Friend or foe? Hero or villain? Anti-capitalist with a point to prove or a religious fanatic reenacting a biblical scene? Not much is yet known about the man who on Monday defaced the Charging Bull statue, symbol of Wall Street’s clout, except that he’s Tevon Varlack, a truck driver from Dallas, and that his weapon of choice is a banjo. Ranting incoherently, Varlack hacked the bronze bull on Monday resulting in damage worth $15,000 to $150,000 depending on who you ask.
@wecantourthatNeither him nor the police revealed too much about the motives behind the attack, which leave us speculating about what in the world it could have meant. To get anywhere near deciphering the event, one must look at the statue’s history.
What’s most striking is that this isn’t even the first time the Charging Bull goes through a traumatic episode since its 1989 illegal installation. Sculptor Arturo Di Modica meant for it to be a gesture of gratitude towards the United States, and optimism in the aftermath of a financial crisis in 1987. But the bull has also been interpreted as a representation of Wall Street and all of its wrongdoings. At 11-foot tall and 7,000 pounds, it has been splashed with paint and more recently became the center of controversy when a statue of a girl stood off against the bull, bravely confronting the bull, making both pieces interact with one another.
@nyclivenycNone of this explains Varlack’s fit, but it provides a colorful history of vandalism. Is this vandalism with a cause? There’s two hypotheses, both alike in plausibility.
Jacobin claimed the attacker as one of their own with a post that read “support our troops,” which was a joke, of course, but provides food for thought, nonetheless. In 2011, the Occupy Wall Street protests painted Anarchy symbols all over the bull, which became something of a target for every demonstration that took place. Which leads to believe that maybe this was yet another statement against corporate interest and the Wall Street swamp. Are progressive ideas best expressed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders finally hitting the Texas mainstream? There’s plenty of reasons to think so, not least because some accounts claim that Varlack was cursing at President Donald Trump at moments prior to the attack.
The other possibility demands that we look at the facts and, more importantly, that we pay attention to detail. Varlack was wearing a white t-shirt with the words “Let Us Not Forget The Ten Commandments.” All you Bible buffs out there will know exactly where I’m going with this. That’s right. I’m referring to the golden calf fiasco described in Exodus. The story says that when Moses descended from Mount Sinai with two stones carrying the Ten Commandments, he saw his Israelite buddies worshipping a golden calf made from earrings and what not. Upon seeing this, Moses totally lost it, threw the stones to the ground, thereby breaking them, and ordered that the calf be burned.
Ok, so it’s not exactly a reenactment, but it’s amazing how a golden calf (or something like that) is to be found in the middle of Manhattan. I guess it’s true what they say: New York City really has it all.
@tiagoragauskasRead more:
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