Is Our History Being Erased?

This is solely my opinion. 

Recently there has been a reaction to the young men of color that are dying at the hands of the police. This has prompted groups like Black Lives Matter and don't get me wrong, they do matter. What is also happening is statues of Civil War participants (I won't use the word H...) have been removed. Some torn down, some just put in storage. 

I understand that people of color don't want to be reminded of a period in history that should not have occurred, but it did. We should not forget this part of history anymore than we should forget the Holocaust, or so many of the wars that have happened in the past or the current one in Afghanistan. 

I don't know if history is even being taught in schools these days. All my children and grand children are grown, so I don't have any connection with school now days. If history is being taught, what are they teaching them?

On top of all that, we've had a President for the last four years that, in my opinion, is a racist among other things. He encourages white supremist groups, well you saw what happened on January 6th. 

Now I come to the straw that broke the camel's back. 

I've lived in California for 58 years. I've studied California history in college. I've lived in the Motherlode Country for more than 40 years. I've gold mined with a pan, a sluice box, and a suction dredge. I've even written a book (not published) about gold mining. 

One of the main towns in the Motherlode is Placerville. Placerville has been around since the mid 1800's. It's been known as "Dry Diggins", "Old Dry Diggins"' and "Hangtown". It's the county seat for El Dorado County. 

Above is the seal for Placerville formally known as Old Hangtown. Notice the noose hanging from the tree. In downtown there is a bar called Hangman's tree. California Historical Landmark #141.

Hangtown, Hangman's Tree, all part of Placerville's history. Now the city council has decided that the noose on the county seal should be removed. What about the name "Old Hangtown"?

If the city council is going to remove the noose, why not the gold miner. Gold miners devastated the creeks and rivers in the motherlode all in the name of GOLD. Not being as environmentally aware as I am today, I'm just as guilty as they were. 

Is our history being erased? Seems like it to me. As Beau of the fifth column would say, "It's just a thought". 

You might stop in a listen to Beau. I find him quite intelligent. 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0YvoAYGgdOfySQSLcxtu1w

Thanks for listening.    

Stay tuned.