Vera Mukhina, THE sculptor behind the worker and kolkhoz woman sculpture, would’ve probably convinced people to keep it purely for artistic value. She allegedly did it with the “Freedom monument” in Latvia, but the Latvian “Freedom” statue is so ugly I wouldn’t have listened.
Melt it down and use the material for a statue that celebrates the working class:
I care less about the statue. It’s symbolism can be changed. If we are gonna talk about destroying monuments, they should do what they can to wipe that shit off if Mt. Rushmore.
I grew up near Mt. Rushmore. I loved it when I was a kid. Now I abhor everything about it.
Personally although I don’t hold an attachment to it, getting rid of it is more trouble then it’s worth.
Even if a revolution happens in the US, that doesn’t mean the people as a whole are commited ideological socialists. They will largely be politically unaware but supportive of the new revolutionary government, however that doesn’t mean they won’t have any affection for old symbols. Removing lady liberty doesn’t really help the new revolutionary leadership, and could end up Sparking unnecessary reaction in a likely turbulent time.
It’s not as if the Bolshevik’s defaced the famous cathedrals of Moscow and one of the CPCs critiques if the chinese cultural revolution is the destruction of historical artifacts important to Chinese identity.
Now, US memorabilia is different due to its settler colonial nature, however I’d imagine later generations would probably choose to recontexualize it or remove it. I’ve no issue either way, and personally I’d say it should be up to the indigenous communities that descended from the area.
The context of it being a gift from a colonizer to a settler-colony makes it clear that the “poor/huddled masses” refers to settlers yearning to be free yeomen farmers and she stands beside the “golden door” to stolen land.
I’d vote to keep it.
But I probably wouldn’t have a vote, because I’m not a USian and wouldn’t be a voting member of the hypothetical people’s republic, and it’s unlikely that I’d be invited onto a consultative committee to deliberate on what to do with it.
In such a hypothetical setting, though, that statue would be a reminder of the lies USians were told. People could see it as aspirational, a benchmark of progress in their new republic if it finally earned the reputation that that torchbearer claimed.
But any decision to keep it would have to be subject to the approval/veto of minority groups who saw it as a symbol of their oppression.
We wouldn’t have to worry about white supremacists shites seeing it as ‘their’ symbol and a rallying cry, because they’ll all either be in gulags (where they can’t see it) or rotting in ditches (where they can’t think about it).
I’d keep it but replace the torch and tablet with a sickle and hammer.
I would argue to keep it .It’s historical and iconic. But It’s a symbol of oppression, not liberty. Just change it a wee bit. The local nations should ultimately be the deciding factor though.
I’d keep it, maybe just change the plaque. It’s a bit disappointing how tiny the actual statue is, even T-posing Jesus looks more impressive so I think some smart architect could easily improve it. Make it cool like The Motherland Calls or the African Renaissance Monument.
Taking it down costs money and resources that would be better spent elsewhere.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with liberty as a concept, but in this specific context, it’s meant as the liberty of bourgeois colonists
Not the statues fault that its ideals are ignored. I’d keep the SoL, and destroy the monuments dedicated to the historical figures; Washington Monument, Jefferson & Lincoln Memorials, and those dedicated to war leaders. I’d hand over Mount Rushmore to the Lakota tribes to do with as they wish.
You could turn the supposed values the statue is representing against the State that’s refusing to uphold them. That’s what I would do personally.
It’s a rather morbid sight to have a statue of liberty, in a city where even a single person goes unsheltered and hungry.
The solution is simple, you do a public consultation, with particular focus on the people of NYC, with debate and propositions, and what the people feel it’s best is to be done, quite simple in my oppinion. Since to my eyes it’s not an inherently reactionary symbol, so I’d say the people should decide on a post revolutionary NYC
Modify it into the Statue of Liberation.
Replace the torch with a hammer and sickle.
I’d put it in a museum dedicated to American propaganda and replace it with a statue of Huey P. Newton.
For everyone that don’t is Latvian.
https://rees.sas.upenn.edu/about/spotlight/freedom-monument-riga-latvia
