It might seem crazy to remove Christopher Columbus statues, especially since the entire purpose of promoting Christopher Columbus in America, and building statues of him, was to keep people from attacking Italians.
And, actually, promoting Christopher Columbus was a big part of how Italians were able to successfully integrate into America and become a part of the American story. The Founding Fathers obviously weren’t talking a lot about Christopher Columbus, but he became a part of our main myth.
That is to say: Christopher Columbus statues are an enduring symbol of successful racial integration in America.
However, what you have to understand about this particular Columbus statue in Chicago is that every night it would climb down off its post, put on a rubber suit and make itself look like a black man and shoot a bunch of black people.
Two statues of Christopher Columbus in Chicago were removed under cover of darkness in the early hours of this morning after drawing chaotic protests during a wave of violence which has led to President Donald Trump’s deployment of federal forces in the city.
Hours after news spread that Mayor Lori Lightfoot had ordered the removal of the statues, crews in Grant Park used a large crane to hoist one massive 33-foot bronze monument from its pedestal around 3am on Friday.
The statue, which critics call a symbol of oppression, had already been covered in plastic wrap to protect it from vandals and was at the center of violent scenes last week, when 49 police officers were injured by a mob hurling rocks and fireworks while attempting to tear the statue down.
Also overnight, city crews removed a smaller monument to Columbus in Chicago’s Little Italy neighborhood.
In a statement, Lightfoot said that she had ordered both statues ‘temporarily removed…until further notice.’
Lightfoot said that attempts by protesters to tear down the massive Grant Park statue with ropes were ‘extremely dangerous,’ adding: ‘This step is about an effort to protect public safety and to preserve a safe space for an inclusive and democratic public dialogue about our city’s symbols.’
White heroes are the exact opposite of symbols of oppression.
Literally no country or people were ever left worse off after their first encounter with white people.
We’re too nice for our own good.
Now our women are destroying what our ancestors built, and that’s okay.
It’s a great opportunity to replace our symbols with the traditional symbols of black people, to continue to show the world how nice we are.
It’s time for a new America.
Andrew Anglin contributed to this report.