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'We have a statue of MLK': GOP lawmakers push for Charlie Kirk monument in Capitol
(www.rawstory.com)
this post was submitted on 11 Sep 2025
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My friend asks further, are they set in front of buildings named for the aforementioned flawed people? Thus giving credence to an entire life as opposed to the goodwil at the end, exemplis Carnegie, Morgan, Westinghouse, Gates, etc.
The statue of liberty is in the middle of the Hudson Bay (named after it's discoverer, James Hudson) on an artificial island built for it.
Lady Justice is found all over, largely in front of governmental buildings.
The bronze bull is a symbol of capitalist growth found on wall street (named after a type of stone barrier that once existed at that location) in front of the New York Stock Exchange building (named after it's location and purpose).
You aren't wrong that many monuments to concepts are outside buildings named after complicated people. But a lot of the iconic ones aren't. The Atlas of Rockefeller square is iconic but it's iconic in that it is art at a location associated with the profession done in the building behind it. It's seen as a symbol of television production not a symbol of New York or the abstract concept of mass media. Chicago's art deco definitely has a lot of statues in front of buildings named after people but they aren't iconic to the point that it's hard to think of a statue or monument as iconic to Chicago as the statue of liberty, the Hollywood sign, the liberty bell, or the space needle, none of which are associated with people's names.
Really it's mostly DC filled with monuments to people that are actually iconic. I like the Albert Einstein monument. It isn't popular or convenient but that just means it isn't overdone. Just statue to honor a scientist and pacifist activist.
My friend appreciates your honesty, but asks why the news coverage is about slaver and oppressor monuments instead of ideals?
Because those are the controversial ones. Everyone more or less likes the statue of liberty. Its been around for a very long time and it's downright cliche to talk about it. Nobody wants it removed.
Alternatively every few months the statue of Christopher Columbus in Columbus, Ohio outside the state legislature gets vandalized. A lot of people that live there resent that their home is named after a man who committed genocide.
In the south statues of confederates often serve as proxies for ideals. Their maintenance is a symbol of heritage and rebellion (and sometimes racial dominance) to their supporters and their removal is a symbol of progress, equality, and improvement to those who wish them removed. But the reality of these being people makes it messier. And yeah it's controversial so its news.
Like, nobody is looking to tear down the space needle. It's a symbol of space age progress and the city of Seattle. It's not newsworthy, you won't hear much about it, because it's just there.
Which brings me back to my initial query? Why idolize people instead of ideals?