Theodore Roosevelt statue removed from outside New York’s Museum of Natural History
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
www.washingtonpost.com /nation/2022/01/20/theodore-roosevelt-statue-new-york/
Theodore Roosevelt statue removed from outside New York’s Museum of Natural History
Adela Suliman 5-6 minutes 1/20/2022
A statue of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, was removed overnight Wednesday from its spot outside the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
The towering bronze statue depicts Roosevelt riding a horse, as two nameless African and Native American men flank him on foot.
It has provoked strong debate in the city, as many criticized the apparent subservience of the pair to the White man in the center — calling the scene a symbol of racism and colonialism.
“The statue was meant to celebrate Theodore Roosevelt … as a devoted naturalist and author of works on natural history,” the museum website has said about the removal. “At the same time, the statue itself communicates a racial hierarchy that the Museum and members of the public have long found disturbing.”
Roosevelt’s father was one of the founders of the museum. The “Equestrian Statue of Theodore Roosevelt” was commissioned in 1925 and designed by James Earle Fraser. It has stood on the steps outside the museum since 1940.
In June 2020, the museum announced it had the permission of New York City — along with the blessing of Roosevelt’s namesake descendent — to remove the monument.
Statues have become lightning rods for passionate public debate over whom the United States chooses to honor in its public spaces and how it seeks to record its history.
The push to remove statues gained momentum in the United States and elsewhere following the racial reckoning and Black Lives Matter protests that came after the police killing of George Floyd in 2020.
Former New York mayor Bill de Blasio (D) said in June 2020 it was “the right decision and the right time to remove this problematic statue” because it “explicitly depicts Black and Indigenous people as subjugated and racially inferior.” President Donald Trump called the decision “ridiculous” on Twitter at the time and urged authorities not to remove it.
The museum’s decision was also approved a year later by the New York City Public Design Commission. New York City owns the statue and the property on which it was built. The museum also created its own exhibit to address the questions and criticism surrounding the monument.
The Roosevelt statue will be on long-term loan to the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library due to open in 2026, in North Dakota, where Roosevelt spent time in the Badlands. The presidential library was termed “a fitting new home” by New York City officials when the decision was made last year, noting it could be “appropriately contextualized” there.
Library trustees agreed the statue was “problematic in its composition” and said in a statement they would be establishing an advisory council comprising representatives from Indigenous and Black communities, historians, scholars, and artists to determine next steps.
The president’s descendent Theodore Roosevelt V has welcomed the decision to remove the monument and said in a statement that there were lessons to be learned from “difficult, complex, and inclusive discussions” about its future.
Statues of Confederate leaders, Christopher Columbus, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson have been set ablaze, vandalized or torn down by protesters in some places. In 2017, the Roosevelt statue itself was doused in red paint by a group called the “Monument Removal Brigade,” which said the statue represented “patriarchy, white supremacy and settler-colonialism.”
A monument of Jefferson was removed from New York City Hall last year after officials voted unanimously to banish it from the council chambers over the former president’s history as a enslaver. In D.C., a debate continues to grow over calls for the removal of the Emancipation Memorial featuring Abraham Lincoln, which sits in Lincoln Park, steps away from the U.S. Capitol.
Roosevelt was president from 1901 to 1909. He was the first president to invite an African American, Booker T. Washington, to dine at the White House, and he pushed for a “square deal” for people of all races and classes, supporting unions while cracking down on monopolies. Yet he also believed in the superiority of White, Western culture and supported the eugenics movement.
Before becoming president, Roosevelt wrote enthusiastically of conquering the “squalid savages” on the Western frontier in his 1889 book, “ The Winning of the West .” Even some of his supporters concede that not unlike the country he led, Roosevelt had a complicated and at times troubling history.
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I feel a little bit more ambivalent about this statue than about the Lost Cause confederate traitor statues, but in the end it is a relic of American colonialism and the "white man's burden" mindset from the late 19th and early 20th century. Put up a different statue of Teddy Roosevelt in the same spot.
