The stupid reason a public college is removing historical artwork

Two historic paintings that have hung on the walls of a public college in Wisconsin for 80 years are being removed for a really ridiculous reason: they could be “psychologically devastating,” as The Daily Caller reports.

And who might be on the receiving end of this trauma? American Indian students:

Since 1936, two large murals by Cal Peters portraying early Wisconsin history have dominated the common area of Harvey Hall at the University of Wisconsin-Stout (UW-Stout). One mural shows French fur traders and American Indians traveling down the Red Cedar River by canoe, while another portrays a wooden fort constructed by the French. Neither painting shows any violence at all.

The school’s chancellor said he’s received complaints from some of the students.

“When they look at the art, to them it symbolizes an era of their history where land and possessions were taken away from them, and they feel bad when they look at them,” Bob Meyers said.

But it wasn’t until after UW-Stout’s Diversity Leadership Team declared the historic paintings as perpetuating racial stereotypes that Meyers decided they needed to be out of the public’s eye. Now, they hang somewhere secluded in a dean’s conference room and the library.

Meyers insisted the move had nothing to do with being politically correct and he was only trying to be consistent with the school’s values — and “attract more Native Americans to the university.”

Yes, we understand, Chancellor Meyers. When the snowflakes begin to melt, you remove the heat. Never mind teaching them anything about history.