Current Affairs London Protests

[Methuselah]

Why would anyone get wound up about a statue of a slave trader being taken down?

Because it wasn't 'taken down' - it was vandalised. If the protesters had put in a petition (I would have signed it) to have it 'taken down', fair enough.

 

[dead_soft]

I'm not very knowledgable about it mate, what did Mr Churchill do that was genocidal? He was a big fella though

I was being fairly facetious to be honest but he had no qualms with allowing millions of Indians to die

 

[atypicalusername]

I was being fairly facetious to be honest but he had no qualms with allowing millions of Indians to die

Didn't know about that, how did he kill them? It sounds mad because it's not something I've heard about before. Thanks for letting me know and I'll try to have a look into it to educate myself. Any recommended sources I can watch or read?

 

[Jebus_lives]

Didn't know about that, how did he kill them? It sounds mad because it's not something I've heard about before. Thanks for letting me know and I'll try to have a look into it to educate myself. Any recommended sources I can watch or read?

The 10 greatest controversies of Winston Churchill's career

The UK is marking the 50th anniversary of of Winston Churchill's death. Many regard him as the greatest Briton, but for some he remains intensely controversial.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[atypicalusername]

The 10 greatest controversies of Winston Churchill's career

The UK is marking the 50th anniversary of of Winston Churchill's death. Many regard him as the greatest Briton, but for some he remains intensely controversial.

www.bbc.co.uk

Thanks mate, I'll have a read about it! I dont tend to take the bbc at face value anymore though because sometimes I get the feeling it's not as centrist as it was intended to be. Thanks again

 

[Billy Dean]

Because it wasn't 'taken down' - it was vandalised. If the protesters had put in a petition (I would have signed it) to have it 'taken down', fair enough.

I do take your point. But following up an act of brutality by making a petition seems a bit incongruent

 

[nomycippetp]

Pulling down a statue of a slave trader. Well that's a thread to pull on that will keep on unravelling. Most of England and certainly Liverpool was funded by slave trade money. Do people not take up places at universities that were funded by these people? Live in an apartment of a converted mill from the slave trade? Stop working in that nice charity shop as it was funded by a 19th century racist. Once you remove a statue by criminal damage and not democracy you start tumbling down the rabbit hole.

 

[tsubaki]

Semantics? They're put there as an act of remembrance and a mechanism to highlight their significance in history.

Some times these bring up uncomfortable truths - look at Henry Tate as an example - but for me that doesn't mean they should be removed. It's part of history.

Perhaps the argument should be about how these monuments could be used better to educate rather than simply tearing them down?

They aren't, though. That Colson statue was put up in 1895; the Richard I one in 1856.

If they are memorials to anything, its how previous generations saw them (and themselves) and not the generations who were alive at the time.

 

[atypicalusername]

The 10 greatest controversies of Winston Churchill's career

The UK is marking the 50th anniversary of of Winston Churchill's death. Many regard him as the greatest Briton, but for some he remains intensely controversial.

www.bbc.co.uk

Just following my last text, I mean that you have given me a proper good starting point but I'd like to know more from other sources. I read it back and it sounded like I was crapping on the bbc.

 

[Jebus_lives]

Thanks mate, I'll have a read about it! I dont tend to take the bbc at face value anymore though because sometimes I get the feeling it's not as centrist as it was intended to be. Thanks again

I just put it there as a broad overview. Obviously not a complete picture

 

[Jebus_lives]

Just following my last text, I mean that you have given me a proper good starting point but I'd like to know more from other sources. I read it back and it sounded like I was crapping on the bbc.

I'd always assume one source needs corroboration.

 

[paultheblue]

I was being fairly facetious to be honest but he had no qualms with allowing millions of Indians to die

I think you are mixing him up with John Wayne mate

 

[coollino]

Because it wasn't 'taken down' - it was vandalised. If the protesters had put in a petition (I would have signed it) to have it 'taken down', fair enough.

It was up and now it's down. Taken down.

 

[LinekersLegs]

Did you hear the rumour Mr Floyd had corona too? Mad if true but probably not.

Confirmed by the autopsy.

George Floyd was infected with COVID-19, autopsy reveals

George Floyd, whose fatal encounter with Minneapolis police stirred a global outcry over racial bias by U.S. law enforcement, tested positive for the coronavirus, his autopsy showed, but the infection was not listed as a factor in his death.

www.reuters.com

 

[PhilM]

They aren't, though. That Colson statue was put up in 1895; the Richard I one in 1856.

If they are memorials to anything, its how previous generations saw them (and themselves) and not the generations who were alive at the time.

Again, that's true but it doesn't negate the point that they've been put up because they've been deemed significant: that alone is one discussion it can generate.

John Lennon's plaque was put up in 2013, not straight after his death, but that doesn't imply that the person himself or reasoning behind it are any less relevant.

If we're going to debate Colston, it's a great way to talk about the horrendous deeds that he did and the better deeds, but all within the constructs of the time.

He was a racist and traded in the lives of human beings, which for us now is despicable; yet, he also apparently contributed to Bristol through his altruism.

I always wonder how these people were deemed at the time: revered or repulsive? As @Tubey mentioned, you partly have to judge through the 'spirit of the time'.

If we look at Richard I, we can talk about why he's often remembered as a significant monarch even though he actually held a pretty dim view of these isles.

In reality, he was a pretty horrible person if he was judged by the standards of the time and through today's standards. That's the real acid test.