Should we ignore our history because of the injury it may have caused at the time? I am not offended by General Lee. Are you?

General Lee played a major role in the History of the Untied States. We should not ignore or blacken out this part of history just because someone might feel "offended" by it.

From the "Lion King"

Adult Simba: I know what I have to do. But going back means I'll have to face my past. I've been running from it for so long.
[Rafiki hits Simba on the head with his stick]
Adult Simba: Ow! Jeez, what was that for?
Rafiki: It doesn't matter. It's in the past.
[laughs]
Adult Simba: Yeah, but it still hurts.
Rafiki: Oh yes, the past can hurt. But from the way I see it, you can either run from it, or... learn from it.

This has to be one of the most profound lines I had ever heard in a Disney movie.

There is a difference between honoring someone and erasing history. To use the inevitable nazi Germany comparison (and no, I'm not saying Lee equals Hitler) , there is no denying that Hitler at one time was the leader of Germany, and that NAZI soldiers fought bravely. But that doesn't mean it is appropriate to fly a swastika flag on the grounds of the German capitol today or have statues to Hitler or his portrait in prominent places.

So I believe equating the removal of those fixtures honoring confederate leaders from public spaces is a far cry from erasing history. History lives on in books and museums, and should be studied in schools. But that doesn't mean we need to honor those who fought for the right to allow certain human beings to own other human beings as property, and buy and sell them, no different from the way they owned a horse.