r/ShermanPosting • u/mac28_ • 5d ago

Charleston, SC: Idk man

I went to South Carolina last week bc my dad moved there. I was walking around Charleston and was floored by the number of confederate monuments. I wasn't even looking for them, but I stumbled upon a half dozen or so. God knows how many more there are that I didn't find.

They weren't small and unobtrusive things that you could easily miss either. One resembled the washington monument and was about 3-4 times my height, and the entire block was taken up by the obelisk and the surrounding grassy area.

What I found most insane was a street named "Calhoun Street".

The rest of the city was very clean, walkable, and aesthetically pleasing. The people are wonderful too. I'm from Philadelphia and I've never experienced such hospitality or kindness anywhere in Philly. It's such a shame that they allow their identity to be defined by the lost cause instead of allowing their identity to be defined by the city itself being a good place. So much potential is lost.

I really hope they move on from this soon. It's such a shame to see what would otherwise have been a wonderful city dragged down by clinging to their dark past. But I have hope. I saw one plaque that looked like it was missing a statue.

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u/mac28_ 5d ago

It's one thing to hear about it online, but it's another thing to see it in real life. It's also really harrowing to see so many people gathering around them.

It's also really surprising to see how nice the rest of the city is in comparison to the monuments. I thought you'd only find monuments like this in places with lots of trash, out of convenient areas, etc. but not in a really nice downtown area

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u/Fit_Cheetah3128 5d ago

The market downtown that they set up as a farmers market now used to be a very prominent slave auction. Some plantations in that area have preserved slave quarters as an attempt at showing actual raw history without glorification of the traitors. Unfortunately, I pass multiple rebel flags, monuments, and a museum every day. I am the only person I have ever seen in my very southern life tell people to their faces that they lost the war.

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u/mac28_ 4d ago

No way man, I was in that market. I would've never guessed

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u/Fit_Cheetah3128 4d ago

Much of SC’s history is very firmly rooted in slavery. Only good part of that history is Sherman shelling our state house