The situation with the city’s transportation ad campaign has us scratching our heads.

The city launched a campaign on its website and on a billboard to encourage people to participate in a transportation survey. It featured the image of a covered wagon drawn by a white horse with the words: “Traveling East to West still tough?”

The reference is a bit of a joke comparing settlers moving West to the challenge of moving east to west across the town.

It felt very wrong to some. Speaking to the Bend City Council at Wednesday’s meeting, speakers argued, in part, the city was “naive, ignorant and oblivious” and only portrayed history through the lens of “the dominant culture.”

Mayor Sally Russell responded, saying she was happy to learn about “an unintentional error in your eyes.” City Manager Eric King followed up by saying the images would be removed and replaced.

Did the city do the right thing? How do you know?

We understand why the city said it would kill the image. King called it a mistake, failing to acknowledge the “displacement of native peoples.” City staff and councilors also likely wanted to end any controversy swiftly and move on. City government has enough issues to tackle without adding another.

Would it have been better — if prompted by the complaints — the city had hosted a debate over the image’s appropriateness? No. Just imagine how fast that would go sideways.

Would it have been better for the city to at least give an alternative justification for the image? Perhaps.

The image is open to interpretation and surely was not chosen to be uncivil or insensitive. Of course, that doesn’t change that it was viewed by some as insensitive. But freedom of speech issues are about as complicated as they come. Government has only limited power to govern speech under the law. Individuals, for the most part, regulate themselves. Ideas compete. They are proven flimsy when they can’t stand up to scrutiny. For that reason, Supreme Court Justice William Brennan said debates should be “uninhibited, robust, and wide-open.”

The people who objected to the image were trying to win in a debate over its choice. That’s fair. There is a debate to be had. A covered wagon cannot be used in a government ad in the context of moving West? Just what else cannot be used? And where does that stop? It’s really up to you — Bend residents — to tell councilors what you think about how the city dealt with the issue.