Keith, thanks for reading!

Thanks for also pretending that my article is saying something that it, most definitely, is not. ("...had the Nazis reigned longer and enslaved and killed even more Jews, that would then be a good reason for maintaining their statues and other symbols in public places." Your words.)

This is classic straw man: setting up a false argument that you can easily knock down because it's obviously ridiculous.

But you're a smart guy. I'm sure you know that.

By bringing up the entirety of Jewish exile, Jewish persecution, and the Jewish diaspora -- which actually began in the 8th century BC when Israel was conquered by Assyria and multitudes of Hebrew people were deported -- you simply bolster my point that America's history of racism, bigotry, and oppression of black people is a unique case. We cannot look to the aftermath of Nazi-era Germany -- or, for that case, what became of Assyria or Babylon, the Roman Empire's expulsion of Jews from Jerusalem, or the Crusades, etc. -- as some kind of template for the reconciliation and systemic change needed in the U.S.

The point I am making in my article (apparently, not well enough) is that America's racism and bigotry and prejudice is too deeply engrained into the bedrock of our nation. It is as much a founding principle as those principles espoused by our "founding fathers." The argument, 'Hey, look what Germany did after Hitler and the Nazis,' is far too simplistic to be applied to our crisis. (Perhaps the first Germanic tribes had some suggestion of hatred toward Jews in their psyche -- maybe they adopted it from the Romans they were frequently at war with -- but they were no Nazis. The systematizing and legalizing of hatred under a single national government was not there.)

I think you understand history, human nature, and the present moment well enough to agree that, if all Confederate statues and monuments were taken down overnight, the racial animosity, discrimination, and simmering bigotry in our country would not disappear the next day. In fact, it might very well be inflamed.

Confederate statues and monuments are a testament to the heart of those who still harbor racism and cling to false interpretations of the Civil War and the injustices of the South toward black people. Yes, some would say, those statues and monuments should be removed. But they could be removed a lot easier and with less national consternation if more of us realized and recognized the value and personhood of black individuals and the importance of reforming systems that have (wittingly or unwittingly) contributed to the downtrodding of African-Americans. It does not work the other way around -- or at least it does not work anywhere near as well.