Last May, on the beaches of Progreso, Yucatán, a statue of Poseidon, the god of the seas in Greek mythology, became one of the new attractions in that coastal city.
Authorities indicated that the arrival of this three-meter (10 feet) tall sculpture, made of fiberglass, was part of the actions of the Progreso City Council, headed by Julián Zacarías Curi, to attract tourism.
However, its settlement in the beach area – approximately five meters into the sea – from the first moment generated divided opinions, while some were amazed and eager to see it; others said they were dissatisfied because it did not represent the Maya culture.
But the annoyance and ignorance of some Yucatecans would have escalated to the point of organizing to destroy the statue of Poseidon, and “give his remains to Chaac (Mayan god of rain).”
However, what would have started as a joke on social networks ended up having “alarming” consequences, as the creator of the call to destroy the image of Poseidon revealed that he received threats after this went viral.
A Facebook user was in charge of creating an event on this social network to organize a meeting and destroy the figure of the Greek god that was placed on the beaches of Progreso.
Without knowing if it was a real call or a joke, several users joined in. So the Facebook event gathered around 30,205 interested people.
Among the most common comments of Internet users who wanted to destroy the statue of Poseidon, was that they were “convinced” that “Poseidon made the god Chaac angry.
A TikTok user went viral after stating that the statue was the cause of the heavy rains that hit the entire Yucatan Peninsula. This is how the topic began as a joke and sparked laughter among many, as the days went by, it began to be taken seriously by superstitious (or ignorant) people. Some Yucatecans wanted to know if the event was organized to destroy “Poseidon.”
However, it was recently confirmed that the “event” was canceled. The person who created the Facebook group indicated that the event was a joke but many people took it seriously. And apparently, these people were really intended to vandalize the statue.
The user who started this commotion stated that he received threats and did not want things to have greater consequences, he ended the topic after publishing a message.
“Message to the community: Thank you very much for your support, it was really fun to see that many people took it as a good joke… but I have received many hateful comments and people threatening…”, the Internet user posted on his Facebook profile.
After what happened, the debate was revived again about whether the statue of Poseidon fulfills its function—attracting tourists—or is simply generating displeasure and misunderstandings.
It should be noted that the appointment to destroy the statue of Poseidon was scheduled for next Monday, July 15th.
TYT Newsroom