30 Aug 2025 11:01 pm
I can't believe we allowed these animals to take down statues. I would have set up machine guns and mowed them down.
The National Park Service has announced plans to restore and reinstall the statue of Albert Pike, a Confederate general and prominent Freemason, which was toppled and burned during the 2020 protests following George Floyd’s death. It will be reinstalled in Washington, D.C. Pike’s statue was the only outdoor monument in the capital honoring a Confederate figure. Still, the decision to reinstall it has sparked renewed controversy. Critics, including Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, argue that honoring Pike—who resigned in disgrace and was linked to war crimes—is morally indefensible. She’s reintroducing legislation to have the statue permanently removed and donated to a museum. The restoration is being justified under federal historic preservation laws and executive orders aimed at “beautifying” the capital and reinstating pre-existing statues. It’s a move that’s reigniting debates about how we memorialize history—and who gets to decide what’s worth preserving.