Politics

The Thursday Politics Thread and The Telltale Head

Morning Politocadoes,

As the world continues to grapple with the global pandemic and the protests against police brutality and systemic racism, a hot new sensation has been sweeping city after city. Statue after statue of various colonizing bastards, racists, and colonial racist bastards have suddenly found themselves being defaced, vandalized, or in many instances pulled down from places of prominence.

Take this statue of known colonizing racist bastard Christopher Columbus which has been in Boston’s North End for forever and a day. Activists beheaded the statue overnight. Mayor Marty Walsh has said that the statue will be taken down to assess the damage and to reassess it’s historical meaning.

Or this statue which was removed by members of the American Indian Movement in Minnesota.

Confederate statues are also being given their due. A statue of traitor, racist, and man best known as the Anti-Lincoln, Jefferson Davis was taken down in Portsmouth, VA.

Jefferson Davis Statue Torn Down by Protesters in Virginia

Statues of King Leopold II, a particular breed of racist colonial bastard whom earned the wrathful ire of one Samuel Clemens, have been the target of campaigns for removal throughout all of Belgium. One 150 year old statue which had been defaced and set on fire was removed.

Attempts to remove statues of Winston Churchill have been difficult with one statue being defaced, but later scrubbed clean. Responses have been mixed about defacing statues of the man who led Britain during World War II and may have been responsible for the Bengal Famine, with many defending the memorials. But hey, if fascists like Tommy Robinson are the ones you’re agreeing with, maybe you should re-evaluate your position?

Historiography is often complicated with many figures meaning different things to people. Christopher Columbus’ statue in Boston’s predominantly Italian North End was there for a reason. With one hand Columbus had been upheld as an American Hero by Anglo Saxon Americans for centuries, with another they would rebuke and marginalize the working class Irish, Catholics, and Italian immigrants in the country.  So, many took to using Columbus’ identity either as a Catholic or an Italian or both to combat their own discrimination. It’s not surprising that some people see the good that has come from his place in history, even as they fail to recognize or outright ignore the scope of his actions for their own benefit.

I’m glad that Columbus statues are being thrown into rivers or are losing their heads. Perhaps we ought to be celebrating and memorializing people to whom we should aspire. Like Columbo, Superman, or Rocky, or Robocop, why maybe even Garbage Ape!

Welcome to Thursday! Please be excellent to each other in the comments. The Mayor McSquirrel Rule remains in effect even if his statue’s head has been removed. As the protests continue, please be safe, dress non-descriptively, avoid wearing contacts if you wear them normally, and keep your phones on you. As the Covid-19 pandemic continues, please continue to maintain social distancing measures and sanitation policies as circumstances dictate.