Since the subject in this thread is really the first amendment, let's look at it from that point of view.

James has said that if it is private property, the the owner should decide. I agree with that.

But IF it is on public property , then it belongs to all of us.

Now what the 1A says is that government can't engage in prior restraint of speech.....in the public square. I think we all agree with that....at least those of us who believe in Constitutional government and the rule of law.

So if we accept that artwork is free speech..........and I do............then the statues are free speech AND if they are on public property, it is my opinion that the government does not now have the authority to remove them. WHY....because I believe that a decision to remove a statue or piece of art would not be based on a "content neutral" basis. That is a NO NO! It would be no different than if Robert Maplethorpe's (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) CHRIST had been removed because it offended Christians.

Consider the 16 foot statue of Lenin in downtown Seattle. ( Actually I think that one is on private property) but it will work for discussion. Most of us would probably be fine with removing that statue. But if we did we would be in the wrong because our objection would be based on content...or what the statue represents.

I mentioned in the thread on Woodrow Wilson that I think he was a racist. Should we all vote to decide whether or not to rename anything with his name on it ? I think not.

So my bottom line is that the decision to remove any statue should NOT be part of the democratic process. If voters can vote to remove a statue, those same voters can...and WILL.......vote to prohibit your speech against removal. That seems like a very slippery slope to me.

Maybe a solution would be to sell & move the 'offending' statues to private ground......................but I doubt it. The left is never satisfied.

I don't think the US Constitution applied to Germany

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

I don't think so Boco. If I want to fly a nazi flag on my property there is nothing to stop me. The American Nazi Party is alive and functional today in the USA. Same with the CPUSA...the communists.

It's already starting. Try to find a copy of the movie Song of the South. Now they're going after Gone with the Wind.

Thanks Actor, but I mean to actually order a copy to buy. There is one available on ebay from Australia, but they want $249 for it.

White, I think the artist you're thinking of it Andres Serrano. Mapplethorpe was more into gay porn.

Anyone who believes this will stop at statues ain't to intelligent.

I stand corrected,it is also not against the law here in Canada to fly a swastika either.
But it causes outrage in the jewish community,the last one flown on private property down east was removed due to the commotion it caused.
People are harassed into removing them by the vast majority.

Thanks Actor, but I mean to actually order a copy to buy. There is one available on ebay from Australia, but they want $249 for it.....