By Frederick R. Bedell Jr.
I would like to applaud the NYPD for protecting and guarding the statues of Christopher Columbus statues from vandals, especially around Columbus Day.
I’m Grand Knight of St. Anastasia Knights of Columbus Council #5911 in Douglaston. We support the fact that Christopher Columbus, with his faults like the rest of the human race, did open up a new world with unlimited possibilities, which includes freedom for all.
That also includes freedom of religion for the many. That is one of many reasons we took on his name since 1882 and was founded by a priest named Father Michael J. McGivney. This organization that I belong to was created to help the incoming immigrants and the poor.
To vandalize a statue of Christopher Columbus is an insult to the memory of a man who opened up the new world with exploration and who expanded Christianity. Additionally, I don’t believe removing his statues serves any purpose. Christopher Columbus’s exploration of the new world set the tone for greater things to come.
That, in my opinion, is an example of the good things about Christopher Columbus, and not the negative.
Frederick R. Bedell Jr.
Glen Oaks Village
