Popular Mechanics magazine has caught some heat for publishing an in-depth guide on how to topple monuments.
“Bring that sucker down without anyone getting hurt,” the article that was published on Monday told its readers, promising that they were going give people the best advice on “how to topple a statue using science.”
The author, James Stout, said his article was inspired by worldwide attacks on “problematic monuments” tied to the “legacy of racism” amid ongoing protests.
Really? Then why are they also knocking down statues of Abraham Lincoln, the man who ended slavery in America?
“Should you happen to find yourself near a statue that you decide you no longer like, we asked scientists for the best, safest ways to bring it to the ground without anyone getting hurt — except, of course, for the inanimate racist who’s been dead for a century anyway,” the article says.
Mechanical engineer Scott Holland then suggested how — with about 70 strong friends — protesters might be able to pull down most statues with 4×4 recovery straps “around the head or the neck.”
Holland additionally recommended using a butane or propane torch to heat up the statue, saying, “You’ll be there for 15 to 20 minutes, but it’s a lot easier.”
If none of that works, there’s also a “chemical approach” — with an in-depth guide on “melting the damn thing” by using thermite, Stout writes, saying it has the “fun bonus” of producing a high-pitched squeal.
“One could imagine it sounding something like the sound a confederate general would make if their feet were on fire,” chemistry professor at San Diego State University, Chris Harrison, told the magazine I will no longer purchase.
The article quickly sparked outrage online — with many people saying they’d ended subscriptions. Count me as one of them.
“The liberals gradually destroyed it with way too much ‘popular’ and way too little ‘mechanics,’”an army veteran named Dillon who canceled his subscription.
The Left did the same thing to Discover magazine years ago. I had an on-going subscription to Discover for years, and then little by little, they kept sneaking in left-wing articles, and eventually, every article had leftist gobbledygook all throughout. CANCELED
“We have finally gone insane – Popular Mechanics goes full-on revolutionary,” reader Jack Maxey tweeted, while another named Kodi wrote, “Pushing anarchy? You’re done Popular Mechanics.”
“Popular Mechanics goes full Taliban,” Christina Sommers wrote, pointing out that she thought the magazine all along “was about building things,” and not about bringing them down.
The politics in this article is beyond the pale.
Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, meanwhile, quipped, “I look forward to Popular Mechanics putting together a primer on how to make a Molotov cocktail.”
Some tool from the magazine used the age-old disclaimer that the article posted a warning message that it was “not encouraging anyone to remove any statues.”
Yeah, and I’m Mary, Queen of Scots.
There was a book that came out back in the ’90s called “Hit Man – A Technical Manual For Independent Contractors” that actually guided the reader on how to become a successful hitman. It was incredibly popular at the time, and the book has been banned since the publisher, Paladin Press, settled a case for several million dollars brought against them for someone using the book to murder family members saying that the publisher “aided and abetted” the murder. This book had a disclaimer too.
“This article is being presented only to describe the physics and mechanics of removing statues, in light of national attention being drawn to the removal of Confederate monuments and statues,” the mag stated.
It additionally warned there was “a risk of injury … even if you were to apply the information presented in this article.”
That’s comforting, I guess.
Rich is a conservative, syndicated opinion writer and owner of MAGA-Chat.com. He writes about politics, culture, liberty, and faith.
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