tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6246743662284890173.post8319119843978305022..comments2023-09-16T04:58:07.261-04:00Comments on the Annandale Blog: Stuart community discusses pros and cons of changing high school's nameAnnandale Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07543558586252790593noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6246743662284890173.post-10503480218245578382016-05-30T21:47:44.388-04:002016-05-30T21:47:44.388-04:00You miss the point, the relevance of a name is wha...You miss the point, the relevance of a name is what you do with it, keeping the name satisfies those that don't want to change it, but more importantly, using it to teach about all aspects, including the controversy keeps the importance alive forever.<br /><br />Putting a plaque up won't mean anything. Phasing out the old uniforms won't work, it would be like having two names for a quite a number of years (I imagine the uniforms last at least 4 - 5 years, and you are still spending a lot of money that could be used for education. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6246743662284890173.post-26149456435876473842016-05-28T18:58:56.289-04:002016-05-28T18:58:56.289-04:00Teaching it is very different from celebrating it-...Teaching it is very different from celebrating it--as naming something after a person is meant to do. <br /><br />Change the name (phase out the old uniforms and products at a natural pace, because none of the things owned by teenagers lasts forever and will need to be replaced eventually), put a freakin' plaque on the wall near the school's entrance, and be done with it. "Embracing" Stuart is not vital to learning a single thing. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6246743662284890173.post-8594324351559072422016-05-28T18:50:37.142-04:002016-05-28T18:50:37.142-04:003:27, thank you. Very well put.
I actually was b...3:27, thank you. Very well put. <br /><br />I actually was born in Virginia--Alexandria, to be exact--and did attend Stuart HS a few decades ago. Even then, it seemed strange and inappropriate to us that our school should honor someone who would have despised the wonderful diversity of our student body. <br /><br />The term "political correctness" didn't exist back then, so people shouldn't try to paint it as such today. The issue was simply a question about how much sense it made to supposedly honor someone who wouldn't have ever honored us--and I'm including myself because I was a white girl hanging with people of other skin tones. (The shame! The horror! Scandalous!) <br /><br />Those who complain about "revising history" don't seem aware of the fact that history is re-written all the time, and that changing the name of the school wouldn't change what happened. It would merely reflect the changes that ARE happening now--and have been since the middle of the last century. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6246743662284890173.post-20677188909559548192016-05-26T18:09:07.440-04:002016-05-26T18:09:07.440-04:00Excellent points! Facts rather than conjecture and...Excellent points! Facts rather than conjecture and vilification.<br /><br />Wonder how much money and time has already been spent by FCPS on this subject?<br /><br />Unfortunately, fiscal restraint, common sense and a reading and appreciation of history, warts and all, is sadly lacking in this case.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6246743662284890173.post-54780367286873939842016-05-26T11:49:46.837-04:002016-05-26T11:49:46.837-04:00JEB Stuart was a famous military tactician. He dev...JEB Stuart was a famous military tactician. He devised an ingenious military deception at the battle of Munson Hill that is case study even today. <br /><br />The U.S. military studied Stuart-style deception practices to reduce casualties and defeat our enemies (WWII Operation Overlord is a famous example). <br /><br />Munson Hill is around the corner from the high school. Stuart's military genius legacy has played out beyond the Civil War as important strategy in protecting Americans and their Allies. Perhaps this alone is worth recognizing.<br /><br />Massive resistance doesn't seem to have been a factor in Northern Virginia's attempt to name new schools. At least no documentation seems to exist to prove that and even authors on the topic seem to be conjecturing in accusing participation in Massive Resistance. In fact, FFX schools were somewhat simultaneously named for anti-slavery proponents: Whittier, Thoreau. More to the point, FFX chose a loyal and brilliant Virginian whose long standing contributions may have been a deciding factor. Also, most names of prominent Virginians were probably already in play so the selection of names was narrowed. <br /><br />All this seems to suggest a form of neutrality in FFX when the Commonwealth itself was in fact resisting segregation. The Civil War Centennial Celebration may have been a factor, and I don't doubt that as well. <br /><br />Stuart was a genius military strategist and a Virginian. Because he was on the "wrong side" we should not underestimate his contribution to the success of our military efforts today.