‘Charging Bull’ sculptor says ‘Fearless Girl’ distorts his art. He’s fighting back.

Short form: in 1987 an artist created the now-famous “Charging Bull” bronze statue as a statement on the resilience of Americans following a Wall Street crash. Then last month, another statue, “Fearless Girl,” was plopped down in front of it. The second statue fundamentally changed the apparent message of the first, and the first artist is understandably annoyed.

But beyond the art-squabble, I remain befuddled by “Fearless Girl.” A lot of people seem to love it… a little girl happily staring down a charging gigantic bull. A statement on Grrrrl Power, or something. Something something bravery. Empowerment blah blah. But what is it *really?* It’s one scene of a snuff film. Don’t care how “fearless” she is, about half a second later in that movie a multi-ton bull straight out of Greek myth is going to gore her and stomp her shattered remains into the dirt. The girls parents are clearly guilty of an insane level of child endangerment for letting her get into that situation, and for not teaching her any damn sense. The “Fearless Girl” statue has a plaque that yammers something about “Women in leadership.” But the only “woman” on display is a small child who seemingly doesn’t understand the situation and is about to die. Are we, instead, supposed to assume that the woman is actually the child’s mother, who put the girl into the arena with the bull? Is the leadership being discussed the leadership it takes to sacrifice your child to the Old Gods? Or the leadership it takes to not be there when your child needs you? The leadership needed to badly raise a child so that she thinks it’s a hoot to go taunt the dynamite bull, without so much as a 12 gauge… or even a light saber?

Now, I happen to approve of the idea of celebrating defiance in the face of immanent death. But “defiance” looks kinda ridiculous when clearly the situation is the result of “massive levels of stupid.”