minutes to defeat Mexican General Santa Anna, effectively ending the Texas Revolution and creating the greatest Republic that ever was.
Before fighting (and winning) the Texas Revolutionary War, Houston beat the hell out of Ohio Congressman William Stanbery with a cane after Stanberry insinuated Houston was involved in fraudulent dealings with the Secretary of War. Passing him on Pennsylvania Avenue, Houston approached Stanbery and asked him to identify himself. When Stanbery confirmed his identity, Houston called him a “damned rascal” and beat the daylights out of him with a hickory cane made of wood harvested from Andrew Jackson’s estate. Onlookers said Houston lifted, “Stanbery up by his legs” and struck him “elsewhere.” Stanbery pulled a pistol, shoved it into Houston’s chest and pulled the trigger, but the gun never fired. Houston was drug before Congress for a trial, where he was represented by Francis Scott Key and found guilty of contempt. He was ordered to pay a $500 fine, refused and the debt remained unpaid.
Yes, Houston owned slaves. But during his tenure as a Texas Senator, he voted against the spread of slavery into new states repeatedly. His refusal to join the secessionist movement and swear allegiance to the Confederacy cost Houston the Texas Governorship. Thanks to his loyalty to preserving the Union, Houston was kicked out of office and replaced by the pro-Confederacy Lieutenant Governor.
But history is meaningless to many. Despite his allegiance to the Union and to preventing the spread of slavery, a strange group calling themselves the Texas Antifa is promising to eradicate Texas of its Confederate emblems. They’ve started by declaring war on a statue of Sam Houston located in Houston’s well-loved Hermann Park.
So wild is the language in their posts, that I’m not entirely sure whether they’re sincerely anarchist extremists, or just trolling everyone.
And this one:
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner was asked Tuesday about the group’s plans to have the Harmann Park statue removed and responded saying, “It’s not even on my agenda. I haven’t even given it any thought.”
Even sillier than attempting to destroy the statue of Sam Houston in Hermann Park is the group’s promise to remove the 67-foot-tall statue of Sam Houston that sits atop a hill in Huntsville, home of Same Houston State University.
No historical figure will ever be pristine or perfect for the simple fact that they were human. Nor was their world the progressive utopia in the making in which we’re currently serving a life sentence. But revisionism aside, Texas ain’t the Deep South, and even some of the state’s most liberal-leaning understand the value of preserving historical memory as a reminder of how far we’ve come. This kind of nonsense simply won’t find much sympathy in the Lone Star State.
Follow Kemberlee on Twitter @kemberleekaye
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