Each prejudice we harbor occupies space where God would anchor more of His love. ~William Arthur Ward, American motivational writer
Symbol of times past
Evokes hurt feelings today
Unacceptable
Note: What do you think about these statues? Are they blatantly offensive, or are they merely a lawn decoration like gnomes? For further information, here’s an NBC News report.
Musings by an ND Domer's Mom 
Debbie, It’s as if people are looking for things to find offensive. And this has been going on for the past eight years, and only keeps getting worse (driven by politics and the media).
And it’s not only with race, but things like homosexuality. Being gay myself, I don’t keep reliving my history, bringing up things that happened to me and how gay people were once treated. First of all, I don’t care that I’m gay, or could care less if the world accepts me. I accepted myself and that is all that matters. And I mean that.
Everyone today is overly-sensitive about so much stuff.
As far as the statue you shared in this post, quite frankly, I didn’t even see “black” when I looked at it. I only saw a really cool statue of someone holding a light.
Yes, the past was the past. But we don’t have to keep reliving it. Because when we do, that’s exactly where we stay.
In the PAST.
Great topic, my friend. Thanks for sharing. Hope you’re having a super week! X
Ron, thank you for your thoughtful response. It seems as if this dissension has been going on way longer than eight years though (or maybe it just feels that way, since I prefer calm, order, and peace!)
I was surprised at seeing this statue, since the house obviously doesn’t have a horse farm connected to it, nor are there many horses tied up in residential areas here. It just seemed a bit incongruous in that neighborhood.
I do agree with you that none of us should keep rehashing things that happened to us. In a country like ours, where we pride ourselves on being a melting pot, we can ill afford to keep knocking others down. We all should value one another, celebrate our differences, and try to find enough similarities to make us appreciative of living here.
Have a wonderful week! xx
I’m relatively neutral on such things. On the one hand, they are a reminder of different attitudes in different eras, and I wouldn’t put one on my property. On the other hand, I wouldn’t put a pink plastic flamingo on my property, either. I certainly wouldn’t throw a fit if a neighbor had such a bit of lawn decoration. Unlike so many in our society, I’m not looking for opportunities to be offended, and I’m not addicted to anger.
At most, I might ask, “Why do you have that next to your front door?” The answer might be as simple as, “Mom had it.” Depending on how well I knew the person, I might add a comment about its nature as a stereotypical image, but I certainly wouldn’t immediately assume the person was a racist.
As for hurt feelings, I’m reminded of this very short poem by Stephen Crane:
“A man said to the universe:
‘Sir, I exist!’
‘However,’ replied the universe,
‘The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation.'”
If someone tells me that my words — or my lawn decoration — hurts their feelings, my response would be the same: I’m not responsible for your feelings. Even with my mother, that response was appropriate from time to time!
Linda, thank you for weighing in. Like I told Ron, I just found the thing an oddity, particularly in that mostly-white neighborhood. I mean, whirlygigs, gnomes, lawn furniture, gazing balls, and the like are pretty normal, but nobody in that neighborhood (not mine, by the way; just a place the Monk and I were walking) has horses.
It’s rather like those sleeping Mexican statues. Some might consider them offensive; others might be celebrating their culture (or, as you wisely suggested, keeping a hand-me-down from parents).
We really aren’t responsible for how others feel about our outdoor decorations, but I guess I err on the side of caution. Music is very important in my life, but I don’t have immense outdoor speakers blasting my selections to the neighbors!
I think, if I knew something in my yard offended someone I would not leave it out. Maybe. Unless I had strong feelings about whatever it represented. Mostly I try not to offend…which seems to get harder and harder.
Dawn, you are sooo right. It is getting harder and harder not to offend, particularly as people seem to have become more and more sensitive. To everything. It’s like they’re looking for a fight!
And I have a hard time believing this was a symbol runaway slaves looked for on the underground railroad. That sounds like a story somebody concocted to justify the statue’s existence.
Interesting article!
Thanks, Eliza. I’ve seen these statues down south, butit looked really out of place in central Illinois. I’d have found it less jarring if its face had been painted white!
There were a few around here in the 60s-70s, but not common anymore. If I do see one, it is usually white.
I can’t speak for those who are offended by this kind of yard decoration. I might suggest though, there are bigger fish to fry on the offended front and maybe those things should be delt with first. BTW I don’t buy the run away slave marker story.Sounds like a made up justification.
