What’s more important: a historic memorial, or a statue of a deceased manatee?
USA Today reported on a local Florida man’s petition to remove a Confederate veterans memorial and replace it with a statue of “beloved” Snooty, a manatee who according to the site, “died in a tragic accident at the weekend only days after celebrating his 69th birthday.”
USA Today’s Matthew Diebel accepted the petition as a settled issue, starting his piece with: “Get ready for a Snooty statue. Say goodbye to a Confederate monument.”
While the story told of the “oldest manatee in the world” who was the victim of a “simply heartbreaking accident,” the memorial was ignored. How long had the Confederate memorial stood in the town of Bradenton? How many men of Bradenton were killed in the war? Are there any descendants still around to defend the memorial? Is there another place in Bradenton where a statue of an aquatic mammal might be placed without erasing a portion of the town’s history? Inquiring minds want to know, but USA Today isn’t one of them.
The petition itself calls for “the negative symbol of racism and oppression that is the Confederate monument to be relocated and replaced with a statue of Snooty the Manatee.”
According to USA Today, Snooty the Manatee was considered a city mascot. The Bradenton Herald also reported that while this petition has gained the most support, with over 4,000 signatures, there are other advocates who want a high school and an environmental institute named after the animal.
The creator of the petition, while not calling for the memorial to be destroyed, did admit that both he and other supporters of the petition wanted the memorial to be moved. No mention was made of where the memorial would be moved.
The Tampa Bay Times also focused mainly on the manatee, calling him “the new Harambe” and interviewed people on how much they miss Snooty. The Confederate statue was described as standing in front of the county courthouse. That was its only mention.
Regardless of Snooty’s significance to the city of Bradenton, the attempt to be politically correct by both news sources has gone too far.
USA Today and the local and state newspapers decided to ignore the value of human life and elevate instead the life of a manatee. Moving the memorial would show disrespect for the lives of human beings. If the media really wanted to adjust the Confederate memorial to be more politically correct, they could suggest that the memorial be simply changed to honor all veterans who fell in war.
