As of recent events, an interesting topic of discussion has been gaining popularity among many people throughout the United States. That topic is the relevance and need for keeping confederate statues up or removing them entirely. As a result, in order to have these issues not arise again there should be come rules when thinking about erecting statues or monuments, there are many things that one should consider before doing so. In today’s society many things are deemed “offensive” and in an effort to please everyone some things that may be considered are things such as the history behind the person or event, the impact it may have on the area it is implemented in and location where it is situated along with the cost of upkeep for the given monument.
One piece of evidence to support this claim would be about the statue of Christopher Columbus we have right here in New York City. To some people, this statue is a symbol of exploration, discovery and Italian pride. While to a vast majority of people, it is a constant reminder of the genocide, rape, pillage and straight destruction of a whole group of people. Having this statue up is a constant reminder to these people about their history and what was done to their people and their ancestors. Therefore things such as this may be a reason for not putting up more statues in the future. There are many other people who made great advances for their nation, yet their actions caused a genocide of people for reasons such as their race or religion, yet these people are not given statues.
Something that also has to be considered is the location of the monument. Placing a monument in a high density area is not a good idea as it can disrupt the flow of both regular traffic and foot traffic. Having statues in some areas of New York City causes people who are visiting to flock to these destinations to take pictures and to be able to claim that they have visited that location, but it then causes a large disruption for people who actually live or work in the area because they now have to try to get around all the tourists or flat out just avoid that area in general. It then becomes worse when the statue is put in the center of an intersection which causes it to become a roundabout. This slows down not only the people who are walking but then also the drivers which can lead to large scale traffic jams.
Lastly something that should also be spoken about if indeed the city wants to put up a statue that may be considered controversial or offensive, is the cost of upkeep for that monument, If a monument is constantly defaced or destroyed it may end up costing the taxpayers more money than the actual monument is worth. If someone does not like the message a monument is sending, they may deface it with a whole array of things from spray paint to removing parts of the monument or even the entire thing itself if they’re really up for a challenge. If the monument has to be regularly cleaned or fixed, it may not be a good idea to even keep the monument up at all because it would just be a waste of money.
There are many things that can be considered monument, many of which will hold some kind of negative background as none of human history is without negative. There are always going to be some kind of negative background for every single person or building that could be otherwise considered an excellent candidate for remembrance. If there has to be monuments it should only be things that are naturally made by nature as it is a testament to what was, is and always will be here before and after humans have ever been on this planet and will still be here long after the human species is no longer around.
