Current Affairs The Landmarks of Slavery;

[NilSatisOptimum]

This house TV series is in Bristol this series this week it's in Bristol being a a port the whole city was unfortunately founded on Slavery ......plus the main perpretatators had slave boys in their houses .....most ports in the U.K. Thrived on slavery in that era -
An event in the USA has caused protest rightly, but not in covid19 pandemic times where social distancing went out of the window.......

Went out the windows weeks before, VE celebrating people stacked on the beaches well before these protests, and all the outrage was media, it's well documented here but directly nothing from Government. However, as soon as protest about Racism, Government was ordering people not to go...

 

[The binman chronicles]

Just knock everything down and start again just in case it was built by slaves or using money from slavery or by someone who was a racist or even just unpleasant.

I nominate Anfield to start with.

 

[Toffee in Jandals]

The toppling of Edward Colston’s statue in Bristol is being lauded by some and highlighted as hooliganism by others, but it has opened a debate about landmarks associated with slavery. London mayor, Sadiq Khan, has ordered a review of sites in the capital like the world famous Guy’s Hospital

A visit to the Maritime museum shows Liverpool‘s association with slavery through many of its street names. Penny Lane is named after 18th Century slave trader, James Penny, whilst the Goree is part of the Dock Road and named after an island off the Senegal coast synonymous with slavery.

I’m an old white bloke and accept its easy for me to say let things be, but perhaps we should be educated about the origin of such sites. I’m not saying we should celebrate that city’s like Liverpool and Bristol have been built on the wealth of slavery but we shouldn’t hide it. Perhaps those street signs and statues could carry an image associating them with their shameful origin.

Judging past events/people by present-day societal norms has never sat well with me.

In 200 years' time future generations likely will look back with disgust at our generation for polluting the planet with plastic and changing the climate of the planet, destroying the natural environment, all in the pursuit of personal wealth.

We're all guilty of playing our part in that to a certain extent, it doesn't mean this part of human history should be scrubbed out and not learnt from.

Many men who have statues up in various parts of the world likely scoffed at feminism, mental health, disabled people playing a part in society, socialism, homosexuality, religious practices that weren't their own. We should educate ourselves and celebrate how far we've come as a human race, and how much we still need to do.

 

[Shevin Keedy]

Nowadays these statues/ street signs// plaques of commemorative and symbolic icons are not as necessary due to the wider accessibility of (and ability to retain) information. This heralds a move away from history solely as written by the victors concept which these statues are mainly from.

There is now a Democratisation of Memory, which means virtually anyone can be a curator or compiler of information, of opinions, of facts and events as they occur historically. Evidence and artefacts are instantaneously uploaded to the cultural archives of YouTube or internet blogs and they become substantial, factual retentions rather than tenuous commemorative rituals.

But we do need to consider the concept of accountability; the responsibility for inscription and retention of historical occurrences. The accountability I refer to is in stark contrast to responsibility for actual causation of traumatic events.

We need be careful with erasure or deletion of historically recorded events and figures as if to wipe them from the memory, removing their very existence from our collective cultural understanding. These are social narratives, disembodied historical forms and history differs from memory. “history is not so much what happened but what people interpret as having happened, a series of narratives and discourses” -Michel Foucault

Those who live through specific periods or events differ from those who inherit them and there can be a subsequent struggle to express any legitimacy of truth.

 

[bigjonny]

No, it was named after the Blundell family who were prominent in the reformation; may eventually be the same family I guess, but I don't know.

A form in The Bluecoat is named after him.

A pedant writes - a school house is named after him. Bingham , Blundell , Shirley and Graham. ( unless things have changed since 1978).

 

[LinekersLegs]

 

[Wizard]

 

[Deckard2049]

Serious question, did Gladstone personally do anything bad or is this entirely a “sins of the father” situation?

 

[Papa Shango]

That's the point a true accurate of history is not reflected on. We get a bit on slavery as in we partook, however, pages and pages of William Wilberforce, and going to war with Portugal and sun never set on the British Empire and they all lived happily ever after.

If people want history it should come with warts and all. People have been making representation to at least have some references to slavery by the side, however, there is always opposition...

Lets face it the warts and all stuff is the most interesting part of history. Gets people emotive anyway.

 

[ForeverBlue92]

@kenada_blue the elite will be laughing their cocks off at all this

"Let the talking heads and lower class oinks take some statues down, that'll convince them that they now have equality"

How can humans be so intelligent yet be so foolish at the same time?

 

[kenada_blue]

Serious question, did Gladstone personally do anything bad or is this entirely a “sins of the father” situation?

He inherited his father's wealth from what I understand. Wasn't actively engaged in slavery.

But someone will link it to being like Hitler and Eva on the spectrum of historical events.

 

[The binman chronicles]

I never pass a statue and think they are people to be celebrated. Just noteworthy and people of note can still have done bad deeds as well as good.

Might just be how I look at things and others tip hats and tie balloons to them then...

 

[kenada_blue]

@kenada_blue the elite will be laughing their cocks off at all this

"Let the talking heads and lower class oinks take some statues down, that'll convince them that they now have equality"

How can humans be so intelligent yet be so foolish at the same time?

Slight of hand magic tricks.

 

[kenada_blue]

I never pass a statue and think they are people to be celebrated. Just noteworthy and people of note can still have done bad deeds as well as good.

Might just be how I look at things and others tip hats and tie balloons to them then...

Absolutely. You wonder why it's there and for what reason. Then you look it up.

 

[ForeverBlue92]

Slight of hand magic tricks.

Thick as mince it all is.

Sooner pubs and footie reopen/restart the better country has gone mad.