Fox News: A resurfaced photo of New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani flipping off a statue of Christopher Columbus is sparking backlash online and with some members of the Italian-American community.
“Take it down,” Mamdani posted in June 2020, along with a photo showing what is presumably his gloved hand raising the middle finger toward a statue of the famed Italian explorer in Astoria, New York.
In a post around the same time, Mamdani asked his followers in a poll who should be honored instead of Columbus with options that included, “Tony Bennett (Astoria native, music icon) Walter Audisio (Communist partisan, killed Mussolini) Sacco & Vanzetti (Executed due to anti-Italian sentiment).”
The winners of the poll were Sacco and Vanzetti, two anarcho-communists executed in 1927.
Some in the Italian community took offense to the post, according to a New York Post report, including Columbus Heritage Coalition President Angelo Vivolo.
“We will defend Columbus Day and Columbus statues,” Vivolo said.
“He is being disrespectful to the Italian American community.” Vivolo added. “If you offend one community, you offend all communities.”
Joseph Scelsa, the founder and president of the Italian American Museum, suggested it is unwise for Mamdani to alienate Italians, who the New York Post reported make up 8% of the population of New York City.
“To eliminate such a large population of people would be a travesty,” Scelsa said. “It’s not inclusive. It’s exclusionary. Who’s to say who is a hero and who is not a hero? Columbus is our hero.”
