I-5 wrote:Yeah, that’s too bad about the story behind the funding of the statue...they couldn’t have chosen a more notorious representative of their heritage, but in their defense, a lot of the things we know now about him didn’t really come to light until the 21st century. You’re right that the back story didn’t matter much, though. You can call it an orgy, and minimize Columbus as ‘not a very nice guy’, but I don’t view him as acting on par with the times. He was a major figure and influence of the times he lived in, so I don’t quite see him as merely a participant.
I wasn't trying to minimize Columbus and probably shouldn't have qualified his behavior even though what I said is completely accurate. He did live in what we would call a very barbaric, uncivilized society. But his bio wasn't really relevant to the point I was making.
I consider any act of vandalism an 'orgy' of destructive behavior. As anyone that's ever TP'ed a house could tell you, the participants experience a pleasurable surge of adrenaline, ie an "orgy". Defacing or destroying property, public or otherwise, should never be considered an acceptable form of protest, and this incident in Walla Walla is a good example of one of the reasons why as the vandals were likely unaware of the history behind the statute. Even absent the thrill seeking aspect, vandals are foisting their opinion on the rest of the public by forcing the removal or altering of something that is in their opinion not appropriate.
You're right about the people that chose Columbus as their icon, born and educated in the 19th century, were almost certainly naive to his exploits. I'm sure that the officials that accepted the gift were equally naive as well. Heck, I was born in the middle of the 20th century and was never taught the full story behind Columbus.
I sympathize with the decision county officials have to make, a decision that has been compounded by the vandalism: Do you use taxpayer funds to have it restored? Do you try to contact the descendants of those that erected it? Do you hold a referendum, perhaps reconfigure the statue to represent Galileo?