Way back when, I wrote a post about Ventura, California, which is officially known as the City of San Buenaventura. The city was founded on March 31, 1882 by Junipero Serra, and for years a statue of the founder stood in front of City Hall. Here's a picture of one of the final days of the statue:
And another image of people gathered to try to protect the statue from cancel culture. At the time this picute was taken, the city council was holding a virtual council meeting to decide the statues fate. One of the "concerned citizens" who called in to the meeting let the councilmembers know that "if they didn't remove the statue, Ventura would have a fire they couldn't put out," an allusion to the 2017 Thomas Fire that devastated the city. The council meeting went until after 10 PM and, in the end, the council decided to try to put the statue’s fate on the ballot or, if they couldn't accomplish that since the date to put items on the ballot had passed, they would convene in one week to hear public comments and make a decision. I'm sure I don't need to tell you how the vote went the next week...Winston, and the Ministry of Truth, voted 6-0 to remove the statue.
So, the statue of the city's founder is gone. This is the man that Wikipedia says the following about:
"Serra also led efforts to protect the natives from abuse under Spanish soldiers.[99] After a series of abuses on the native population by the hand of local soldiers, Serra and other missionaries protested against governor of Alta California Pedro Fages, who refused to reprimand his soldiers. Serra then departed for Mexico on October 17, 1772 to plead his case to the viceroy Antonio María de Bucareli y Ursúa. Bucareli requested Serra set his grievances in writing, which led to the drafting of the Representación. This document, which consisted of 32-points, also laid out the rights of Native Americans in Spanish California and protections against the soldiers, placing them under the governance of the missions. Mission Indians enjoyed rights as human beings under the protection of the Spanish monarchy, and were recognized as Hijos de Dios, or “Children of God.” According to professor George Yagi, this stood in contrast to the treatment of Natives on the east coast of America, where they were guaranteed no rights."
This is the man who founded the city, his memory being erased. What's next? Rename the city to Sorosville?