...or we can spraypaint the two walkers white. A load of white soldiers have had to walk in the horseshit of lieutenants.
Such statements like that are exactly why we have to revisit the way history has been told in this country and get it right.
I'm usually not a fan of removing statues. I'm also not a fan of creating them in the first place, but since they are there and have historical significance I think they have their uses if viewed correctly. In this case, however, they symbolism of this particular statue seems egregious enough to warrant its removal. The quote you provide here suggests the hubris behind Roosevelt's (and probably most of his contemporaries) worldview I see in the statue. As if he were both their subjugator and savior, rescuing the Indians from their savage existence. I can see why that would be inappropriate and hard to let stand.
And the sheer pettyness of the liberal left "woke" culture claims another victim!
How is that pettiness ?
We have different mindsets John. We each see things differently on this. The left keeps taking down any statue or monument that may offend them. How far does it go and where does it end? When there is nothing left of our past heritage left?
They can put up a different statue of Teddy Roosevelt. As far as statues being "history" , that is highly debatable.
I used the word heritage. You used history. Heritage and history can be either good or bad, but in the end they are still just heritage and history and should not be forgotten or erased.
Until the majority are comfortable with publicly displayed 'heritage'/history/art.
Teddy doesn't care.
Jeff Davis, Robert E Lee et al, All dead, no opinions.
Probably until all of the woke folk are satisfied.
Oh, hell, who am I kidding?
As far as necessary to assuage faux white guilt feelings over things which happened decades ago.
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Step out of the past.
By erasing it?
No thanks, not today, and not tomorrow. Next week isn't looking good, either.
No problem, I can't tell you from JR now anyway. lol
No insult intended Kathleen.
Your avatars are too similar now.
That's all I meant.
Gee, who knew simply removing some statues would have zero effect on race relations?
“At the same time, the statue itself communicates a racial hierarchy that the Museum and members of the public have long found disturbing.”
I call bullshit. Nothing more than virtue signaling.
Exactly....................
Its not hard to see that the statue communicates a racial hierarchy. Maybe you need to reconsider. Or are you in favor of racial hierarchies ?
I have been to the museum at least 12 times and have never thought about the statue in terms of racial hierarchy. I am also willing to be that the vast majority of people going there or passing by it have not thought about it at all either, including the people that have worked there over the years. The fact that it "bothers" them so much at this point in time only reflects the need to placate the woke few. In other words virtue signaling. Luckily people are getting tired of it and are starting to push back on the insanity. Maybe you should reconsider the importance of a statue that the vast majority of people don't care about and spend time worrying about things that really matter.
I’m offended by murals of criminal thugs like George Floyd and Che.
You see, I’m against criminals in general.
So what?
Irrelevant.
Nope, 100% relevant. And it’s current news, not ancient news.
If you can't figure it out by yourself I am afraid nothing I say can help clarify. Suffice it to say taking the statue down at this time is nothing other than virtue signaling and any perceived concern about racial hierarchy is just them bowing to the wokesters that tell everyone else what should bother them if they don't want to get called racist and canceled.
Have a lovely day.
Explain to us why a statue of George Floyd is relevant to the Teddy Roosevelt statue.
The TR statue was recommended for removal long before anyone knew who George Floyd was.
There is a reason to take down the statue related to the message it sends. You just dont like the reason.
George Floyd only held a gun to a pregnant woman's stomach in a home invasion, his statue stays. Teddy wanted to protect forests and wildlife, clearly we need to tear down that statue.
Start a seed about George Floyd then. It is irrelevant to this seed.
I’ve already told you. I’m offended by criminals. Just like you are offended by TR.
Just like TR, GF must be erased from view to put a cooling salve on my delicate sensibilities.
Nope, still 100% applicable in comparison.
100%
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Sounds like an outright lie to me.
