It’s way overdue, but America is reckoning with some of the darker parts of its history.
As the fight to remove Confederate monuments continues, lots of folks were also wondering why the nation still displays statues of Christopher Columbus across the country. The famous explorer, after all, carried out horrific atrocities, including mass genocide of the indigenous people in the Americas.
Still, some Italian Americans hold onto the idea that he represents something bigger, including New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who defended having a statue of the explorer in NYC on Thursday.
“The Christopher Columbus statue in some way represents the Italian American legacy in this country and the Italian American contribution in this country,” he said at a press conference.
Setting aside the fact that Columbus sailed for Spain and never set foot in the United States, some helpful folks online came up with a great meme about who might prove a suitable replacement for the explorer. Things took a turn toward the absurd and, honestly, it was wonderful.
1. Not a bad idea
2. I need to see this statue in person
If you are looking for statues of famous Italian Americans to replace Columbus, consider the 5 meter tall statue of Tony Soprano in Lithuania pic.twitter.com/8xlCFZAM0D
— Jᴀᴄᴋʏ☮︎Bʀᴀᴡɴ (@jckybrwn) June 10, 2020
3. Keeping with the Sopranos theme
4. Could get behind this
5. I support any and all efforts to have more statues of corn
Tear down the Christopher Columbus statue in downtown Columbus, and replace it with another statue of Corn, you cowards. pic.twitter.com/MTR1ZrPISE
— Jaron R. M. Johnson (@JaronRMJohnson) June 12, 2020
6. Please find me a better Italian American icon. You cannot.
Danny DeVito a true Italian America icon.
replace the columbus statue with one of bigtime tommie
— Desus Nice (@desusnice) June 11, 2020
