Monuments have been put up for many years and its purpose is to explicitly commemorate a person or event. Many figures in history have had monuments dedicated to them however, many controversial figures such as Christopher Columbus and Robert E. Lee have sparked protests. Although these men were known for their leadership they were also known to represent oppression and hate to minorities. Many Americans believe figures who represent hate and murder should not be given a monument. Nevertheless, we cannot take down a monument simply because we hate it there needs to be a non biases criteria that has a more concrete justification to remove it. The objective of this criteria is maintain stability and safety in the community if a monument fails to do so it must be taken down and moved to a local museum.
A monument cannot be taken down because we don’t like it there has to solid justification for its removal. The criteria I have created is meant to be non biases, fair, and promote safety. My the first part of my criteria involves investigating “who” this individual is. A monument cannot just go up because he was a nice guy. This monument has to have relevance to the community and its local history. Research of the foundation of this persons empowerment or historical significance is important in order to promote safety. Regardless, if the person has negative or positive background this investigation would allow us to see how the community may react and their reaction will allow to know if this monument would negatively affect safety.
The second part of my criteria refers to the safety and stability of the community because there are many lives involved. In a neighborhood, there should be no need for those who pay rent and live there have an additional burden. Controversial monuments such as the confederate statue of Robert E. Lee has spiked a lot of violence and even death. The people of Charlottesville had to have their daily routines interrupted because of police patrol and media coverage. This affects the traveling to work, school and simple daily activities therefore, this monument should not be put up. An additional, part of this criteria involves the proper maintenance of these monuments. If the statue is making the neighborhood look bad it should be removed.
The last part of my criteria helps prevent biases opinions. Everyone is entitled to look up to any individual they wish to. We cannot change people’s beliefs and opinions which is why we have so much conflict. For example, there are white supremacists in America and they look up to those who the confederate states. On the other hand, there are people that are liberals and believe these monuments of confederate leaders glorify hate and racism. To create a peace of opinions, monuments that are controversial will have a plaque that states the good as well as the bad they did. This is what makes this criteria very efficient because this criteria takes in consideration everyone’s opinion. We acknowledge the good and bad these individuals did which helps take away some of that glory they would have if the bad wasn’t stated.
During our presentations, a lot of my classmates had interesting points in their criteria. Some interesting points included how much was the cost to maintain a monument because the weather affected it.I think this is a good point because it would be a burden to continuously have to repair a monument. After evaluating the statues and one fails to meet then requirements it should be taken to a local museum. The statue would be better there because a museum acknowledges history and its place we cant condemn displays. These displays represent our history and deserve to be held there so future generations can learn from them.
In conclusion, this criteria will allow a fair display of monuments in New York. This criteria will allow there to be equal representation of opinions. I believe this is important because it will allow many New Yorkers to be tolerant of the many options that exist. This criteria covers what’s the most important thing the safety in a community. I believe if Bill de Blasio uses my criteria the people of the state of New York and himself will benefit tremendously.