You have a hard time staying on the topic. Probably because you dont have a good argument to make about it.
Floyd was a hardened brutal criminal thug. TR was not. I would much prefer a staue of TR over Floyd any day. He was not perfect and had his faults but that scumbag Floyd did hold a candle to Roosevelt!
You have a hard time accepting cogent points being made on topic. Usually when said points don’t goose step in exact unison with your preferred narrative.
c’est la vie John .....
I haven't been there nearly as many times as you, but I agree with your comment. The removal of the statue was most likely due to the complaints of a few woke people - the type who are offended by anything and anyone who don't think like they do.
BTW ... they'll also have to rename the park where the museum is located ... Theodore Roosevelt Park. How ironic that it took 82 years before somebody was offended by the statue!
I have explained , and others have explained why the statue is offensive.
There is nothing else we can do for people whose mind is made up that it is only about "cancel culture".
This seed is far from the conservatives finest hour.
George Floyd is not even close to being the topic of this article.
That doesn't mean that everyone must agree.
I'm not too sure about that. It's been my experience that folks who want to remove statues, murals, paintings, etc. of historic meaning from public view are those on the left. Not all, but some ... and they are quite vocal about it.
Here's another example of activists' cancelation - a 141-year-old statue of Lincoln that commemorated Emancipation and freedom. I don't know about you or anyone else, but I was taught that freedom is a good thing.
Historical revisionism is a age old concept.
Just because the statue is offensive to you does not mean it is offensive to everyone. As I have stated the vast majority of people don't care about it at all, much less find it offensive. The woke left are just mad that everyone doesn't find it offensive as they think they should.
So some people find it offensive and you basically say so what....
Then why do you care? What are you complaining about?
Wokesters go out of there way to find offensive things to cancel. Some people think kneeling for the national anthem is offensive, yet people still do it with the blessing of the wokesters. . You are not going to make all the people happy all the time.
I find the direction of the woke left offensive, maybe they should stop.
So some buzzword that has lost all meaning is what you are going by.
If you think only the left wing has an agenda and the right wing does not I have a bridge I can sell you. May need some repairs as it has been neglected for a couple of years...
It is a definition that has plenty of meaning as long as the wokesters keep doing wokester stuff.
That is not what I think at all, both sides do have an agenda, this article happens to be about the left agenda.
Weird to me that you think it is some kind of putdown.
I would rather be 'woke' than have my eyes closed.
You can be woke and have your eyes closed also. In fact the two go hand in hand.
Nailed it with that!
Only your opinion...
sleep walkers...
Perhaps it is time the woke crowd realizes that we all don't worship at the altar of The Church of the Perpetually Offended by Something or Other.
Yep
As long as there is a statue they don't like still standing the woke left's job is never done.
Keep rationalizing the it isn’t topical. I know you will.
Poor, poor wokesters .... so put upon .... so angry .... so wrong ....
That is a little scary. I guess the woke left can read and like what the read so they want to try it out..
They do seem to be their happiest when they are miserable.
Or knowingly making other people miserable.
Right wing cry babies just droning on and on and on and on and on and on and on with no end in sight on this seed.
Nah but we do know many on the left have a highly distorted viewpoint of the world around them and simple can’t handle reality.
It’s just sad, really sad.
I just learned that Teddy's great-great-grandson, Theodore Roosevelt V, played a hand in the statue's removal and was very happy about it. He's allegedly followed in Teddy's footsteps as a conservationist, and he also worked in the Obama administration in a climate change role.
Somewhere along the line conservatism morphed from those dedicated to conserving our land and natural resources for further generations into preserving the rights of corporations and resource owners to slash and burn at will without regulation or consequences. From protecting the many from the few unto preserving the privilege of a shrinking minority. From a financially conservative party to one with radical beliefs in voodoo economics and trickle down nonsense. Where all that matters is that the very very rich have ever lower taxes and become infinitely richer while most people live in want. Those now insuring that future generations will be burdened with the tab for their reckless mismanagement. Ala Trump!
