The movement to remove statues of those believed to have been racist or otherwise abusive has grown from slave-owners, Confederate personages, and other racists to Christopher Columbus, Junipero Serra — Saint Junipero Serra — and, in Denmark, a mermaid.
It is head-spinning — understandable, the upset about slave-owners and the like, though we must recall — if we are to have statues at all (it can be idolatry; we’re in favor of only holy Christian ones like, Jesus) — that even biblical figures for whom there are statues — Moses, King David — had pasts that included brutality. It was the nature of the times.
Life was different in different epochs and generations.
Simple truth.
As far as Junipero Serra: he was kind to Native Americans, as were many Spanish explorers who had been instructed by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to evangelize but not brutally subjugate and surely not terrorize natives. Many Timucuan Indians in Florida became devout (and happy) Catholics, with pictures of Mary over the doors of their huts.
Let us also note that men like Thomas Jefferson — also the focus of ire — had been chipping away at slavery by gradually introducing restrictions on it. While he owned slaves, neither he nor George Washington was fully at peace with it.
Let us also note that there are statues of Indians such as Geronimo, despite his murderous raids on settlers. Geronimo had a nearly unmatched record of brutality. “I have killed many Mexicans; I do not know how many, for frequently I did not count them,” he once said. “Some of them were not worth counting. It has been a long time since then, but still I have no love for the Mexicans. With me they were always treacherous and malicious.”
We understand his ire.
We do not understand murder or enslavement or racism — any bias — by anyone.
Nonetheless, when it comes to abuses against Indians and especially blacks, there were horrors, right up to lynchings and tar and feathers. Many who have had historical effects were not perfect, to put it mildly. This isn’t to defend them. It is to say that perfection comes in Heaven (let God decide hell and the states of purgatory).
The question is how far all of this goes.
Without forgiveness on one side and repentance on the other — or forgiveness and repentance on both sides — the situation will repeat itself or grow worse. It’s why the upcoming “special report” will be on prophecies and the potential for civil war. There has been a rise in white supremacy groups, some of which are vile.
But not all white males should be lumped together.
And while Caucasian males in many ways have been out of favor for several decades now (the target of feminists, black-rights protests, gays, Indians, Mexican immigrants, to name some), few would want to live, we would bet, in a world that was without what white males invented. To wit:
Alternating current (electrical power).
Light bulbs.
Cars.
The computer.
Trains.
Planes.
TV.
Radio.
Trucks.
The assembly line.
The internet.
Phones.
Cell phones.
Fertilizers.
Refrigeration.
Batteries.
The majority of pharmaceuticals (many vital).
Space technology.
Most major medical procedures.
The polio vaccine.
Mosquito control.
Lawnmowers.
Dishwashers.
Washing and drying machines.
Medical equipment.
Modern dentistry.
Power carpentry tools.
Popcorn.
And last but not least: air conditioning.
It’s always good to look for the positive in everyone and all races.