After the sun set on Thanksgiving, we tore down a memorial to the US soldiers of the Spanish-American War in Riverview cemetery. The Spanish-American war, overseen by President William Mckinley, marked a turning point in American Imperialism, resulting in the annexation of Puerto Rico, Guam, Cuba and the Phillipines and creating new norms for overseas military intervention and territorial control by the United States. The monument bears a plaque dedicated to the US soldiers who killed to assert control over the Phillipines. Through action, we call to life the memories of the Phillipine Insurrection against American rule and anarchist Leon Czolgosz, who assassinated President McKinley in New York while revolt continued on the islands.
The celebrations of Thanksgiving and every monument to US power reproduce the colonial and nationalist ideologies crucial to the continuation of this state. We act also during the November 17-25 Global Days of Action Against Militarism and All Wars proposed by the anti-militarist initiative created at the anarchist gathering in St. Imier, answering a call heard across oceans and borders. As the machines of War feed death after death in Ukraine and Palestine, let’s bring down every statue and symbol of Imperial power and every system that keeps the wheels of industry turning.
Death to America! For an anarchist anti-militarism!
– From the news media: “A 121-year-old bronze statue of a Spanish-American War soldier has vanished from an Oregon veterans monument, leaving cemetery officials “deeply saddened.”
The statue, part of the River View Cemetery in Portland since 1902, disappeared from its base sometime over the Thanksgiving holiday, officials said on Facebook.
The 5-foot-tall bronze statue of a soldier holding a rifle is estimated to weigh more than 600 pounds, officials told KATU.”
submitted anonymously