I think you may be confused. It is the left wing that is crying about statues that have been up for several generations with no issues. The right wing is just pointing out how ridiculous their virtue signaling really looks.
Probably saw it as an opportunity to be on CNN. Pretty sad that anyone would aspire to that.
Thank you for taking the time to write a lengthy comment to me that is unrelated to the seeded topic.
It’s the old baffle em with bullshit gambit.
Man, they do love the sound of their voices don’t they?
Or trying to make somebody else that do not share their views feel that way.
Making white liberals "feel better" without them having to actually do anything.
You have a one note song.
You're the one with the song. I'm just singing my part.
We have to fight the patriarchy of systematic institutional racism and stuff. Did you want cream or sugar?
It is after noon, Sambuca please.
Teddy Roosevelt was one of our first environmentalists and a great president, but he said a few mean things that after over 100 years have upset some so much that now his statue must be taken down. Where will this craziness end?
Easily offended hard core leftist liberal snowflakes have long memories. Until those with common sense rise up and do something to stop it, it will keep going for as long as they think they can get away with it.
I could counter that ignorant statement with something like the stupid right-wing whiners have long memories and want the country to go back to the 1850s. For them acknowledging the true history of the US is a bridge too far and would require some self-awareness which is in short supply if available to them at all.
I'm not easily offended at all Doc, I've lived as an Indian my whole life and my skin is tough I'm very familiar with what it means to be an Indian in the US. Instead of running my mouth on a social media site like so many here, I've actually fought the fight to bring about equal civil rights for Natives on the streets and in the courtroom. I will keep up the fight until I no longer can and perhaps those that you call having common sense will try to stop me, they haven't been able to in 70 plus years.
Counter all you want, it makes no difference to me as this is still a free country. You, me, and others paid with our blood to help insure that. Call me or my statement ignorant all you want, but either way I still respect your right to do so. I can only hope you can respect mine as well. If not, that's the way it goes. Have a good day.
Well said.
What is the downside to removing the TR statue from in front of the museum? The downside is all wrapped up in the hurt feelings of conservatives , and I suppose, big Teddy Roosevelt fans.
The nicest thing one can say about the statue is that it is paternalistic towards people of color, particularly American Indians and blacks. A more realistic assessment would be that it represents the "white man's burden" which was a theme of that era akin to recognizing the "great white father" bs. There is no reason to keep this imagery around in the 21st century.
Another question is WHY do these removals upset right wingers? Do they feel attacked? Why? All the removal does is acknowledge past history has not always been accurately presented, and was usually framed in a way to make whites look better than their behavior at the time justifies. So what? We are SUPPOSED to learn from the past.
Well said Doc!
At least your rationalizations are consistent John which is about the only value I can find there but lets turn it around.
Why are leftist so worried about shit that happened Centuries ago? Are your sensibilities really that frail and narcissistic?
I guess they are ....
Nah.
They chase the shiny object, and this one happens to be in front of their noses this week.
It's going to cost over $2 million.
Surely you're smart enough to think of at least a dozen ways $2million could be better spent to improve the lives of minorities in NYC.
Or, that it represents a historically accurate view from the time it depicts.
Interesting to hear you of all people oppose public education regarding historical racism in America. So out of curiosity, where does this particular crusade stop? Do we ban Huckleberry Finn from public schools? Will The Scarlett Letter follow, on the grounds it's misogynistic?
Do explain how wasting large sums of money to remove educational materials moves us closer toward that goal.
So what?
The removal of such statues is a societal acknowledgement that things have changed. That is very important.
Kowtowing to placate a few disgruntled folks usually is unsuccessful as policy.
Hmmm..... "We don't do it that way anymore so we should remove references to it". Sounds like some of the justifications people use for anti-CRT laws.
