Is tearing down statues the modern equivalent of the Nazi book burnings?

a reply to: Bicent

Hmm and if protestors in Hawaii, tore down Queen Liliuokalani, statues that would be ok too?

No. Vandalism is a crime.
This is the third or forth time I have said that in this thread.

a reply to: Phage
Ok Thanos...

a reply to: Phage

I suppose the real issue is that when we hold people of the past to the same moral standards that we attach to our own respective societies in the day of age the result is seldom desirable.

That does not mean we should not strive towards a measure of equality for all nor keep racist statues around on parade that serve no other purpose than to glorify past historical transgressions like the ownership of other human beings.

The best solution i suppose maybe to add a cautionary plaque/tale to the statues in questions outlining the more spurious nature of the personal history.

a reply to: andy06shake

The best solution i suppose maybe to add a cautionary plaque/tale to the statues in questions outlining the more spurious nature of the personal history in question.

That would be a compromise. And would depend upon the text.

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: shooterbrody

Statues tend to convey only a sense of glory. With a book, you can find out more.

Nope.
Students and great artists have been studying and learning from the statues of Praxiteles, Donatello, Michelangelo, Rodin, and many others for centuries.

Ask any artist if they learn more from books or from studying the actual works of others.

a reply to: IAMTAT

I was referring to "historical" statues.

If one wants to study the artistic aspects of a statue of Robert E. Lee, there is no reason one could not do so in a museum. Where those to which you refer generally tend to be.

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: DBCowboy

So you're saying that it's okay to destroy objects of free expression if the creator of said expression is dead.

I have said nothing resembling that.

You implied it.

You inferred it.

a reply to: DBCowboy

You lie.

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: DBCowboy

You lie.

I opine.

You infer that I lie.

Is tearing down statues the modern equivalent of the Nazi book burnings?

If by "tearing down statues" you mean by way of angre mob with no democratic accountability?

Then yes it is exactly the same as when the Nazis burned books ... and destroyed a lot of others things.

Now if there is democratic consensus within a municipality to remove a statue; where all sides of the issue are heard from and removal is the outcome?

Then no it wouldn't be like Nazis book burning.


Same outcome different means makes all the difference.

Nothing good has ever come out of an angry mob ... "progress" might come from an angry mob but I guarantee such a situation will cause/has caused more problems than it solves/solved.

We can only hope the angry mobs of today don't turn into the Nazis of yesterday ... even the Nazis had some worth while grievances that needed to be addressed following the great depression... at the start most of them where not the monsters that modern day entertainment media paints them to be ... they where normal people that became monstrous after they let them selves take one step to far to many times.

We are all susceptible to having that happen to us; we can all be the monster under the right circumstance, its human nature, and angry mobs tend to get us there quicker than open and honest dialog.

a reply to: DanDanDat
Well posted

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: IAMTAT

I was referring to "historical" statues.

If one wants to study the artistic aspects of a statue of Robert E. Lee, there is no reason one could not do so in a museum. Where those to which you refer generally tend to be.

Ever been to the Gettysburg battlefield?

a reply to: DBCowboy



I made a clear distinction about vandalism. Nothing implied.

You expressed a falsehood.

No, books are information, statues are symbols. I don't see the equivalent, other than destroying either is wrong.

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: DBCowboy



I made a clear distinction about vandalism. Nothing implied.

You expressed a falsehood.

I expressed an opinion.

You expressed one as well.

And look. . . . no one got hurt and no statues or books got burned.

a reply to: IAMTAT

Ever been to the Gettysburg battlefield?

No. Are there works by Praxiteles, Donatello, Michelangelo, or Rodin there? Do art students flock?

www.abovetopsecret.com...

All those statues that ISIS tore down, were they good people or bad people? By todays standards of course.......

a reply to: Phage
Nope
Just lots of shed American blood.

originally posted by: vonclod
No, books are information, statues are symbols. I don't see the equivalent, other than destroying either is wrong.

Words are symbols designed to express actions, ideas, concepts.

originally posted by: Flatcoat
All those statues that ISIS tore down, were they good people or bad people? By todays standards of course.......

But that is so much different...

/sarc