If someone defaced a statue of Martin Luther King Jr., I guess someone could call it a hate crime. But King clearly represented and spoke for his people. He was their leader and symbol.
Columbus was a work-for-hire contractor for the Spanish monarchy. He had little or nothing to do with Italy except being born there. No way was he a symbol of Italy then, and arguably not now.
If anything, people who hate Columbus are protesting Spain, the West, or Caucasians. You could call the vandalism a hate crime against these groups, though we usually don't prosecute hate crimes against countries or continents. But a hate crime against Italians? No.
For more on the subject, see Columbus Day 2010 Protests and "Sad, Hollow" Columbus Defenders. For more on monuments that shouldn't exist, see Best Indian Monuments to Topple.
2 comments:
"Comment: A hate crime? For defacing the statue of an individual? I don't think so."
It's kind of a stretch, for sure.
Excellent point about a statue of Dr. King. King is deeply connected with African-American culture, and he is a recent figure, and there are many people today who knew him personally.
Columbus, in contrast, is ancient, long gone, and really has nothing to do with Italian-American culture, or even their heritage. Nothing at all.
"If anything, people who hate Columbus are protesting Spain, the West, or Caucasians"
The last group would be clearly racist, and also not defensible.
Christopher Columbus is an evil coldblooded, calculating, sadistic genocidal serial killer who killed Native Americans !.
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