My own museum ideas 2
More like idea, not ideas. Singular.
Considering the recent and still on-going Black Lives Matter protest (at the time of writing), I have one museum idea (which, just like the ones in my previous essay, I am sure is NOT entirely mine either)
But first, a bit of a rant:
I don’t believe taking down statues is not the same erasing history. It is unbelievably idiotic to believe romanticisation of history is the same as preserving it. If anything, embracing the romanticisation means you don’t give a fuck about the truth.
Keeping those statues in public spaces can convey two messages: it is either that we must keep venerating those individuals despite their immorality OR we must keep upholding their clearly immoral values. Either way, morally sound people will see how unsavoury such situation is.
But, at the same time, I am also not entirely on board with the destruction of the statues. While I certainly envy the protesters who threw one into a river, I believe we can use the objects to capsize the narrative.
Hence, my museum idea: Museum of the wrongfully glorified ones.
While the mouthful name is not fixed, I am sure you know what it is all about.
Simply exhibiting the objects is not enough. The curators must also provide explanations about the whitewashing and how it affects the way contemporary people perceive each other and themselves.
Not only it will debunk age old myths, it will also enlighten the visitors about how ignorance regarding their beloved idols compels them to perceive the world through an escapist lens.
Of course, there is a balance to maintain: I have to drop the truth bombs upon the visitors while at the same time try not putting them off with preachy or angry tones.
I am not a big fan of playing nice. But, if I want to get the message across easily, there are rules to follow.
One may argue my proposed approach is unnecessary. We could have simply let the statues stay while replacing the plaques with more biographically-accurate ones. Why bother tearing them down and putting them in museums?
Because it is not enough.
Doing so will not reveal how systematic the historical whitewashing is. In fact, it may mislead the masses into thinking the whitewashing is nothing but a series of isolated incidents.
If you put them in a museum, people would realise how the exhibited objects are results of the same systematic indoctrination. I mean, that’s the point of a museum exhibition: to exhibits what certain objects have in common!
Putting them in a museum would be more effective.
When it comes to determining the location of the museums, I have no hesitation: build them in the most conservative places, where the myths still prevail like cancerous cells. Educating the residents while simultaneously giving them the deserving finger.
When it comes to confederate monuments specifically, I don’t know their exact number. But, if there are lots of them and they are within close proximities of each other, it would be possible to establish not one, but multiple museums across different US cities and even states.
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