"Your group of people" is meant by that, in a venomous way. I have no patience for people trying to destroy statues and erase history (and acting like fascists or supporting them), especially when they try to demand we respect THEIR actions while demonizing and denouncing ours.
Why should I use polite language and be respectful when your side can't be arsed?
I know that I can be arsed to use polite language. I know that even if I may not agree with someone on a particular subject, I'm willing to be convinced if they present me with arguments that I find reasonable.
And what do you mean by "erasing history"? When I hear that phrase I think of things like Da'esh blowing up archeological sites in the name of their death cult, or destroying texts and records because they conflict with what those in power want people to know. Those things are, in my eyes, some of the worst crimes imaginable, and I genuinely
do not get why you consider taking down a statue of Columbus to qualify for that label.
If your objection is that it was done by an angry mob, then I agree with you. I would much rather it have been dealt with legally than torn down like it was.
Valiran doesn't sound to me like the sort of person who'd be out there pushing down statues or burning shops.
I'm not. I don't like violence, and would much rather
talk to people than let myself be consumed by the Internet Hate Machine.
I'm also in favor of bringing down the hammer on arsonists because fire isn't something that will restrict itself to hurting people the arsonist hates. It devours anything that will burn, with no regard for race, sex, or creed, and I cannot for the life of me imagine a situation where arson could be considered even
remotely acceptable as a form of public protest.
He desires to remove statues that commemorate "bad" people and replace them with "better", "more deserving" ones.
The slippery slope has been proven to be real, and thus I stand by my stance of "Fuck off, not a single statue will be removed".
However, I can be convinced to accept replacing statues on one condition. All statues of democrats and/or communists/socialists are to be removed first. All of them. Only when the last statue of the democrat "heroes" have been torn down, may the left even attempt to begin petitioning the replacement of southern statues.
Why? Columbus discovered that there was valuable land in the Caribbean and brought news of it back to Spain, which I have no problem acknowledging. What I don't understand is why there ought to be statues commemorating him like some kind of hero. It wasn't just the man's enemies accusing him of horrible shit, he describes some of those things in
letters he penned himself:
I should know how to remedy all this, and the rest of what has been said and has taken place since I have been in the Indies, if my disposition would allow me to seek my own advantage, and if it seemed honourable to me to do so, but the maintenance of justice and the extension of the dominion of her Highness has hitherto kept me down. Now that so much gold is found, a dispute arises as to which brings more profit, whether to go about robbing or to go to the mines. A hundred castellanos are as easily obtained for a woman as for a farm, and it is very general, and there are plenty of dealers who go about looking for girls: those from nine to ten are now in demand, and for all ages a good price must be paid.
He's talking about selling
nine and ten-year-old girls as sex slaves, which I'm sure we can agree is utterly abominable, no matter the era it took place in.
What makes Columbus such a sacred cow? Why on Earth should I admire
him as opposed to
Bartolomé de Las Casas, who had a literal come to Jesus moment after witnessing atrocities being inflicted upon the natives and chose to spend the rest of his life trying to protect them?
I don't admire Columbus, nor do I believe he ought to have statues erected in his honor like he was some kind of hero. I'd much rather shine a light on the deeds of Bartolomé, a far better man (not to mention a better Christian) than Columbus ever was, and certainly more deserving of admiration.
Instead of tearing down statues in a haze of fury, I want to raise statues of people who I believe deserve that honor for the deeds they performed in life. They don't have to be perfect - no one is - but there are definitely better role models and Great Men throughout history than Columbus was. Hell, I'm a firm admirer of Theodore Roosevelt for what he accomplished in his life, even while acknowledging his flaws!
Ironically said statues are in fact of Democrats by and large.....
Yeah. It feels weird, knowing how the current political parties have effectively done a 180 from their historical selves.
