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In the June 1969 issue of Civil War History — Volume 5, Number 2, pages 116-132 — a renowned Southern historian attacked the legacy of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
"No single war figure stands in greater need of reevaluation than Lee," wrote Thomas L. Connelly, the late University of South Carolina professor. "One ponders whether the South may not have fared better had it possessed no Robert E. Lee."
Connelly's essay was among the first academic musket shots fired on Lee's standing as an outmatched but not outwitted military genius presiding over a Lost Cause — a reputation celebrated in fawning biographies and monuments like the one removed Friday in New Orleans.
Was General Lee overrated? Get your armchair historian on...
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The Truth About Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee: He Wasn’t Very Good at His Job
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Life is not for everyone.
(Score: 1) by oakgrove on Monday June 12 2017, @01:18AM (8 children)
Fuck this. I'm going back to Slashdot. No, fuck that too [slashdot.org]. Maybe I should just hand out on Hacker News. Dammit, nope [ycombinator.com]! Well, looks like it's time to apply for a login on lobsters.
Look, I get politics-lite human interest is important. But so is food. I don't see multiple articles everyday about cooking the perfect soufflé. But it's you guys' site. Do whatever makes you happy. Peace
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Monday June 12 2017, @01:29AM
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 2) by AthanasiusKircher on Monday June 12 2017, @01:31AM (3 children)
I actually sort of agree with you -- not necessarily that this article shouldn't be here at all (I personally find it interesting), but stuff like this with no tech/science angle at all perhaps should be flagged somehow. This one could probably fall under "politics," since it's pretty clear this was written by a reporter who isn't interested in history as much as providing ammunition to those who want to remove monuments in the current political climate.
But there are articles here sometimes that aren't "politics" and aren't tech/science either (like yesterday's article on magic [soylentnews.org]). I'm not opposed to having general interest articles that are broadly "technical" even about history, etc. (I have admittedly submitted some of them), but I'd agree with you that they should be designated somehow and allow users to screen them.
(Score: 2) by t-3 on Monday June 12 2017, @04:38AM
Tech nexus, politics nexus, general/other nexus? Start using nexus' more so those who want to see certain stuff can opt in or out of categories. Maybe make tech the "default" nexus with others hidden so we don't have to have crybabies whining in every political/non-tech article and let the those that enjoy it argue in the politics nexus.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 12 2017, @05:34AM (1 child)
You don't even need to say "broadly".
The Civil War was about which commanders could best use technology.
They mostly did a shit job, choosing attrition.
Lee, in particular.
See my comment #524126 [soylentnews.org].
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by AthanasiusKircher on Monday June 12 2017, @06:24AM
What I meant by "technical" there wasn't necessarily technology, but I guess something more like "academic" or "nerdy" rather than articles just on random pop culture topics or recipes for souffle (unless the souffle article details the science behind them or something).
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Gaaark on Monday June 12 2017, @02:36AM
"oakgrove has 0 submissions"
Huh! oakgrove submits nothing, but complains when others do!?!
What. A. Surprise.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 2) by VLM on Monday June 12 2017, @12:58PM
I'm tolerable good at analogies. I'll try to squirt out two good ones.
This is similar to endless Monday morning quarterbacking about how "640K should be enough for anyone" and all that crap. I was THERE in the old days and a lot of stuff didn't last very long so planning for the future was really stupid. In fact the true story of the early years of computing isn't boring increases in speed and storage numbers, but increases in the lifespan of ... everything. Back in the 70s and early 80s anything that worked was already obsolete and going in the trash can in a year or two, its unimaginable at the time that MSDOS would have a decade long run. Sure at the time the IBM PC was genius. Sure 20 years later looking back its total WTF were they thinking time. Both concepts are true at the same time.
Another weaker analogy would be retconning simple shell script init scripts as being impossible in order to push the narrative that we need systemd. Of all the shit I did in the 90s and 00s with linux, and I did some crazy stuff, the meme that the most difficult thing I ever done was write an init script is post-systemd and a very recent invention. To some extent the only way something common and obvious can be overturned a zillion years after its widely accepted is if someone's got an extreme agenda to push. If by some miracle systemd were never invented, would anyone give a F about init scripts, which are after all pretty easy sysadmin task? Naw. Likewise unless a modern narrative requires it nobody is going to flip the script on the general opinion of Julius Caesar or Desert Fox Rommel or ... General Lee. But the narrative needed pushing so the Lee statues are getting shoved over.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Monday June 12 2017, @06:14PM
I submitted it weeks ago on a slow news day. Many american geeks like to obsess about two wars, WWII and the American Civil War. I thought the SN crowd might enjoy responding to the article's premise.
Washington DC delenda est.