I’m having my usual internal debate on what to write today. Part of me wants to do an airing of grievances, part of me always wants to do an airing of grievances. Faulty arguments drive me to distraction. I should hope that My Gentle Readers know that when someone says, “I’m not a racist but … ” the rest of the sentence will be racist. That’s a special case of a general rule, when someone needs to preface a statemen with something that implies they don’t usually do something they think I wrong, what follows is something they shouldn’t say. These aren’t always morally wrong, sometimes just logically. “I’m not superstitious but I never make plans on Friday the thirteenth.” The one that I hear the most is, “I’m not the kind of person that … ” and my first thought is invariably, “You’re exactly the kind of person that would name their kid Architeuthis dux.” Anyone other than Joy know where that name came from? I’m sure a few of my Gentle Erudite Readers will.
It’s always good to see things from a different point of view. When there are emotional public issues I always try and think of a congruent situation but where the sides of the political debate are reversed. I try and do get others to do the same. Sometimes there are natural experiments and there’s one now. I’ve been aghast that there are Confederate statues and memorials since I discovered they existed as a kid. I am delighted they are coming down now. But now someone is replacing part of my heritage, the Equestrian Statue of Teddy Roosevelt at the entrance to one of my favorite places on earth, The American Museum of Natural History. Teddy was important to the history of the museum. I have always loved the list of his accomplishments on the walls of the plaza by the stairs. I can’t find the list online, there’s Ranchman, Scientist, Historian, Author, Soldier, … . The statue is dead center, it’s always the place I’d meet people at the museum. So easy to say, “Meet me by the Roosevelt statue.” I was always queasy about his hunting, but he was always a hero. There’s never been another president like him, larger than life. He won a Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating the end of the Russo-Japanese War. He was a rugged outdoorsman and an intellectual. He was a wealthy patrician that fought against big business. Just so much to like. I know he had his flaws, he was a man of his times, but he has always been one of my guys. So, what’s my reaction to his statue being taken down? I feel a tug of nostalgia but it’s the right thing to do. It’s being taken down because it’s not just him on horse but on one side of him is a shirtless indigenous American, and on the other a shirtless African American. The effect is to portray them as subservient. I can see how that offends people. Now that I notice it, it offends me. I didn’t even know they were there; I have seen it so many times I stopped paying attention to it as a kid. The statue is very much a part of my personal history but I’m not going to get upset that it’s being taken down for a good reason. A reactionary friend vowed to never go to the museum again. Fine, I won’t miss him there. Maybe some African American or indigenous American kid in the future won’t be discomforted by it. Some white kid won’t have a tiny nudge towards feeling superior because of it. Perhaps neither of those things will happen, but so what? It’s just a statue. This is not a classic work of art. It’s not being destroyed. This is not smashing the Pieta. It’s just not a big deal.
Wise Madness 