[ClearBlueSky]

Here's a native New Orleanian's POV. Never, in all my years, have I ever heard anyone say they were 'offended' by statues.No, not even black neighbors and co-workers.Most have never noticed/cared about them-or even know WHO they represent!
Those statues aren't responsible for the decay of N.O. Those statues don't kill every night, and when they are gone the 'offended' will STILL rob and murder.Not one thing will be improved by their removal. The militant proponents of destroying everything THEY find 'offensive' have already said they want Jackson Square renamed, streets and schools renamed, ANYTHING white with a connection to 'oppression' gone. They proudly admit this is just a START.
I fully expect the Square to be rededicated to Jesse/Michael Jackson. The Lee statue should be replaced with one representing the current N.O.: a scowling thug with a gun standing beside a pregnant baby-momma, surrounded by her children. THAT would be a relevant monument most of the current residents would admire. So- what the hell-take'em down! Surely everyone will be safer. It's easier to attack dead white people's statues than to deal with the heavily armed feral blacks who control the city. They shoot back. When all the 'offensive' statues and street names are gone there will STILL be thugs preying on clueless tourists and executed bodies in the streets. It doesn't matter anyway- N.O. is decaying, sinking and one hurricane away from total destruction. The Gulf of Mexico will take care of all 'offenses'.

[rktman]

And yet, I’ll wager that you know folks who will NOT ever leave the city. I’ve known quite a few.

[x]

The Lee statue should be replaced with one representing the current N.O.: a scowling thug with a gun standing beside a pregnant baby-momma, surrounded by her children.

If somebody reduced your own ethnic group to that kind of offensive stereotype, you'd probably complain, wouldn't you?