Designers sliced the leather of Barry Bonds’ home run record-breaking baseball in the shape of an asterisk before placing the ball for permanent display in the Baseball Hall of Fame. The asterisk, a punctuation symbol indicating a footnote, cautions that while Barry Bonds achieved an incredible feat, the accomplishment was likely — if not certainly — tainted by steroid use.
And there the ball sits, permanently defaced, the leather cut and the yarn exposed, an acknowledgement that this record has more to the story.
Could we not take a similar action for statues, buildings and public monuments inspired by leaders from prior eras, to continue to honor their accomplishments but no longer gloss over actions or words that were horrifically racist, sexist or otherwise repugnant? Yes, maybe it’s time to carve an asterisk into the side of the Washington Monument. And on the front of the Brigham Young Monument. And on every other statue, building or monument inspired by historical figures whose lives included both great actions and unforgivable sins. George Washington helped found a new nation. And his fortune was built on slave labor. Brigham Young led the pioneers to the West. And he was a vocal racist and misogynist.
Obviously, some statues and monuments need to come down, where a person spent an entire life oppressing others, or where a statue has become a rallying symbol for further harm. But for others, the monument should spark a conversation, not just reverence.
The “all or nothing” approach — either tearing down a statue or leaving it up — denies the truth that history is complicated, that the same person can do great things and also be guilty of unspeakable harm, and that as a society, we aspire to judging ourselves by a higher standard than what we were given.
So grind the statue. Paint the asterisk. Thoughtfully deface the monument in a way that’s impossible to miss. Not as vandals, but as a community and after public consideration. But don’t tear it down. Because part of the higher standard is recognizing there is always more to the story.
Daniel Nelson, Sandy
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