<br /><br />How will people 150 years from now judge us? Would they find the names we chose offensive? Will they villify Truman for Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Will the Enola Gay be removed from the Smithsonian? <br /><br />Concernedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12360899016672072883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6246743662284890173.post-39094541940027990612016-05-25T20:59:18.988-04:002016-05-25T20:59:18.988-04:00JEB Stuart High School is a learning institution. ...JEB Stuart High School is a learning institution. If $778,000 can be raised, spend it on improving education in the school. Don't change the name, use it, and embrace it, as a teaching lesson. Look at how much we have learned as a result of this discussion. Teach about the history of the school, the name, the person, and the area. Many skirmishes were fought over Munson Hill. The history of Bailey's Crossroads is documented in "Elephants and Quaker Guns". Don't change it, embrace it, teach what we have learned from it. This is a great opportunity, which will be gone if the name is changed. Create a day on the school calendar, to teach the history of the school and the name. If we don't learn from history, we are bound to repeat it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6246743662284890173.post-77468697365382169342016-05-25T18:36:09.510-04:002016-05-25T18:36:09.510-04:00Maybe we should shut down all the national civil w...Maybe we should shut down all the national civil war battlefields and monuments and just pretend nothing happened. Would that satisfy revisionists?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6246743662284890173.post-88038622127625256262016-05-25T18:13:20.510-04:002016-05-25T18:13:20.510-04:00Spoken like a true 21st century revisionist. Spoken like a true 21st century revisionist. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6246743662284890173.post-47493303856768164952016-05-25T18:05:38.921-04:002016-05-25T18:05:38.921-04:00TO: Anonymous5/25/16, 3:27 PM
What don't you...TO: Anonymous5/25/16, 3:27 PM<br /><br />What don't you get about States Rights? The Civil War wasn't all about slavery. <br /><br />http://americanhistory.about.com/od/civilwarmenu/a/cause_civil_war.htm<br />2. States versus federal rights.<br /><br />Since the time of the Revolution, two camps emerged: those arguing for greater states rights and those arguing that the federal government needed to have more control. The first organized government in the US after the American Revolution was under the Articles of Confederation. The thirteen states formed a loose confederation with a very weak federal government. However, when problems arose, the weaknesses of the Articles caused the leaders of the time to come together at the Constitutional Convention and create, in secret, the US Constitution. Strong proponents of states rights like Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry were not present at this meeting. Many felt that the new constitution ignored the rights of states to continue to act independently. They felt that the states should still have the right to decide if they were willing to accept certain federal acts. This resulted in the idea of nullification, whereby the states would have the right to rule federal acts unconstitutional. The federal government denied states this right. However, proponents such as John C. Calhoun fought vehemently for nullification. When nullification would not work and states felt that they were no longer respected, they moved towards secession.Concernedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12360899016672072883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6246743662284890173.post-72547144811827338482016-05-25T16:54:45.590-04:002016-05-25T16:54:45.590-04:00This process is going to a vote and last I heard 5...This process is going to a vote and last I heard 50% is the gold standard passing. If the name JEB Stuart violates anyone's civil rights that matter should head to the judiciary. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6246743662284890173.post-17565645306451010552016-05-25T16:45:24.212-04:002016-05-25T16:45:24.212-04:00Excellent comment. It does not make sense to name ...Excellent comment. It does not make sense to name a school for a non-political soldier if you want to make a political statement about segregation. Only people with interest in the Civil War would know about Stuart.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6246743662284890173.post-4832145209119940192016-05-25T15:33:24.411-04:002016-05-25T15:33:24.411-04:00Let's see...there is not enough classroom for ...Let's see...there is not enough classroom for the students to learn in due to overcrowding. The teachers have to buy their own supplies and have not had a decent raise. The school almost missed the pass benchmark by 1/2 a point and people are worried about spending almost a mil to change the school name?! Get real people. Spend money where the real issue is. The classroom. All this political correct crap sway from the most important issue. Education. If Cohen or Moore wants to donate the mil for the costs, no problem! Thanks and a nice tax write off for them. Spin that marketing and use social media to solicit donors kids. Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09391874140396030615noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6246743662284890173.post-79538644691333383032016-05-25T15:27:57.323-04:002016-05-25T15:27:57.323-04:00This discussion is teaching everyone to think abou...This discussion is teaching everyone to think about what we stand for and what we choose to honor. Whether you knew who he was a month or a year ago, you certainly know who JEB Stuart is now. Would you choose to honor him and his fight for Virginia's economic independence and continued dependence on slave labor, if given the choice today? Would you choose to support massive resistance if given the choice today? <br /><br />A more immediate question might be, do members of our community feel discriminated against today, based on the color of their skin? Probably some do. Will changing the name of this school change that? Probably not immediately, but, over time, it just might -- this discussion is a lesson for our school community that we honor equal rights, an inspiring and uplifting message that can carry over outside of the classroom.<br /><br />Yes, changing the name will cost money. It will also send a message about our beliefs and our values. Just as JEB Stuart inspired belief in the Confederacy and Governor J. Lindsay Almond, Jr. inspired Massive Resistance to Brown V. Board, we have the opportunity to inspire our community to recognize the importance of civil rights and equal rights in today's world, on a national and international level. <br /><br />This has incredible value. <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6246743662284890173.post-44108998661565331672016-05-25T15:27:04.155-04:002016-05-25T15:27:04.155-04:00Lincoln and Grant's 'noble and forgiving l...Lincoln and Grant's 'noble and forgiving lesson' was Reconstruction. It was the incredibly difficult task of putting the country back together after a bloody and violent fracture. <br /><br />Reconstruction forgave acts of treason and allowed civil war veterans to be buried in federal cemeteries, if I'm not mistaken. Everyone wanted to put the past in the past and unify the country again. <br /><br />Some say that the south fought for states’ rights and were ‘noble gentlemen.’ Some disagree. <br /><br />It is a complex history. The Slaughter House Cases (1872), Plessy v Ferguson (1896), as well as Jim Crow laws (1890-1965) document how we, as a country, struggled with a new social and economic order after the Civil War and resisted equal citizenship for all citizens. The civil rights era after WWII saw more struggles, including Brown V Board of Education (1954), massive resistance (1954-64) that included legislated segregation of schools throughout the US as well as the actions of then governor J. Lindsay Almond, Jr., to close public schools throughout the state when they tried to integrate until he was forced to stop in 1959. Virginia’s Prince Edward County Schools closed down completely from 1959 to 1964, denying all nonwhite children a public education while providing a private education to white children. <br /><br />They were clinging to the past and fighting to preserve a way of life they felt was right and good.<br /><br />I think we should stop living in the past and NOT honor a figure that honors a mindset that promotes and legislates treating people differently based on the color of their skin. To call JEB Stuart and other confederates loyal sons of Virginia is poetic and lovely but ignores the truth. Stuart was a product of his time, as was slavery, a fundamental tenet of the Confederacy, and an embarrassment to all of us.<br /><br />This discussion is teaching everyone to think about what we stand for and what we choose to honor. Whether you knew who he was a month or a year ago, you certainly know who JEB Stuart is now. Would you choose to honor him and his fight for Virginia's economic independence and continued dependence on slave labor, if given the choice today? Would you choose to support massive resistance if given the choice today? <br /><br />A more immediate question might be, do members of our community feel discriminated against today, based on the color of their skin? Probably some do. Will changing the name of this school change that? Probably not immediately, but, over time, it just might -- this discussion is a lesson for our school community that we honor equal rights, an inspiring and uplifting message that can carry over outside of the classroom.<br /><br />Yes, changing the name will cost money. It will also send a message about our beliefs and our values. Just as JEB Stuart inspired belief in the Confederacy and Governor J. Lindsay Almond, Jr. inspired Massive Resistance to Brown V. Board, we have the opportunity to inspire our community to recognize the importance of civil rights and equal rights in today's world, on a national and international level. <br /><br />This has incredible value. <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6246743662284890173.post-29134565759534019402016-05-25T14:08:50.003-04:002016-05-25T14:08:50.003-04:00Rename the school MS-13.Rename the school MS-13.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6246743662284890173.post-68881225569424881502016-05-25T13:12:12.830-04:002016-05-25T13:12:12.830-04:00Hear! Hear!Hear! Hear!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6246743662284890173.post-10274348895014628992016-05-25T11:55:11.198-04:002016-05-25T11:55:11.198-04:00To Concerned, well said.
