A resident of Easton has started an online petition calling on Easton Mayor Sal Panto to remove the statue of Christopher Columbus that currently stands at Easton’s Riverside Park.
In less than 7 hours, it garnered more than 130 signers.
Almost two years ago, I published a post that stated known facts about Columbus and the then minor controversy regarding the Easton statue that honors him.
Not surprising, among those who defend Columbus’ crimes against humanity and the Easton statue is Constable Tricia Mezzacappa. She believes publishing historical facts is “disparaging” Columbus and doing so somehow equates to hating America.
Mayor Panto, who also defended the Columbus statue, did so for different reasons, which were poor reasons then, and even more so, now. He talked about the cost of the statue, and provided an unverified account of “hundreds of people” mortgaging their homes and businesses back in the Great Depression, in order to raise the money for the $13,000 statue.
With the recent social awareness of a white-washed history of men like Columbus, Mayor Panto may be forced to decide which side of history he wants to be on. Remembered for defending a statue honoring a genocidal psychopath, or taking a positive step toward correcting a mistake passed on to him?
Unlike Melissa Meyer, who calls for the removal of the statue in her petition, I believe there is a better alternative that will remove the honor given to Mezzacappa’s racist hero, Columbus, while still honoring a great Italian, which was the original intent of the statue.
Mayor Panto doesn’t have to relegate the statue to the depths of the river, or incur the costs of proper removal.
He could simply rededicate it to a truly worthy Italian and one who happened to live during the same time as Columbus, making the style of clothing displayed on the statue correct.
Consider rededicating it to Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519), who was far more than a great artist. Add a long beard to the statue and it’s good to go.
Many historians and scholars regard Da Vinci as the prime exemplar of the “Universal Genius” or “Renaissance Man”, an individual of “unquenchable curiosity” and “feverishly inventive imagination.” He is widely considered one of the most diversely talented individuals ever to have lived.
Leonardo is revered for his technological ingenuity. He conceptualized flying machines, a type of armored fighting vehicle, concentrated solar power, an adding machine, and the double hull ship.
Relatively few of his designs were constructed or even feasible during his lifetime, as the modern scientific approaches to metallurgy and engineering were only in their infancy during the Renaissance. Some of his smaller inventions, however, entered the world of manufacturing unheralded, such as an automated bobbin winder and a machine for testing the tensile strength of wire.
He made substantial discoveries in anatomy, civil engineering, geology, optics, and hydrodynamics. ~ Wikipedia
Da Vinci’s contributions to humanity are far better than some lost sailor, who was the catalyst for slave trading routes to the New World and the genocide of its indigenous people.
I urge everyone to sign the petition. CLICK HERE.
Disclaimer: On January 4, 2016, the owner of WestEastonPA.com began serving on the West Easton Council following an election. Postings and all content found on this website are the opinions of Matthew A. Dees and may not necessarily represent the opinion of the governing body for The Borough of West Easton.
