“Carson Jerema: 55-foot statue of Hindu god in Brampton should be emulated, not scorned”, National Post, December 18, 2023:
“The building of a 55-foot statue of a Hindu god in Brampton is not the result of the progressive war on Canadian history and symbols, as many conservatives complained over the weekend. The sentiment embodied in the question: “how can we have this, but not statues of Sir John A. Macdonald?” might be understandable after the last decade of historical revisionism, but misses the point. A privately owned temple building its own monument offers a path to fight against cancel culture, an example to be emulated, not scorned.
The towering presence of the god, Hanuman, may be unusual, sure, but any size or esthetic complaints are only marginally different than objections to a skyscraper casting too large a shadow, and other such nonsense arguments tossed around your average planning committee. It’s not even that unusual, as there is already a 50-foot statue of the same god in Richmond Hill.
A minority community using its own property to pay tribute to its faith is exactly the sort of project that shows capitalistic initiative isn’t just about profit, but about everyone self-actualizing in their own way, regardless of what the government wants. The statue was “built with private monies, and violates no city zoning regulations or bylaws,” according to Free Press writer Rupa Subramanya, who spoke to the temple priest and city mayor.
Read the full article at Nationalpost.com
