Rioters Tear Down Monuments In Envy At People Who Do What They Can’t: Build By Auguste Meyrat for The Federalist
If perpetuating a white, patriarchal culture in any capacity is enough to merit monument takedown, nearly all statues are subject to removal, not just those of Confederate generals.
When all is said and done, perhaps the most lasting effect of the riots, protests, and police walkouts across the country will be the removal of so many public statues. Each day, more of them are trampled and defaced.
In the wake of George Floyd’s death, many Americans now conclude that most of their institutions are stained with bigotry and oppression. Therefore, like the original iconoclasts in Byzantium seeking to remove venerated images in the fight against idolatry, today’s iconoclasts are toppling and destroying public monuments to fight hate.
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Such was the reasoning in New Haven and Hartford, two Connecticut cities that have decided to remove statues of Christopher Columbus from public property. What was once a commemoration of the greatest explorer who ever lived, the founder of Western civilization in the Western Hemisphere, and a man who embodied so many virtues of the Western world, now “represents a time of colonialism and atrocities committed,” according to Mayor Justin Elicker. The history itself hasn’t changed, but people’s feelings about history clearly have.
There Is No Limiting Principle
More than a few conservatives have argued against removing these monuments, mainly saying it is counterproductive, misinformed, and uncontrollable. Removing statues, decapitating them, or covering them with profanity will not help any minority community nor make people less bigoted. It will only make them more ignorant of history.
While people can make the case that Confederate generals symbolize a culture of white supremacy and slavery, most of the statues in question have been a tribute to America’s founding ideals. To reduce a monument’s meaning only to the faults of the historical figure it depicts is both unfair and misleading.
As the iconoclasm continues unabated, there isn’t any limiting principle on what should be removed. A slippery slope is unavoidable. President Donald Trump warned about this three years ago: “This week it’s Robert E. Lee. I noticed that Stonewall Jackson is coming down. I wonder is it George Washington next week, and is it Thomas Jefferson the week after? You know, you really do have to ask yourself, where does it stop?” If perpetuating a white, patriarchal culture in any capacity is enough to merit takedown, nearly all statues are subject to removal, not just those of Confederate generals.
