Posted on 10/13/2020 12:41:40 AM PDT by nickcarraway
Italian Americans in Syracuse will gather in Columbus Circle Monday, to pay tribute to the Italian explorer, possibly for the last time. And they're not happy about it.
After years of controversy and discussion, Mayor Ben Walsh made the final decision on the future of the controversial statue last week. The statue will be coming down.
"The city of Syracuse will move forward with steps in local and state law, to remove the Columbus statue, the heads of Indigenous people of the Plains, the bas relief plaques, and have them removed to a private site," Walsh said during a press conference Friday. The press conference was held remotely because Walsh, and several other upstate mayors are quarantining after Binghamton mayor Rich David tested positive for COVID-19 after appearing at a press conference in Syracuse last week.
Walsh said the remaining fountain and obelisk monument will honor Italian Americans. That doesn’t appease Micheal Vavonese, a past president of the Columbus Monument Corporation.
"I think that’s the least that can be done, given the pain this decision, which I believe is unfair has made."
Some members of Syracuse’s Italian American community say they intend to take legal action to stop the monument from being removed. They’re also angry at the timing, coming shortly before Monday’s annual wreath-laying ceremony that celebrates Italian heritage and the monument.
"I believe it sets us back 100 years and continues the discrimination of Italian Americans."
Walsh said Friday expected the backlash.
"I acknowledge that I am causing pain with this decision," he said. "I don’t take that lightly."
But he also said he considered the pain of the Onondaga Nation and others who find Columbus representing a racist past that led to oppression and genocide.
"I don’t want people who view that statue as a symbol of oppression to feel not welcome in this city," he said. "It has to be noted this is a significant public space in the heart of our city, and it’s critically important that it be an inclusive space where everyone is acknowledged and respected."
Columbus Circle will also be renamed. A year-round education and learning site will focus on the contributions of the Onondaga’s and other immigrants. Even if Columbus’s likeness doesn’t loom over a public circle in Syracuse, Onondaga Historical Association Executive Director Greg Tripoli said his legacy remains.
"The landfall of Columbus really connected two worlds, for better and worse," Triploi said. "But from that moment, the world changed, and I think we will not lose the history."
Walsh said moving the statue will be paid for with a mix of public and private funding. A commission will be appointed in the coming months to design the changes that will take place at the site of the monument.
Ping
And yet, and yet, these folks will still vote democrat.
Leftist mayors have been waiting eagerly for an excuse to remove the symbol of the man who brought Europeans and Christianity here. The democrat party is committed to wiping out both descendants of Europeans and Christianity.
Anyone been to Destiny USA lately?
Been downtown?
Nuff said.
My advice to irate folks in Syracuse: Leave the city and the state. Take the statue with you to a state that will appreciate you and your statuary.
Walsh is an Independent.
You know, like Bernie.
Maybe they will replace the Columbus statue, with statues of George Floyd, Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, Karl Marx, Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, Stalin and Mao. Those guys are the heroes of the democrat party.
Removing remnants of a successful society is part of the plan
As urban areas were inundated with blacks starting in the 1950s and 60s, it seems Italians were the last European population that stayed on (though many did leave). They really should just withdraw entirely; let those areas fend for themselves. The last pockets of Italians in Newark are disappearing, and as I understand it, “Little Italy” in NYC is tiny now.
The towns around Newark NJ still have their Columbus statues; my town recently refurbished it.
Even if Columbus’s likeness doesn’t loom over a public circle in Syracuse, Onondaga Historical Association Executive Director Greg Tripoli said his legacy remains.
The Onondaga "nation" never met Columbus, so this is really directed at Italians and everyone else of European descent -- including apparently the Onondaga Historical Association director.
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