John, I’m right there with you on the made-up justification. Sounds like that to me, too. And you’re right — we do have a LOT bigger fish to fry than being offended over somebody’s lawn decor. I don’t know the people who live there, so I can’t speak as to why they chose this statue (or if it was foisted upon them by children or parents), or why they opted to keep it … in the front yard. If it were me, I’d probably put it in the back yard, where nobody would grumble — or write Haiku about its suitability!
I agree. It would not be a big deal to move it to the backyard.
You’ve gotten some interesting comments. It seems like someone is always going to be offended these days no matter what you say or do. I would never intentionally try to offend someone, but I also don’t feel like we need to pretend the past didn’t happen by removing statues, renaming school teams, etc. I’m not sure what the answer is. That said, I’ve never been a fan of those statues and would feel the same if it was a white version.
Well said, Kelly!! I’m NOT a fan of tearing down statues (even if somebody somewhere claims they’re offensive). It seems to me that history is better served by teaching why certain things are unacceptable, rather than pretending that they never happened at all. After all, those who don’t know history are more likely to repeat its sins. And who wants the world’s sordid past to come home to roost today?
Like you, I tend to err on the side of caution, though like many of your commenters, I’m very tired of how easily people seem to be offended by everything these days! We’ve just had a news report that they’re considering taking down the statues in George Square, Glasgow’s main civic space, because some of the people were involved with the slave trade. But everyone with money back then was involved in the slave trade to some extent, so are we just supposed to wipe away our entire past? I feel it’s better to keep these things, and teach kids both the good and bad about our history. There was a lot of good, contrary to what we’re constantly being told now, and there’s plenty of bad happening today which frankly I feel we should be more concerned about rather than wallowing in guilt over ancient sins.
Oh my goodness. This stuff is happening in your part of the world, too?? I am stupefied. To think that tearing down a statue (even if it’s offensive to somebody) erases the slate. *shaking head* And you’re so right: practically every people across the globe has, at some point or another, enslaved some other people. If seems to me that if we truly believed that we all are children of God, we’d never consider such a practice. I’m reading a book about the Holocaust now, and I find myself shuddering over how shabbily people in power treated those who weren’t. Why can’t we all get along peacefully??
I still see those occasionally, but the ones I see have had the faces painted white. I guess by removing the color, people figure that they can still put it out and not worry about being offensive. Not knowing the people who put it out, I couldn’t really say if they are trying to be offensive or not.
I don’t know these people either, but just painting its face white doesn’t feel any more acceptable. I mean, bosses shouldn’t have caricature statues of their employees on the building’s lawn, should they? That just feels demeaning to me. Surely we can come up with some more appropriate outdoor decoration. Or perhaps stick the thing in their back yard, where others don’t have to feel intimidated by it, or wonder about the owner’s intent.
Hi Debbie! For me I don’t take offense at what people put in their yards. There are all sorts of stuff, that’s for sure. I look at it as it is their property and they can do whatever they want to with it.
People have called my yard Spic N Span. Some like it and some don’t. But what matters is that I like it.
I could tell though that you are bothered by this particular object. So, I’m sorry that it bothers you so.
Have a pleasant peaceful weekend! And give Monkey a hug from us!!
Monkey loves hugs, so I’ll be glad to give him another one! It’s not so much that this statue bothers me; more like, it makes me uncomfortable. I can’t help thinking there are better things one can put out in one’s front yard. Of course, there are worse things, too (like hate slogans). Perhaps I’ll just resign myself to being glad they’re not my neighbors!!
The article is very interesting but after reading it I’m still not sure what I think about why they might be displayed on someone’s lawn. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered one before. In general I tend to err on the side of not risking offending anyone with my choices.
I’m with you, Barbara. Of course, I suppose somebody somewhere might be offended that I have a cherry tree in my front yard, but at least it doesn’t drop nasty seed-balls like the sweet gums do! I know our homes are our castles, but do you really want an unleashed pit bull in your front yard, something that can attack everything that walks by?!
Sadly, loose pit bulls happen far to often. A couple of weeks ago a mother and her 12-year-old son wound up hospitalized when they were attacked by four loose pit bulls. They were out for an evening walk in their neighborhood. The owner was arrested. Very scary.