The difference between a book and a statue

[Antisthenes]

None of this stuff has easy answers of course and opinions abound. I remember coming across this when I was in Florence. It's called "Rape of the Sabine Women". It's gorgeous in it's marble embodiment and artistic workmanship and repulsive in it's content. You stand and stare at it and are marveled at it's intricacy and simaltaneously repulsed by its depiction. But it's a good metaphor for me because as a woman, I look at this and see more than just an artistic expression by an Artist. I see the horror in her face, her fear and the terror of what awaits her. It's not just some piece of art in a Piazza in lovely Firenze. It's a woman being raped by men. I can only imagine what black people must see or envision when they look at these edifices in their Parks or on their Capitol steps. My experience with this piece in Florence at least allowed me an opportunity to experience some empathy for what Black Americans must feel when they see an Confederate General, sword drawn and astride a horse.