Mississippi State Rep. Karl Oliver calls for the lynching of those who destroy Confederate monuments. Definition of "destroy" appears to include taking them down. I have updated my warning to Synagogues post. UPDATE2: Coverage of comments national and international.

This is Karl Oliver's Facebook page with the call for lynching. 

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009056403271

UPDATE: Facebook posting has been pulled or not publicly available. 

This is the Facebook posting calling for lynching.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1773191672992696&set=a.1561680847477114.1073741829.100009056403271&type=3&theater

His Facebook posting is a photo of the head of the Robert E. Lee statue, with the following text.

The destruction of these monuments, erected in the loving memory of our family and fellow Southern Americans, is both heinous and horrific. If the, and I use this term extremely loosely, "leadership" of Louisiana wishes to, in a Nazi-ish fashion, burn books or destroy historical monuments of OUR HISTORY, they should be LYNCHED! Let it be known, I will do all in my power to prevent this from happening in our State.

You can see from the text, Karl Oliver sees the removal of the monuments as being their destruction. Karl Oliver states, "The destruction of these monuments, ..." in reference to the monuments in New Orleans, of which one of them he has posted a picture of the head.

This is very interesting in that it shows that a monument only does its function, the promotion of a historical view, on public display. A tree that falls in the forest when no one is there does makes a sound, but no one hears it. So essentially a monument which is removed from public display in a government space or a space giving it credibility, has its function destroyed. Karl Oliver intuitively understands this and sees the monuments as having been destroyed.

Also, a monument removed to a museum where it is explained as a physical element promoting white supremacy also has its function destroyed.

So Karl Oliver is calling for the lynching of not just those who physically destroy monuments, but those who would have Confederate monuments removed from places where they can do their reputational work.


It has made the local news.
http://www.msnewsnow.com/story/35482647/rep-karl-oliver-says-louisiana-leaders-should-be-lynched-for-removing-confederate-monuments

http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2017/may/21/report-mississippi-rep-karl-oliver-calls-lynching-/

http://wjtv.com/2017/05/21/they-should-be-lynched-found-on-ms-state-rep-s-facebook-page/

Violence is a core element of neo-Confederate ideology as I have stated in my blog before and as I detail in my book "Pernicious."

https://www.amazon.com/Edward-H.-Sebesta/e/B01JUS2YJW

The Sons of Confederate Veterans sells the video "Birth of a Nation."
https://scv-online-store.myshopify.com/products/dvd-the-birth-of-a-nation-271

In their catalog they sell books in which the violent Red Shirts are represented as heroes.

I am quite serious in this warning to synagogues. I have updated with information about Karl Oliver.
http://newtknight.blogspot.com/2017/05/warning-to-all-synagogues.html#.WSK9n2grKiM

I don't think he knows that the "Confederate and Neo-Confederate Reader" is published by the Univ. of Mississippi Press. http://www.upress.state.ms.us/books/1338  Maybe I should send him a free copy.

I wonder what the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the United Daughters of the Confederacy will have to say about Karl Oliver's statements.

UPDATE2: National and international coverage.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/22/politics/statues-ms-lawmaker-lynching/

http://www.cbs46.com/story/35486674/mississippi-house-member-says-louisiana-leadership-should-be-lynched

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/334526-miss-lawmaker-leaders-should-be-lynched-for-taking-down-confederate

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/mississippi-republican-faces-pushback-following-lynching-comment

This is an AP newstory run at US News and World Report.
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/louisiana/articles/2017-05-22/mississippi-rep-lynch-people-removing-confederate-monuments

http://time.com/4788005/mississippi-rep-karl-oliver-confederate-symbols-should-be-lynched/

He has since apologized
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/politics/2017/05/22/mississippi-lawmaker-lynching-comment/335809001/

Maybe this will get the ball rolling on changing the Mississippi state flag.

Please sign the petition asking Donald Trump not to send a wreath to the Arlington Confederate monument.
https://www.change.org/p/edward-h-sebesta-ask-president-trump-not-to-send-a-wreath-to-the-arlington-confederate-monument