Offensive Art!

This could be an Only in San Francisco story, but I think the same kind of ridiculous behavior is all around us.

There is a mural in a local high school painted in the 1930’s that some politically correct progressives find offensive.  So they want to get rid of it, destroy it, get it away from the impressionable eyes of our young people.

Why do they find it offensive?  It depicts a scene in 18^th century America and shows some black slaves and Native Americans in a demeaning way, being treated badly.  Hello, everyone!  Is what is shown inaccurate?  Not likely.  True, it is a reminder of what a lot of people would like to forget.  Especially these days, when racism and nativism is front and center in our society.

But is the answer about how to deal with this reality to shut our eyes to we won’t see, put our hands over our ears so we won’t hear, make sure the kids aren’t exposed to our bad history?  No!  Just the reverse.  We should highlight this stuff, not shy away from it.

We’re told it will cost $600,000 to destroy the mural.  Where that number comes from I have no idea.  Seems like you can buy a lot of black paint for $600,000.  Some say don’t destroy it – hide it from view.  Others want to have the issue up as a ballot initiative next year.

An appropriate analogy is Hitler burning books to protect people from ‘offensive’ ideas.  Good luck to us if we choose to go down this slippery slope.

What Happened on This Day!

On July 9, 1401, Turko-Mongol ruler Tamerlane destroyed Baghdad.

On July 9, 1790, in the Russo-Swedish War the Swedes captured one third of the Russian fleet.

On July 9, 1868, Tennessee and South Carolina ratified the 14^th Amendment guaranteeing civil rights.

On July 9, 1971, Henry Kissinger visited the People’s Republic of China to negotiate a détente between the U.S. and China.

On July 9, 2002, the African Union was established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

On July 9, 2017, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi proclaimed victory over ISIS in Mosul.