Statues of the World, Unite

Recent destructions include:

* Hans Christian Heg, a Norwegian immigrant who spent almost his whole adult life as an anti-slavery activist, and who was also a Union officer that died at Chickamagua at age 33.

* Lady Forward, a symbolic sculpture of progress made by a female sculptor in the 1890s, during the early phase of the suffrage movement in the US. (Or, if you prefer, "the symbolic gatekeeper of an almost all white capitol that legislates in racism" whose destruction shows "the extent of white fragility".)

Planned destructions include:

* The Emancipation Memorial, erected after the Civil War solely with donations from freed slaves; Frederick Douglass gave the keynote address at its dedication.

This last one is interesting both for the gall of the protesters in putting their opinions before actual freed slaves and Douglass himself, but also because they announced their intent to demolish it days in advance.  They're going to come for it on Thursday at 7 PM local time.  That means that (a) it's an obvious trap, and also (b) they can't pretend that the selection of this statute was a mistake made in the heat of the moment.

What sort of a trap?  That's an interesting question.  Probably they are hoping to draw an aggressive response they can film and then use as propaganda against the government.  However, if I were preparing the government response, I would take care to surveil the site for snipers and the placement of IEDs targeting responders.

You could also steal a march by arresting these people today; they've publicly confessed to conspiracy to destroy public property.