Statue-toppling is something I’ve written about several times over the past year, so I was interested to read a new essay on the subject by Guardian columnist Gary Younge. Before getting to Younge’s essay, however, let’s briefly review recent developments in Britain and the United States.
This is an interesting issue. If we did privatize roads, parks, statues and so forth then this issue would be determined by the private business owner. I could still imagine that left leaning individuals would put pressure on private companies, as they do now, to engage in virtue signaling that they aren't bad by removing bad statues or street names.
Something relevant also happens when discussing the confederate flag. If someone says it means Southern pride and someone said is filled with the connotation of slavery, then it would seem both are right. However, the flag of the United States of America suffers from a similar problem because there have been many unethical things done by the country. It seems like the good elements or the bad elements of a symbol are what people decide to emphasize at any moment. Sometimes the bad elements are too much or too central to be ignored. I am not sure where to draw the line.
Statues of Mao, Lenin, Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot seem like maybe they should come down to me. I don't want to be in a culture that venerates these figures in any way. I don't think we need to take down George Washington or Martin Luther King Jr. But there is obviously figures in-between those two that are in a grey area. I don't know a really good criteria for deciding but I think the current criteria is not good. And I think trying to tear apart venerable figures in your culture is disrespectful.
This is an interesting issue. If we did privatize roads, parks, statues and so forth then this issue would be determined by the private business owner. I could still imagine that left leaning individuals would put pressure on private companies, as they do now, to engage in virtue signaling that they aren't bad by removing bad statues or street names.
Something relevant also happens when discussing the confederate flag. If someone says it means Southern pride and someone said is filled with the connotation of slavery, then it would seem both are right. However, the flag of the United States of America suffers from a similar problem because there have been many unethical things done by the country. It seems like the good elements or the bad elements of a symbol are what people decide to emphasize at any moment. Sometimes the bad elements are too much or too central to be ignored. I am not sure where to draw the line.
Statues of Mao, Lenin, Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot seem like maybe they should come down to me. I don't want to be in a culture that venerates these figures in any way. I don't think we need to take down George Washington or Martin Luther King Jr. But there is obviously figures in-between those two that are in a grey area. I don't know a really good criteria for deciding but I think the current criteria is not good. And I think trying to tear apart venerable figures in your culture is disrespectful.