My country has had a civil war, invasions by the french, by the spanish, more recently a revolution that threw a fascist government, followed by a very colourful period of internal squirmishes between anti-regime forces, but we settled those events and that was that: off to the history books.

What motivates so many people to re-enact battles from the American Civil War?

It sounds cruel. Re-enacting a war where so many died gruesome deaths.

  • hedgehogging_the_bed@lemmy.world
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    6 days ago

    We didn’t do a good job in the aftermath of the Civil War cleaning up the people who caused the problem. We were too quick to pardon everyone and try to get back to normal.

    That gave the losing side the idea that it was only a temporary setback everyone secretly thought they were right or else we would have been more angry with them and it’s been a huge fucking problem ever since.

    • Soapbox@lemmy.zip
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      6 days ago

      No need for the strikethrough. They have been saying “The south shall rise again” pretty much from the get go.

      • hedgehogging_the_bed@lemmy.world
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        5 days ago

        True, but the second part was far more important. It’s not that they think they are right, it’s that they are CONVINCED that everyone else ALSO thinks they are right and are too scared to say so. So they are thrilled to force their racist beliefs on everyone because they are sure we are just victims of the “woke mind virus” or equivalent. They are sure they are saving us from ourselves and it makes them insufferable.

        • ruuster13@lemmy.zip
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          5 days ago

          And they believe in an afterlife defined by justice, so it’s not a big deal if you have to die for the cause.