Current Affairs The Landmarks of Slavery;

[Wizard]

Here's the thing.

Why black? Why does it have to be part of the slave trade history?

Why can't they erect a different statue of something else in Bristol's history?


The funny thing is , they want to replace a statue of someone who did great things for the city based on the way he obtained the money to do it. They also want to replace him with a statue honouring someone who teared down a statue. They changed nothing but help rip down a statue , if that is what they want to honour then the movement has no credibility other than their own self importance

Who is they in this particular instance? From the sounds of things it was a London based artist and a few others pulling a stunt.

As has been said by the Mayor, the people of Bristol will decide what replaces it. It may not be slavery related if they choose so.

Given loads of the people angry at the toppling of Colston argue "it was educating people" then surely it should be something that educates about slavery though. That's what people really care about isn't it? That's what got them all upset over the toppling. The loss of an educational figure on slavery

 

[Shevin Keedy]

The statue was placed solely to celebrate his philanthropy. There wasn't a need to acknowledge what he did, because it was never put in place to celebrate his slave trading.

It's you who is trying to redefine what the statue stood for. My whole point is that the statue reflects the context of the society that erected it, not ours.

There absolutely is a wider argument about what statues get torn down; it's backtracking to an insane degree to say there isn't. And it's always for the same reason - what they are celebrated for in the context of their own era is being retroactively diluted by those in the modern era who disagree with a part of their lives they were not celebrated for with those statues.

Surely he was only able to administer his philanthropy because of profits he would have made from slave trading, how could you separate these issues?

 

[Kenshin]

Bloody, peoples front of Judea - type antics...

Pretty much

If said person was someone who had positively influenced lives within the city (which there are bound to be loads) with their selfish actions and just so happen to be supportive of the BLM then that's a different story.

This new temp statue is someone who protested a bit and pulled a statue down.

What if this gets voted to stay there. A symbol of hope as the person in question has come out and said.

So what if for example they get into a car drunk one night and murder someone?

Will they tear that statue back down again? How many times will they tear it down ?

 

[Kenshin]

Who is they in this particular instance? From the sounds of things it was a London based artist and a few others pulling a stunt.

As has been said by the Mayor, the people of Bristol will decide what replaces it. It may not be slavery related if they choose so.

Given loads of the people angry at the toppling of Colston argue "it was educating people" then surely it should be something that educates about slavery though. That's what people really care about isn't it? That's what got them all upset over the toppling. The loss of an educational figure on slavery

Is that all Bristol is? A slave trade city? What about honouring something from its hundreds of years of history that isn't slave trade? By replacing a 'slave trader' with a millennial who styles hair is a mockery of the point they are trying to make.

They relate to the ones who will now campaign for the statue to remain rather than the ones who created it.

 

[JimmyJeffers]

We Obroni's hold a number of positions in the Ghanaian psyche

I am glad you enjoyed the experience, mate.

I used to like getting called that whilst being shouted at by kids with their parents looking all embarrassed. I was walking down the street once and I heard someone shouting. Turned around and there was a middle aged white guy laughing and waving at me just cos I was the only other white guy about lol

 

[ForeverBlue92]

Is that all Bristol is? A slave trade city? What about honouring something from its hundreds of years of history that isn't slave trade? By replacing a 'slave trader' with a millennial who styles hair is a mockery of the point they are trying to make.

They relate to the ones who will now campaign for the statue to remain rather than the ones who created it.

I wonder if a few average Joe's tear down the statue will they face no charges like the ones who pulled the original down?

Doubt it.

 

[Wizard]

Is that all Bristol is? A slave trade city? What about honouring something from its hundreds of years of history that isn't slave trade? By replacing a 'slave trader' with a millennial who styles hair is a mockery of the point they are trying to make.

They relate to the ones who will now campaign for the statue to remain rather than the ones who created it.

As I said which you clearly missed, the Bristol Mayor has said the people of Bristol will choose. It will be up to them if they want it to be a monument about the slave trade or something else. Stop getting wound up over something that hasn't even happened yet.

For what it's worth I'd do what they do on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square and rotate what is up there. Given they now have a blank plinth you may as well make good use of it.

 

[Kenshin]

You know what is really bad about this? The part that people aren't saying but it shows you how pathetic this really is?

Edward coulston joined the slave trade for 8 years of his 75 year life. He started as a trader of other products before investing in what everyone else was investing in at the time. 8 years. Consider the last 8 years of your life compared to every other one so far .

He gave back to Bristol for the majority of his 75 years of life, in fact 31 years before he died after he left the company so to speak.

If that is a man that our modern society paints as evil and not worth honouring in a statue because of the times he lived in then we are going down a dark path in this country now.

 

[JimmyJeffers]

Took a bit longer than expected

Some real big hitters in attendance though. Great to see.

 

[daza_1973]

Pretty much

If said person was someone who had positively influenced lives within the city (which there are bound to be loads) with their selfish actions and just so happen to be supportive of the BLM then that's a different story.

This new temp statue is someone who protested a bit and pulled a statue down.

What if this gets voted to stay there. A symbol of hope as the person in question has come out and said.

So what if for example they get into a car drunk one night and murder someone?

Will they tear that statue back down again? How many times will they tear it down ?

To be fair it seems more of a publicity stunt for the artist Marc Quinn who comes across as a privileged upper class virtue seeker of the highest order.
Suppose it will give him something to talk about at the next Tate modern end of year soiree.

 

[dead_soft]

So instead of erecting a statue of something of relevance, it’s somehow acceptable to have Twitter millennial standing there with her arm up.

She got enraged on twitter and went to a mass demonstration and that’s somehow a representation of fighting racism

I don't speak for everyone in the BLM movement, probably only 80-83% of them, but yes - this is probably the most important statue in the last 100 years of black activism and everyone thinks so.

 

[Kenshin]

As I said which you clearly missed, the Bristol Mayor has said the people of Bristol will choose. It will be up to them if they want it to be a monument about the slave trade or something else. Stop getting wound up over something that hasn't even happened yet.

For what it's worth I'd do what they do on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square and rotate what is up there. Given they now have a blank plinth you may as well make good use of it.

That's an idea that's fine with me , perhaps the answer in modern society is to remove the symbolism of a statue rather than to enforce one.

It's not this I'm wound up about tbh it's society. Much like the trans discussion , it's a microcosm of everything that is wrong in society in my opinion. Something so small in comparison yet it incorporates all the negative things that the millennial society is trying to force.

 

[Kenshin]

To be fair it seems more of a publicity stunt for the artist Marc Quinn who comes across as a privileged upper class virtue seeker of the highest order.
Suppose it will give him something to talk about at the next Tate modern end of year soiree.

You are probably right , certainly the woman didn't know about it based on her statement on it

 

[Wizard]

You know what is really bad about this? The part that people aren't saying but it shows you how pathetic this really is?

Edward coulston joined the slave trade for 8 years of his 75 year life. He started as a trader of other products before investing in what everyone else was investing in at the time. 8 years. Consider the last 8 years of your life compared to every other one so far .

He gave back to Bristol for the majority of his 75 years of life, in fact 31 years before he died after he left the company so to speak.

If that is a man that our modern society paints as evil and not worth honouring in a statue because of the times he lived in then we are going down a dark path in this country now.

He worked for the Royal African Company for 12 years and upon leaving in 1692 proceeded to trade slaves himself until 1708. Bit longer than 8 years there mate.

 

[dead_soft]

I wonder if a few average Joe's tear down the statue will they face no charges like the ones who pulled the original down?

Doubt it.

why not go and check? Instagram live yourself tearing it down