By UYLESS BLACK

Special to The Press

My experiences in Belfast, Northern Ireland, provide an example of how the chaos in Charlottesville can cascade beyond a city.

The riots and evolving killings in Belfast started “modestly” enough, but the opposing sides soon took to the streets and to other cities. What followed was a full-fledged war in the country. During my time there, Belfast was under martial law. The Europa hotel where I stayed had been bombed and was under repair. It was bombed 36 times.

The government’s role was to keep order, which eventually prevented the opposing sides from expressing their views (and killing each other). Order was kept by overbearing surveillance. The taxi I rode from the airport to the city was stopped and searched by the militia. They pulled out seats, stripped away linings in the trunk, and examined the contents of my suitcase and briefcase. They looked under the hood and under the vehicle. The cab driver took it in stride. He informed me the incident was a “routine random search.”

I could not enter or exit a department store without being questioned and possibly searched. Soldiers, armed with AK-47s, guarded the exits and entrances of all buildings in the center of the city. The government had a mandate to keep its citizenry safe. It did so by suppressing the rights of that very citizenry.

As stated in the first part to this series, if opposing factions, such as those in Charlottesville, cannot confront one another without undermining the city’s economic base and the city’s overall well-being, Uncle Sam will step in and establish order.

Ordinary citizens and local business owners do not give a hill of beans if a tribute to Lee or Grant festoons the local square. They have gone about their business for decades, without regard to Gray or Blue. They are perplexed that a group of outsiders take it upon themselves to disrupt their livelihood.

Ah, but is it for a cause! Never mind that the cause is largely irrelevant to most people who live or work near the statue. Like most statues, almost no one has paid any attention to it. It has gathered more pigeon droppings than it has readers of the statue’s inscription. Thus, like most statues, this one has rested mostly in obscurity.

Tearing Down History

We Americans have begun a trek to (politically) correct historical artifacts. Not by appending another inscription onto the statue stating an opposing view. But by tearing it down and destroying history.

Facts are facts. History is history. Destroying a statue, whatever it may represent (good or evil), is tearing down history. It is a dangerous and slippery slope. The expungement of any historical artifact or fact can lead to yet more razing.

Who knows what might be next? As mentioned, some people believe the Jefferson Memorial and the Washington Monument should be torn down. Does this possibility fit with your beliefs?

I have a modest proposal to address this First Amendment issue, to be continued in the next article. I will also offer some advice to the saber rattlers in Charlottesville.

By the way, for the people protesting the existence of Robert E. Lee statues, don’t forget the statues of Union Gen. William Sherman, especially those that extol his destruction of the economies of several southern states and the very livelihood of the states’ citizens. Also, don’t forget to rename the famous World War II Sherman tank. Monument bashing is a two-way street. So is political correctness.

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To fund his way through college, Uyless Black worked in Watts, Calif., as a bill collector shortly before the riots there. His efforts resulted in the collection of one solitary debt and a few car repossessions. Shortly before he was likely fired, he resigned from the job. Nonetheless, he came to know the urban underpinnings for riots, which devastated the meager income of Watts citizens. He now resides in the safe haven of Hayden with his wife, Holly, and his 5-pound watchdog, Milli. Interlopers, beware.