Image Credit: Andrew Hall, PortlandBridges.com

According to the recent media headlines, the way to end racism is to destroy statues. Well, an iconic elk statue has been burned in Portland, Oregon, so does that mean racism is now dead?

Portland protestors were rightly mocked after setting fire to an elk statue. On Wednesday night, protestors lit fires around the downtown landmark, quickly engulfing the elk in flames. Videos show a small inferno wrapped around the base of the landmark with some graffiti. It looks like “ACAB 1312” was sprayed on the statue that somehow advocates police brutality and racism.

The elk statue in downtown Portland is now fully engulfed in flames. #antifa pic.twitter.com/EdqOnJCdSP

— Andy Ngô ?️‍? (@MrAndyNgo) July 2, 2020

As reported by RT, it’s unclear why protesters targeted the statue. It was donated by former mayor David P. Thompson back in 1900 to commemorate the elk herds that once populated the region. However, there was plenty of speculation about what the animal had done to deserve being consumed by flames.

After the mob torched the stature, Twitter users began to mock and theorize that perhaps the animal was a “slave owner” or a “white supremacist.”

The elk statue in downtown Portland is now fully engulfed in flames. #antifa pic.twitter.com/EdqOnJCdSP

— Andy Ngô ?️‍? (@MrAndyNgo) July 2, 2020

https://twitter.com/barbara2point0/status/1278597281546108928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1278597281546108928%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rt.com%2Fusa%2F493549-elk-portland-fire-statue-protest%2F

“That elk owned several slaves and was one of the biggest cotton-farm owners around Portland,” joked one Twitter user. Others wondered if perhaps “extinct elk herds” represent the “last bastion of white supremacy” in Oregon. Conservative pundit Ian Miles Cheong jokingly applauded the protesters for finally finding a way to end racism.

The elk statue in Portland is burning. The elk owned slaves. This is how we end racism. Thank you Antifa. pic.twitter.com/fL38OKO5HL

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) July 2, 2020

Recently, demonstrators and rioters have targeted statues across the United States as part of the ongoing Black Lives Matters demonstrations, claiming that the landmarks are rooted in oppression.  BLM is funded by major corporations and George Soros. 

Protesters first toppled Confederate monuments but soon turned their attention to statues of historical figures such as Christopher Columbus and Thomas Jefferson.  Now, the elk seems to have been some kind of racist, but thank goodness BLM was there to torch it to teach the animal a lesson about racism.