yeah I completely agree
question wasn't whether he deserved a statue on the taxpayer dime though, just what he did to deserve a statue, replete with snarky remarks about the Duke lacrosse team etc.
as far as I'm concerned no taxpayer dollars should go to erecting statues of anything
Particularly impactful people or events are okay. War memorials, for instance, are fine. The Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial are also fine.
If you're Virginian and revere the loyalty and honor of your State's greatest general of all time TO your state, even if he despised your insistence on maintaining slavery, Virginia tax dollars going towards a statue of General Lee is even fine.
There are reasons for statues of figures who have had actions that have a massive impact on the past, present, and future of your state or nation. Thing is, if it IS done on the public dime, it should be at the public's discretion. Meaning a vote/referendum.
I do get it though. "Why the hell is the government stealing the food off my table to build a statue to glorify themselves" doesn't sit well with many people.