War Wilmington's Caesar Rodney and Christopher Columbus statues come down - I remember reading how this trend of statue removal was an attempt at a Maoist-style Cultural Revolution. I've not seen anything that contradicts that statement yet.

Wilmington's Caesar Rodney and Christopher Columbus statues come down…

archived 13 Jun 2020 06:17:19 UTC

archive.md

Two of Wilmington's landmark statues were removed on Friday.

The City of Wilmington removed the statue of Christopher Columbus from its perch on Pennsylvania Avenue, where it has stood since the late 1950s, on Friday morning, June 12, 2020.

The 1,600 pound bronze statue was then transported away to storage.

Friday evening, they turned their attention to Rodney Square, there the statue of Caesar Rodney was removed from its perch atop the monument at the park named in his honor.

In a prepared statement, Mayor Michael Purzycki said the statues are being removed and stored so there can be an overdue discussion about the public display of historical figures and events.
"We cannot erase history, as painful as it may be, but we can certainly discuss history with each other and determine together what we value and what we feel is appropriate to memorialize,” said Purzycki.

City officials acknowledged they've been monitoring social media posts which indicated individuals or groups could target the statues for vandalism or attempted removal.

Joe Sielski is with the Facebook group 'It's Time to Remove the Columbus Statue' (Wilmington, DE).

"It's time to review who we consider as heroes with a much more truthful perspective."

In an interview earlier this week with NBC 10, Sielski indicated if the City didn't take action, others might.

"I would rather give the City the chance to have mature conversations and do this the polite way," said Sielski, "instead of just crashing in on the statue with a bunch of hammers."

“We can determine together how we should proceed as a City when it comes to public displays," said Purzycki.

"In this period of awakening for our City, State, and country, we should be listening more to each other and building a more just City and a better America.”

 

[Bowl of Ramen]

Sometimes selfishness is good.

No one alive in the USA would be here today if Christopher Columbus or rather if Europe hadn't discovered the Americas (because it was inevitable that eventually someone would, even if it wasn't Columbus)

I don't know about you, but I'm glad I exist, aren't you? All these people getting so mad about what boils down to their very existence, as if they wish they never existed at all, it's fucking insanity.

So some people in the past suffered because of the discovery, so what? What difference does that make to me as someone living in the 21st century? It's history, they'd all be dead by now anyway, I'm supposed to ruin my society over it?

Is that selfishness? Good! Selfishness is the lesser of two evils compared to being such a bleeding heart you get mad over your own existence.

Had the misfortune to run across such a self-loathing individual in real life. He informed all who would listen that “we wouldn’t care about our existence if we didn’t exist!” (amazing quote there) and it would’ve been better if we hadn’t, then went into the usual Columbus diatribe. It’s frightening to know that opinion is rapidly gaining traction.

As for the Confederate statues, at least leave some of Lee’s up with his actual quotes about slavery. But that wouldn’t fit the narrative, I guess.