NYC Italian-Americans:Save Columbus Circle Statue!

“They have forgotten what the contributions of different cultures have meant to various societies. There is the bad, as we have seen from history, and as we see now, but there is also the good. If Caucasians are so bad, then why is one section of the world struggling to empty into the Western lands? Do you see any exodus headed elsewhere?” [Facebook]

Stop Mayor Red Bill de Blasio. Again. Now it’s the Italian-American heritage assault.  On the steps of NY City Hall,  a press conference was held in support of  the Columbus Circle statue. A GIFT to the city of NY in 1892 by Italian immigrants.

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A passionate roster of speakers mostly Italian-Americans were there but none came to hate-on America. They spoke with pride as Americans who are also proud of their Italian heritage.

Opening remarks from Councilman Joseph Borelli (R-South Shore).

Borelli begins by mentioning the significance of Italian American protests in 1970-1. And now Columbus is next on the chopping block. He warns de Blasio and Mark-Viverito, who are opening historical arguments 4oo years old, your actions are more divisive than uniting. The iconoclasm we are seeing […] will look foolish 200 years from now. How will our actions today be judged. This is an unfortunate chapter in NYC’s history. We are concerned about preserving his (Columbus’) legacy. We are asking […] he be judged through the lens of the era in which he lived.”

 Congressman Borelli was followed by Joe Piscopo (Piscopo excerpts)

“This is about my grandparents. They came from Italy. They came in steerage. On the boat to Ellis island, passed the statue of liberty. With no respect they came to this country. You know what they did? They learned the law. They learned the language. They were proud to become Americans. I wasn’t allowed to speak Italian in the house. They became Americans. The one iconic symbol for Italian-Americans was Christopher Columbus. He’s flawed. We’re all flawed. Hey, I’m flawed. We’re all flawed. You know what gets me frustrated … Italians have no respect. We never complain… When we were prejudiced against. When they hung Sicilians in New Orleans.(**lynched March 14, 1891 **) Teddy Roosevelt said, “They got what they deserved.” FDR interned Italians during WW2. We didn’t complain because WE WERE AMERICANS. Leave our statues alone (cheers). Stop the political correctness. It’s killing us. Keep the greatness, keep the texture, the character of the United States of America.”

The reality that politicians of a ‘progressive’ persuasion – aka Marxists – seem to be gaining ground as they “progressively” wipe our American history from the books inspired multiple speaker. They spoke passionately of their pride in America and our shared history. [Part 1 – Candidates were introduced “Bo” Dietl, Michel Faulkner, Steve Saperstein, Lucretia Potter.

5 speakers (in order):  Sen. Diane Savino (D-North Shore/Brooklyn), Council Minority Leader Steven Matteo (R-Mid-Island), Assemblyman Ronald Castorina Jr., Brooklyn Councilman Vincent Gentile, Councilman Mark Mark Treyger.

These proud Americans put the mayor on-notice that no one is going to suck-it-up and accept his offensive proposals. Leave our statues ALONE. [Part 2 –Staten Island artist Scott LoBaido is introduced followed by 5 speakers (in order) Queens Councilman, Eric Ulrich, Joe Guagliardo, National Council Of Columbia Associations, Joe Sciame, former president Sons of Italy in America, John (?), and last –  the attorney representing 10,000 members in the NYPD Association and Manny Rothstein.

It was a moving and informative 45 minutes presser. Well-attended by the press, a press that was clearly not too sympathetic to the cause as was apparent in the Q and A. You can see and hear the disdain in the reporters’ questions.

So, will Mayor “Red Bill” and his fellow travelers, Melissa Mark-Viverito, diverge from their path of destruction? Not bloody likely.

Will the citizens of NYC allow this proud Italian-American symbol of our shared American history to disappear, treated with disdain by the anti-America Left? Not bloody likely.

This is war. Americans vs the Marxist cabal. Game on.

+++ This is a partial list of names mentioned in video: Councilman Joseph Borelli (R-South Shore), Sen. Diane Savino (D-North Shore/Brooklyn),  Assemblyman Ronald Castorina Jr., Council Minority Leader Steven Matteo (R-Mid-Island), Assemblyman Matthew Titone (D-North Shore),  Staten Island artist Scott LoBaido, comedian Joe Piscopo, Brooklyn Councilman Vincent Gentile, Joseph Guagliardo of the National Council Of Columbia Associations, Joseph Sciame, the former president of the Sons of Italy in America.++++

Ending with a flashback to the art exhibit built around the Columbus statue in 2012.

I was thrilled to walk up the scaffolding stairs, to see the Columbus statue up-close on September 20, 2012. But, was this a good thing?

October 2012- “Discovering Columbus”- a rare opportunity to see the 1892 marble figure of the great Italian explorer up close. Nishi, who is internationally known for transforming historical monuments by surrounding them with domestic spaces, said the aim of his piece is to put the viewer at eye level with the statue. “Discovering Columbus” is his first public art project in the United States.

However, this particular art-event – “Discovering Columbus” – was met with derision by the Italian American community; covering up the statue with a scaffolding, on Columbus Day 2012 – Not nice.

And now, five years later, they fight the outrageous possibility of removing the statue all together and RENAMING the Circle ++ LENAPE CIRCLE ++

What’s next? Renaming the continents? No more Amergus Vespuci. No more “America”. Sadly the big LIE of “indigenous” people to the North and South American continents would live on.

Links: Gothamist, Patch

** 1891 lynchings mentioned by Joe Piscopo – In late 19th-century America there was a growing prejudice against Italians, who were immigrating to the American South in large numbers to fill the shortage of cheap labor created by the end of slavery. Sugar planters, in particular, sought workers who were lower paid and more compliant than former slaves; they hired immigrant recruiters who began bringing the Italians to southern Louisiana. In the 1890s, thousands of Italians were arriving in New Orleans each year. Many settled in the French Quarter, which by the early 20th century became known as “Little Sicily.”^[22] 

Southern Italians were not considered full-fledged members of the “white race”… Between 1890 and 1910, Sicilians made up less than 4 percent of the white male population, yet were roughly 40 percent of the white victims of southern lynch mobs.^{[54] **}

[Where indicated pictures and videos property of Pamela Hall]