Unable to grasp the concept of a "bigger picture", next up on the self-righteous crusaders' list of target statues to destroy is Mount Rushmore and The Lincoln Memorial. Why? Pure hate speech at its most eloquent:
“I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races … I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of Negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races from living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be a position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race.”
--Abraham Lincoln (18 September, 1858)
Where does it end? You can manufacture justification for the destruction of any historical figure if you try hard enough because they have all been human, with human failings in one fashion or another. I view these statues as testimonies and reminders to the individual's significance, the good and the bad. The good a human does will not justify the bad, nor will the bad negate the good. They are who they were. Their entire history should be a lesson to us all. It's a bitter pill when a virtue to aspire to is accompanied by a failing to avoid. But it's a package deal, with both aspects being lessons to remember.