There are any number of ways $2million could be spent to lift minority families out of poverty in NYC. You could pay for 2 year degrees for about 170 kids. You could train hundreds of electricians or plumbers or HVAC techs. At $40/hr, you could pay for 50,000 hours of tutoring to help low performing students.
You could equip hundreds of NYC residents with the skills they need to stay out of poverty for the rest of their lives, and in doing so change the outlook for those families for generations.
Or you can spend the money to take down a statue so a very small group of very entitled people will feel better about symbolism.
I dare say that most who want statues removed are well enough off financially to not have to worry about poverty, so your great suggestions for using the money in actual productive ways won't be noticed.
I bet the poor people think daily to themselves, "Man, I sure wish that statue was removed to improve my life".
Man, if people can't tell that times have changed all on their own, then removing a statue is certainly NOT going to help them.
Triggering is a real problem these days ......
I'd like to give an answer to this question.
I am an Indian and a fan of Teddy Roosevelt. I grew up on Long Island, where he is from and live only 10 min from his home, which I tour often to learn more about him, both good and bad.
Statues are a reflection of their times. There are many statues of Teddy, almost all are very tasteful. This particular one is a put down to both Indians and blacks and is in a prominent area. Personally, I don't want to look at a statue, that has my people as a subordinate to Teddy unless everyone is and clearly that is not the case. Also, this statue is not being destroyed but moved to a less prominent area. In this way, a compromise has been met.
I realize that it is hard to understand what it is like to be a minority and the past that goes along with that. To constantly feel like the "other" in one's own country, isn't fair, nor understanding.
It is of Teddy Roosevelt, he is the main person here and is in the position of honor. Looks like they are walking with him. Looks like they are being included and also honored with Roosevelt.
Given our knowledge of Roosevelt's bigotry against native Americans and the fact that this statue was funded by his father, chances are good that this is not intended to honor native Americans.
If it was an attempt to mock them, why are they so strong and muscular looking?
I do not know what was in the minds of those who commissioned and produced the statue. But I do know that Roosevelt was quite a bigot when it came to native Americans.
Based on that fact, why would one think it is likely that this statue is meant to honor native Americans?
because they are with him. The purpose of statues is to honor those depicted, unless they are clearly shown as bad.
To me it Looks like they are walking with the central figure who was known for riding horses
If so then Roosevelt either had a major change of heart or was trying to make up for his history of bigotry.
there are only 2 people besides the cental figure on horseback, both are in the same pose, so they look equal to me. Both look strong and impressive. I think the statue honors all 3.
Should other groups be complaining they were left out?
To me, I see two strong men being subservient to the man on the horse. Hight in art as in life (think of the Queen on the thrown) always meant to show power, conquest, higher than...
And then think of the history of this country and you can see how it is easy to make that assumption.
There are so many other statues of Roosevelt that do not convey this message and I have no issue with them. I hope that one of those or a new one will adorn this place instead.
Why do people have to complain about this removal? Why not just accept it? The reason to remove it is obvious and just. No one on earth is harmed by the removal of this particular statue. No one.
I have a sinking feeling it won't.
Far too many snowflakes out there with faux poutrage over something they most likely had to be told about and told to be upset about.
The woke crowd is in charge now!
Oh please.
And you have no grounds to tell me what is faux outrage or not. You have not walked a mile in my shoes.
I certainly did not address my comment to you.
If you took it personally, and the shoe fits, then that is all on you.
I bet 99% of people couldn't care less about some dumb statues, and most people can't tell why we are supposed to be outraged decades or centuries later.
If 99% don't care then no problem taking it down aye?
You made a general comment about a large swath of people. I responded. The shoe fits only because I am one of those you are addressing, right? That's on you.
I can only speak for myself and I think I gave a clear explanation as to why I have an issue with this specific statute and how it can be remedied. And if they are dumb statues, why do you care?
If 99% don't care, then no problem leaving them alone, eh?
