St. Augustine - Holy week 2019 will go down in history as two iconic Christian symbols suffered the unthinkable.
In Paris, an overnight fire Monday at the world famous Cathedral of Notre Dame wrenched hearts worldwide over the sight of flames lapping in the midnight sky engulfing and the loss as gravity pulled the spire downward.
And in St. Augustine, residents would awake Thursday to a gut-wrenching taxpayer-funded attack on the good names of the founders of America's oldest city as construction crews began on a public works project to dis-honor their families and obliterate St. Augustine authentic history.
The St. Augustine case of desecration was self-inflicted. Brought on by politicians seeking to appease a a group of out of town radicals who cannot be be appeased, and claim to seek to right wrongs by wronging others by attacking venerated symbols of respect and honor to local residents.
Specifically, last night the City of St. Augustine started the process they began last year to 'contextualize' the Cenotaph in Constitution Plaza by pouring concrete pads for plaques which would "re-mean" the Cenotaph. The next phase: install plaques naming the cenotaph "a monument to white-supremacy".
The hypocrisy is not lost on anyone who takes the time to actually read the names of the 44 lost souls inscribed on the memorial, including "Triay", "Lopez", "Pacetti" and "Gomez" alongside "Stevens" and "Walton".
And more hypocrisy arise as city officials thumbed their respective noses at its own historic preservation ordinances that require Historical Architectural Review Board review prior to any alteration in the Plaza.
Constitution Plaza dates to Spanish control of the City and is the town square of the old town, known as the oldest continuous city in America (a great trophy if your goal is to destroy America monument by monument). The desecrated Cenotaph was erected by the Ladies Memorial Association in 1879 in the Plaza, with the permission of the City.
Those seeking to object to the continuation of the City's efforts can express their views HERE.