Nihilism In an Emblematic City
17th June 2020
Boston, known as the “Athens of America” and the “Cradle of Liberty,” has, as was said of the Balkans, disparagingly, “produced more history than it can consume locally”. The City of Boston alone, compact and relatively small in the metropolitan area, has probably more historical monuments and statues than anyplace else in America except Washington, D.C.
During the recent Black Lives Matter riots, in addition to widespread looting and property damage, there was vandalism on a large scale all over the country. Confederate statues, of course; their day is done and I think, as Steve Hayward stated in PL, this is not the hill to die on for conservatives and Republicans. Columbus statues have long been on the left’s target list as well. The Columbus statue in Boston’s historic North End was, infamously, beheaded and the statue has been removed. Boston’s Public Garden holds the largest statuary monument in the city, of a magnificent George Washington astride a noble steed. It was not spared by the mob and its base was covered in graffiti.