I am also amused that t...To Concerned, well said. <br /><br />I am also amused that the 2 Hollywood figures no longer live in Virginia, nor do they appear engaged in any significant social issues in their new home state. Perhaps, I am mistaken Also,from their apparent success, neither was traumatized by attending a high school named after a Confederate general. Maybe, they can fund a portion of the renaming.<br /><br />As mentioned by Concerned, we should be learning from history not<br />erasing the parts we don't like.<br />Our great country has a checkered past: suppression of Native Americans, slavery, Manifest Destiny, the Know Nothing Party, etc. Should we attempt to erase the names of all Americans, regardless of their accomplishments ( e.g.Washington) because they weren't perfect in our 21st Century eyes? <br /><br />It would be a long list. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6246743662284890173.post-45041361805606576372016-05-25T11:26:06.815-04:002016-05-25T11:26:06.815-04:00Unlike Stuart, Lee survived the Great Rebellion an...Unlike Stuart, Lee survived the Great Rebellion and that provided Southern revisionists with the opportunity to cast him as the great hero of the Lost Cause. As a result of their spin, he's now omnipresent. There are so many places around here named after him that changing the name of Lee High School would be pointless. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6246743662284890173.post-61680968683786201312016-05-25T11:17:14.553-04:002016-05-25T11:17:14.553-04:00Wow. Lot's of people seem to have been tuned ...Wow. Lot's of people seem to have been tuned out in their history classes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6246743662284890173.post-75541612563112898342016-05-25T11:07:12.342-04:002016-05-25T11:07:12.342-04:00JEB Stuart didn't violate his oath of service....JEB Stuart didn't violate his oath of service. That's because he resigned his commission in the U.S. Army before joining the Confederacy. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6246743662284890173.post-74496954525627946342016-05-25T10:37:47.517-04:002016-05-25T10:37:47.517-04:00To: None Listed5/25/16, 5:39 AM et al
You are def...To: None Listed5/25/16, 5:39 AM et al<br /><br />You are definitely trying to erase history; no doubt about it.<br /><br />The Civil War, also known as the War between the States or the War of Northern Agression, was a fight for independence by the South. <br /><br />The South lost, but kindness, goodness and compassion reigned over spite and punishment and Southerners were allowed to return to their homes in dignity in their defeat.<br /><br />Why are you and others trying to erase that magnificent lesson after all these years? <br /><br />Today you are fomenting hostility and judging others outside the context of their times. You are attacking your neighbors' descendents. There are plenty of true Virginians with a long Virginian lineage living in Northern Virginia. Don't be so smug. <br /><br />Should your neighbors with a Virginian lineage be ashamed of their family histories? I don't think so.<br /><br />Yes, you are erasing history. You are fomenting hostility and divisiveness and erasing Lincoln's outstanding example of compassion that helped heal the wounds of war and bring us back together as a strong country. <br /><br />Oh, and I am a midwesterner. I do not believe in revising history. I simply do not believe in judging the past in the context of today's standards. <br /><br />Concernedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12360899016672072883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6246743662284890173.post-58313141944860323292016-05-25T08:35:38.081-04:002016-05-25T08:35:38.081-04:00Well said. Apparently, since no one actually comes...Well said. Apparently, since no one actually comes from Virginia anymore, they don't understand what it meant to be a Virginian. Stuart and Lee were both loyal to their homes (Virginia). Why is there no equal push to change the name of R.E. Lee HS? Perhaps, their history teachers are better? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6246743662284890173.post-20955057451729000992016-05-25T05:39:40.679-04:002016-05-25T05:39:40.679-04:00No one is trying to erase history. The Confederacy...No one is trying to erase history. The Confederacy will always be part of America's past. The question is about what we as a community choose to honor by the naming of our civic buildings.<br /><br />I find it bizarre that anyone would choose to honor a CSA general at all but particularly JEB Stuart. He had no ties to this area other than his service in the CSA. He was a commissioned officer in the US Army who swore an oath to protect the Constitution yet broke that oath and fought against it. This is not a man worthy of honor.<br /><br />Change the name.James Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05924076186902270786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6246743662284890173.post-29766352559906656632016-05-25T00:10:26.358-04:002016-05-25T00:10:26.358-04:00Shoo, troll. Shoo, troll. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6246743662284890173.post-38589304773198951442016-05-25T00:05:05.952-04:002016-05-25T00:05:05.952-04:00^^ and in this case, a traitor who lost the war.
...^^ and in this case, a traitor who lost the war.<br /><br />I'm a Stuart alum who was not offered an opportunity to take the survey. Evans will be hearing from me soon. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com