Hikind Says Hate Monuments Must Go Calls On Mayor To Remove Statues

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Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) is calling on NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Hall to remove all symbols that glorify bigotry and racism from New York City property. Hikind said that New York City, the greatest city in the world, with the widest diversity, has an historical opportunity to set an example for the rest of the United States.

“We are confronted every day with bigotry and divisiveness,” said Assemblyman Hikind. “New Yorkers have an obligation to say, ‘Not in our city.’ It’s time to remove all of New York City’s monuments and markers that glorify bigotry and strengthen that which perpetuates these ignorant beliefs.”

“This has nothing to do with freedom of speech,” said Assemblyman Hikind. “Painful and obvious symbols of hate, such as statues and markers commemorating Nazi collaborators or proponents of slavery, are antithetical to everything our city stands for; statues and plaques to villains have no place on New York City public property. Our city cannot tacitly honor these objectionable figures nor tolerate monuments that hurt New Yorkers who arrived here, or whose ancestors arrived here, seeking freedom from prejudice and intolerance. Regardless of why certain statues and markers were placed here by previous city elders, we must make a loud and clear statement by doing the responsible thing. As such, I call upon Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has proven himself uniquely sensitive to these issues, to remove all monuments to bigotry from New York City.”

In May, Assemblyman Hikind first brought attention to markers commemorating French Vichy Leaders Marshal Philippe Pétain and Pierre Laval. The granite markers are located on Morris and Broadway in the Wall Street area’s “Canyon of Heroes.” Laval helped the Nazis arrest thousands of Jews for Deportation to their deaths. Pétain’s anti-Semitic policies were even harsher than what the Germans had adopted. His policies banned Jews from various professions and activities, which eventually led to the deportation and murder of nearly 100,000 Jews, as well as Gypsies, homosexuals, and left-wing activists. Pétain was convicted of treason in 1945. He was sentenced to death by firing squad but France’s President Charles de Gaulle commuted the sentence to life imprisonment.

{Matzav.com}


10 COMMENTS

  1. Very dangerous slippery slope. One person’s hero is another person’s villain. Leave history alone and use education to teach bigotry.

    • It’s one thing if a founding father was a slaveowner. It’s another thing entirely to have monuments to a rebellion! The south lost get over it. Pretending they didn’t lose is pathetic!

  2. Yes, lets remove the George Washington Bridge, the Washington Bridge and any other references to him (and others) as he was a slave owner…
    Come on Hikind, you have taken this too far. It make no sense to try to re-write history. At some point these people were seens as heros and a monument was made. Now its not in tune with our ethics, so we should remove them? What about next decade when other things become unplesant history, do we remove them as well? There will be no end to it then.

  3. I guess Hikind doesn’t say the Haggadah! We mention that our forefathers worshipped idols! Knowing where you come from helps you grow!

    • And what part of US history is the confederacy? If the confederate would have won then they would “deserve” monuments. The only monument that should be memorilized for the south is a white flag!

  4. Mr Hikind is wrong. The cleansing of history by removing monuments is a tactic taken by ISIS. Do you remember when they detonated those ancient statues that had stood for thousands of years because they were graven images and from a different religion. Is book burning next???? Are we going to start demanding that objectionable books be removed from libraries???? Make no mistake this is a war on the freedom of thought and expression. It is no less insidious than what the Nazis did when they waged war on art, culture, and literature that they deemed deviant or Jewish influenced. Dov, stop trying to coddle this evil, leftist sentiment, of political correctness, that has run amok. Instead how about installing a plaque by the controversial statues that relates the history so people could educate themselves and not be ignorant.

  5. I am still confused what all this has to do with statues like Confederate General Lee. These statues are part of American history, why has it all of a sudden become an issue, after hundred yrs? Tearing down statues is what they did in Germany in the 1930s.
    How about taking down George Washington, who had slaves? Slavery at that particular time was unfortunately considered culturally the norm. It had nothing with racism. Half of the nation opposed the change at the time, including many slaves. The problem is, all these Liberal leftist are ignorant in history.

    • The statues are confederate history. If you go to a union monument than it’s American history! General lee was against monuments. He felt it would lead to festering wounds! The south lost why should the union honor the rebellion? The only thing the south should be remembered for is their flag. And by that I mean a plain white flag!

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