So in which year did you begin to think the statue should be removed?
I know that the statue made me feel uncomfortable when I was a kid on a school trip to the museum. Back in the 60's I was mocked for being an Indian and a Jew, but then again, I grew up in Wantagh, which was the headquarters for the Bund on Long Island, so no surprise there.
I respect your experiences, but that really didn't
answer the question.
I am assuming you mean when did I begin to think the statue should be removed?
Well, that is a bit of a journey. Until you are given a voice in a society, you don't say anything and in my childhood and youth, I had none.
As society evolved to be more accepting and interested in reevaluating our past, I began to wish that there was a better representation of Teddy.
But society changes in fits and starts. It's been more recently that it seemed possible. Until then it seemed impossible.
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In the history of the USA, the government negotiated and broke some 360 treaties with Native American tribes
contributing to the demise of approximately 12 million people at the hands of mostly white people and a white dominated
government.
In general about 25% of all living America Indians still living on the res, do so in third world conditions.
Likewise the same people fought against the British and the Indians while establishing a new government
and in establishing that new government protected the enslavement of millions of African slaves for over a hundred years.
Did the Civil war change the plight of African Americans?
Hell no. Backlash, carpetbaggers, Jim Crow, red lining and the failure of SCOTUS to address or enforce fair housing laws
allowed discrimination to continue until present day. In 1948 SCOTUS refused to rule that the racial caveats in Levittown
leases were unconstitutional. That Levittown and other similar housing ventures were for white WWII vets only.
They decided they were unenforceable basically screwing deed restrictions and refused to hear
many similar cases since then.
I have absolutely no white guilt about the past.
I am concerned that the Fair Housing Act of 1968 has to be defended and upheld every year at SCOTUS,
.
The Controversial History of Levittown, America's First Suburb - Untapped New York (untappedcities.com)
2017
BANK OF AMERICA CORP. ET AL. v. CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA | FindLaw
2020
Trump Moves to Roll Back Obama Program Addressing Housing Discrimination - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
2022
Arlington settles federal housing discrimination lawsuit (msn.com)
Just because you don't see it happening doesn't mean discrimination isn't still happening.
It was a nice statue, I'm sure they will find a nice place to display it somewhere
and I won't feel any guilt about that either.
Anybody that has a statue has probably done something to annoy some group somewhere
Especially given that societies evolve; their mores and values evolve; what was accepted as normal in older societies (and thus by the men and women of those times) is often seen quite differently a century (or more) later.
Agreed, but in many cases people of a bygone time and era are frequently judged, for good or bad, by the mores of today rather than in the context of when they lived.
That was my point.
Yep.
The Egyptian Pharos were well known for defacing hieroglyphs and replacing them with their own BS.
The Muslims routinely repurposed churches and synagogues into Mosques. As long as they are dominant in an area, those buildings will remain as mosques.
The Russians rewrote history at will for a hundred years.
In the 1990s a few statues of the Czars came out of storage,
There are estimated to be only 4 statues of Marx and or Engels in public in Moscow.
Hundreds of Lenin and Communist Party sculptures were collected from all over Moscow
and placed in Fallen Monument Park.
In Germany, there are no public statues of Adolf hitler or Reinhard Heydrich nor any
monuments to Nazi soldiers at all. German laws generally forbid any Nazi flags at all
or the use of the swastika for political use.
Isis, Al Quada et al looted their own counties' antiquities for black market cash and desecrated or destroyed
thousands of years of heritage for 'religious" reasons.
Koreans older than 40 still despise the old Japanese Imperial governments, the younger people dislike China much more.
We aren't that far removed from those sentiments ourselves,
yet we modern white Americans still romanticize the Wild West, the Civil War, how the West was "won".
We alone allow state holidays for the likes of Jeff Davis, Lee Stonewall Jackson.
We alone spend decades litigating statues to the likes of Nathan Bedford Forrest,
CSA general and Grand Wizard of the KKK.
