The destruction of statues of historical significance, however dubious, might be only the first step.

What if the protest vandals, when they've wiped out all of the offending statues, decide to move on to public artworks, which surely must offend someone.

And what could come after artwork? Books! Next they'll be burning books!

When I was a teen, I read a lot of novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the creator of Tarzan. Burroughs' characters were mostly stereotypes and caricatures. His villains were especially two-dimensional. Some of Burroughs' books portrayed Germans negatively.

During the 1930s, Burroughs's books were among those burned by the Nazis for being contrary to the Third Reich.

Will some Americans start burning Burroughs's books because he also portrayed women, blacks, and other minorities as stereotypes? Tarzan went up in flames along with Churchill's writings and the US Constitution.

I just now had a brief debate with one of my professors at her seminar about whether it's fair to judge past authors by today's definition of sexism. I didn't get very far because the professor cut off the discussion and changed the subject as soon as things were getting interesting.

I'm afraid these young people tearing down statues don't understand the full risks of what they're doing. Like it or not, whether it hurts your feelings or not, the statues are part of free speech.

Jim

Once they have power,like in bolshevik russia the elite rich will be dragged out into the streets and beaten to death.

Glad I’m poor...with an arsenal.

Tarzan has got to go next. Can't name your kid Boy. Gonna miss Jane and the monkey.

probably on to religion next , any displays of religion or religious freedom. can't have good socialism/communism with people believing there is a god above the government.

it was what the Nazis did , see if you can burn synagogues and if any one will stop you

The U.S is on a crash course to Balkanize, I think that is what happens next.

Florence 1490s, the height of the renaissance, you have painters such as Brunelleschi,Michelangelo,Leonardo Da Vinci, the list goes on, all of them creating beautiful works in a city that is becoming richer all the time. One priest Girolamo Savonarola starts preaching what we would now call "Marxist" principals, he slowly gains followers and his power culminates in casting out much of the ruling class. Savonarola then sends bands of young men around to collect any art or literature that he views as "displeasing to God", huge bonfires rage in the streets and many beautiful works are turned to ash.

Savonarola controlled Florence for a couple years, eventually his Utopian dream failed (they always do). The people eventually had enough of their revolutionary priest, he was tortured, hung and burned and the original ruling families returned.

Sometimes people cannot recognize the good times, the desire for a Utopian promised land is to much for a mob to resist, it may take a few years but they will wish things were as good as there were in 2020, when they do hopefully they will treat their leaders the way to Florintines treated Savonarola.

Donners - good analogy. They can try to erase history but that won't stop history from repeating itself.

Here in New Mexico they tore down the statues of the Conquistadors, the Catholic church has a lot of statues and they worked with Spain to civilize this place. The churches are easy targets they hardly wimpered when the govt. shut them down and their right to assemble and worship is in the first amendment, maybe the second amendment should be first!

I was thinking more along the lines of Venezuela.

wealthy oil exporting nation , imported more F150 trucks than any other country in 1996

1998 they elect Hugo

early 2000s they take down the monuments , rewrite the history books , teach only socialism

2012 all private gun ownership is fully banned and guns rounded up

2017 shooting unarmed citizens in the streets who are starving to death from the shortages of everything

this is the very abridged version

Maybe the non protesting portion of the population puts an end to the destruction and the protesting. Maybe the end result is more racism not less.

Maybe when they get tired they will go back to work, oh that's right they don't work, or maybe they are on a payroll not talked about. How does people without a income continue to finance their way for months on end?

They claim Soros has "give away" 25 billion, and has 8 billion left.
I welcome the relief his death will bring.

As John Lennon said, "nobody told me there'd be days like these."

I think i read everything Burroughs wrote when I was in grade school. To a ten year old it was high adventure and seemed possible. I doubt any of the looters ever read anything about Lord Greystoke Pellucidar or John Carter.

All of this erasing history stuff brings to mind the saying "History repeats itself because we don't learn its lesson the first time".

once "the Left" got into power, they lost all interest in "free speech".

That is a FACT!

Vote in Democrats and watch it all go up in flames.

Your sounding like a conservative, James!

That probly would have saved 'em.

LOL, Gary.