European Statue Haters
In recent years statues across the country have been attacked.
My first reaction to this was amusement at the thought that removing statues would somehow alter history.
Many of the statues being attacked are related to the Civil War. I recall that when I was growing up there was a simple statue of a Confederate soldier on the City Hall grounds in Alexandria, Louisiana, the town across the Red River from my hometown, Pineville.
As a teenager, I thought that celebrating the losers in a war a little strange, but I didn't dwell on it. It was a statue. Later I remember realizing that the statue was a remembrance of the many men in the South including Louisiana who had lost their lives in the war. That seemed appropriate.
Years ago when a new courthouse was constructed, the statue disappeared along with any open ground to place it. I don't recall much being said about it.
Of course we all saw efforts to topple Andrew Johnson's statue near the White House. Here are a few more.
A statue of Hans Christian Heg, abolitionist and member of the Union Army, on the Capitol grounds in Wisconsin, was removed and thrown in a lake.
Also in Wisconsin, “Forward,” an allegorical statue which included the American flag, was dragged from its base.
A statue of Christopher Columbus had its head hacked off in Boston, thrown in a lake in Richmond, was drenched in red paint in Miami, and dragged from its base in St. Paul.
In San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, statues of St. Junipero Serra, Francis Scott Key, and Ulysses S. Grant were torn down---a saint, the author of the lyrics of the “Star Spangled Banner,” and a President and leader of the victorious army of the North.
In many cases statues are removed by government entities: The House of Representatives voted to remove all Confederate statues in the U.S. Capitol. Included in this “cleansing” was the former Chief Justice of the United States Roger Taney, author of the 1857 Dred Scott decision. You can well imagine what many local governments are removing.
At first glance, Black Lives Matter members seem to be confused as to who their enemy is, but after a closer look, I realized that all of these have a European heritage. I think these statue haters hate Europeans. In that context, it make sense. If ya'll keep this up, ya'll going to hurt my feelings.
After all the “offensive” statues are destroyed or removed from public view, people of European heritage will still be your neighbors.
I have a good friend who is a sculptor: if I were him, I think I would be offended by these acts of vandalism. After all, these statues are also works of art.
enough