Visiting Richmond VA - Pretty shoking to me. In Monument Ave. a large monument to Jefferson Davis the Confederacy President and the monument writings

The visit to Richmond VA made me face for the first time, the demons of the USA past. The politics of the south was not foreign to me, but I guess I never understood the deep roots of the past, and how deep they penetrated and are still rooted within the people in that area. The confederacy is not a matter of the past, it is very much present today.

At the hotel, when we asked for tourist attractions we were directed to the Monument Avenue. "You will find there the monument of the president" we were told. I naively thought that we were directed to Washington's monument a native of VA. However, we saw no Washington monument, instead the largest monument was for Jefferson Davis the Confederacy president (not a USA president), and as one can see from the writing and the people emotions, he is very much THE president in Richmond. We also visited the Confederacy White House in Richmond, and the sign that explains all about the place to the tourists today, calls the Federal army "The occupying Federal military forces". This seems to explain the deep resentment I constantly hear about on the news against anything which is federal and against the enforcement of the federal law to supersede the power of the states law.

It was pretty ironic to see a shot time later in Washington DC another monument commemorating the victory of the Federal forces over Richmond... I can see how this monument must infuriate people from the south even today.