Each statue removed to storage or a museum is just another step towards that ideal
of July 4 1776 that all men are created equal.
We aren't quite there yet and we should never stop trying to achieve that.
Comment about the future plans for
relocating the statue to the finally completed new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library
in North Dakota,
I predict instant protests by native Americans, not just from ND either.
Both figures should be surgically removed
Correction, the statue is being removed first for some refurbishing.
The TR Presidential Library is currently not scheduled to open until 2026.
The great great grandson said that should give "them" enough time to figure out a way to present the statue
in a way to teach about the past.
Medora ND, currently has 129 residents. The town expects great growth in tourism, hotels eateries etc.
However, it lies almost dead center between the Fort Peck Indian reservation to the northwest
Fort Bechold Indian Agency to the northeast and both the Standing Rock Indian Reservation
and the Cheyenne River Reservation to the southeast.
If statues could feel...
Obviously, that is true, but this particular statue does have symbolic messaging that most other statues don't. Measuring a person by the time they lived in is fair, but when the actual image is a putdown, that has to be taken into consideration.
And for the record, I would not be opposed if a new statue of Teddy was commissioned for that spot since the museum wouldn't have been possible without him.
A healthy position.
Doubtful many of the folks who wanted it gone would agree. Not honestly anyway.
Entirely too much hate held in those folks hearts.
I agree. This particular statue is really cringey.
Doubtful that it's your place to judge them or assume that
Doubtful that there is any hate involved in trying to achieve the lofty goal of the Declaration of Independence
that all men are created equal.
It's a moral issue of right and wrong. period.
Teddy was a great leader of white people, sadly that is not what the statue conveys.
It's hilarious to see the whining about the statue of Roosevelt being removed.
Deal with it snowflakes.
Lol… people supporting the removal of a statue calling those who criticize them for it “snowflakes”. Think about it, the people who were offended by a the statue of a president calling other snowflakes. The projection is off the charts.
If you are going to destroy something, at least be able to take criticism without whining…..
LOL, it wasn't destroyed but being ignorant of the facts it's nice to see that you put your foot in your mouth again.
What's wrong with removing a statue which represents a time when people of color were lesser ? I dont get what the complaint is. Statues are not "history". They are intended to glorify something. Here, there is no glory in this statue.
Lol.. I said it was removed and the vision of the entrance with the statue is destroyed.
But, yeah, I can see why you focused on that rather than addressing the actual point. Easier to deflect and distract than deal directly with the matter. .
That's really neither here nor there to what I wrote.
I was responding to Kavika projecting and calling anyone who dared criticize this a "snowflake." The snowflakes in this situation are those who were so triggered as to remove an famous statue and then whine about being criticized for it.
The sheer entitlement of thinking you can do something like this without it being discussed or criticized is mind-blowing..
I still dont get what the complaint is. You are not arguing on behalf of the statue, you are arguing against the people who removed it.
That is your comment, nothing about vision or entrance, so stop with the BS lies, Sean.
Sure Sean, you said that without using the word 'vision' or 'entrance'.
What utter bullshit.
that's not what you said....
I've been watching all these statues coming down for what, the last year or two? Time just runs together for me anymore.
For me, taking the statues down is like opening a history book and find parts of it crossed out rather than highlighted. Instead of tearing everything down, we put up more about the real history for people to read?
Let's layout the history of those whom those statues represent.
I read a story in the Washington Post this morning about a black man who bought a house in the area in which he grew up. It wasn't until after he bought it that he learned that at one time it had been the center of plantation. The plantation owner had owned his ancestors. He learned that the time of the civil war had not been taught in the schools because it caused 'discomfort'. History can do that, but I always encourage people to learn history. Thus my avatar. Rather than blot out what has happened, what about learning from it and trying to do better?
Then, perhaps in the future, we can put up some new statues showing how the history of the old statues was overcome.