Taking Down Columbus: The Perils of Erasing History
THE ISSUE: Speaker Mark-Viverito’s call to consider removing the Columbus Circle monument.
City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito has deemed it appropriate to consider removing the statue of Christopher Columbus from Columbus Circle (“Is Chris Columbus next on the block?” Aug. 22).
This is the same vile woman who was pushing for a FALN terrorist to lead the Puerto Rican Day Parade.
If Mayor de Blasio gives consideration to such garbage, he is a disgrace to the people of New York City. Richard Mac Dowell Basking Ridge, NJ
The problem is that politicians like Mark-Viverito are more interested in taking down statues of people who contributed to our history, for better or worse, than doing the job they were elected to do
Their egos are too big for the good of the country. Dan Gardner Staten Island
I have rarely agreed with anything that President Trump has said until now. Politicians have to stop this notion of destroying our history by removing statues. Every historical figure has blemishes when viewed through a 21st-century lens.
We shouldn’t hide or destroy it. History is important to understand; it prevents us from repeating prior mistakes.
If Mark-Viverito removes Columbus, who does she see as a suitable replacement? Maybe she’d prefer one of the people she considers “freedom fighters” like Oscar López Rivera or William Morales. Tom Rodriquez Brooklyn
Would Mark-Viverito like Ethel Rosenberg honored instead, since several members of the City Council had an Ethel Rosenberg Day declared in 2015? Ed Greenspan Brooklyn
I thought de Blasio was a real idiot, but now he is joined by Mark-Viverito,. who said the statue honoring Columbus should be reviewed for potential purging.
Why do we need to remove any statues? It’s no more than a representation of our history: good or bad. We cannot change the past, but we can improve on the future.
The politicians who should be uniting this country are doing just the opposite. George Coppola Whippany
Thank goodness for term limits. I can’t wait for Mark-Viverito to go to the dustbin of history.
Who is going to appoint the task force to decide which statues stay and which go? And how much money will this cost taxpayers?
What’s next, the museums? Are there offensive artists or sculptors whose works should also be destroyed?
Aren’t there enough problems in this city without getting into the nitty-gritty business of political correctness? S. Kane Brooklyn
As we judge the imperfect lives of the historical figures commemorated in statues, we should consider what would happen if they were to time-travel to today and judge us: Many of us would be branded with scarlet letters, and thousands would be excommunicated from houses of worship.
No human or government is without flaw. Simply tell their whole story. Or we could ban idols altogether, as the Taliban does. Deirdre Harvey Valley Stream
Isn’t the purging of all these statues the same as burning books?
If we removed the statue, would the names of Columbus Circle and Avenue need to be changed? What about all the residential and commercial addresses? Vern Trotter, Manhattan
If we looked into the closets of all the Renaissance men and women who have had statutes erected in their honor, I’m sure the best of them would have a skeleton or two pop out.
In World War II, my father was a prisoner of war for 594 days, so trust me, I won’t be tipping my hat to any statute honoring anyone who was a part of any atrocity.
But whether we like it or not, it’s all a part of history, and hopefully we’ve learned to be better people from the best and worst of them. Judy Petillo Eggert Long Branch, NJ