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lokifanOMG guys, did you see what happened yesterday?
THE STATUE OF A SLAVE TRADER IN BRISTOL GOT BROUGHT DOWN, DRAGGED AWAY, AND DUMPED IN THE RIVER!!!!!!!!!!
I’M SO THRILLED I CAN’T TELL YOU.
The guy was a slave trader who made himself a fortune in kidnapping and selling people, then donated a bunch of that fortune and got himself a statue in a place where that money was more important than the lives he’d destroyed. If you’re thinking of Cecil Rhodes etc, you’re not wrong (though Rhodes was on a level it’s pretty hard to match).
I just. YES.
Britain is in such deep denial about the slave trade, and how much of our wealth today is built on it. We still have statues of and places named after these people. And let’s be real - statues aren’t history, they’re hagiography. We don’t put up statues based purely on their significance, they’re not neutral - we put up statues to commemorate, not remember. We choose people we admire, to honour them, so they can inspire us.
We need to remember history, warts and all, but that’s not the purpose of a statue.
Including statues of people I love, who inspire me - like, I don’t think someone needs to be perfect to be commemorated and admired! But we do also need to look at their flaws. That’s just not what a statue does, or even can do. Edith Cavell, a woman I admire a lot, who had her flaws, I’m sure. If it turned out she, I don’t know, was a big fan of the British Empire (hardly implausible)? That’s something that should be recorded and discussed in biographies etc. But that discussion wouldn’t make the statue of her in central London, one of my favourites - with its engraved HUMANITY above and the quote underneath, “Patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone.” - come across as anything other than an admiring tribute to her, and a statement that Edith Cavell, who nursed ill soldiers on both sides of a war, was someone we should admire for how she cared for people regardless of background.
The same thing goes for Edward Colston - the statue is there to honour him, to say he deserves to be remembered, and that we should be inspired by his good example. It says his flaws (in this case, kidnapping, torturing and murdering people for money) didn’t stop him from being an impressive, worthy good example. That’s what statues of real people in public places do.
AND IT WENT DOWN, DOWN, DOWN!
Protestors knelt on its neck for nine minutes, like what happened to George Lloyd, which must’ve been a LOT, emotionally.
And then they CHUCKED IT IN THE WATER where his SLAVE SHIPS used to port.
I can’t even write that sentence without the burn of pain and rage under the fierce glee of getting rid of the fucking statue.
Priti Patel, the always-awful Home Secretary, urged the police to respond, but the mayor of Bristol and the police seem understanding, so fingers crossed nobody gets arrested for it.
Also LMAO:
It’s easy to overstate the importance of symbolism, but I’m just gonna savour this moment for a sec.
THE STATUE OF A SLAVE TRADER IN BRISTOL GOT BROUGHT DOWN, DRAGGED AWAY, AND DUMPED IN THE RIVER!!!!!!!!!!
OMFG YEEEEEEEEEEEEESSS https://t.co/kfzsZX6z8j
— 🔞Becky (@LokifanLJ) June 7, 2020
I’M SO THRILLED I CAN’T TELL YOU.
The guy was a slave trader who made himself a fortune in kidnapping and selling people, then donated a bunch of that fortune and got himself a statue in a place where that money was more important than the lives he’d destroyed. If you’re thinking of Cecil Rhodes etc, you’re not wrong (though Rhodes was on a level it’s pretty hard to match).
I just. YES.
Britain is in such deep denial about the slave trade, and how much of our wealth today is built on it. We still have statues of and places named after these people. And let’s be real - statues aren’t history, they’re hagiography. We don’t put up statues based purely on their significance, they’re not neutral - we put up statues to commemorate, not remember. We choose people we admire, to honour them, so they can inspire us.
We need to remember history, warts and all, but that’s not the purpose of a statue.
Including statues of people I love, who inspire me - like, I don’t think someone needs to be perfect to be commemorated and admired! But we do also need to look at their flaws. That’s just not what a statue does, or even can do. Edith Cavell, a woman I admire a lot, who had her flaws, I’m sure. If it turned out she, I don’t know, was a big fan of the British Empire (hardly implausible)? That’s something that should be recorded and discussed in biographies etc. But that discussion wouldn’t make the statue of her in central London, one of my favourites - with its engraved HUMANITY above and the quote underneath, “Patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone.” - come across as anything other than an admiring tribute to her, and a statement that Edith Cavell, who nursed ill soldiers on both sides of a war, was someone we should admire for how she cared for people regardless of background.
The same thing goes for Edward Colston - the statue is there to honour him, to say he deserves to be remembered, and that we should be inspired by his good example. It says his flaws (in this case, kidnapping, torturing and murdering people for money) didn’t stop him from being an impressive, worthy good example. That’s what statues of real people in public places do.
AND IT WENT DOWN, DOWN, DOWN!
Protestors knelt on its neck for nine minutes, like what happened to George Lloyd, which must’ve been a LOT, emotionally.
And then they CHUCKED IT IN THE WATER where his SLAVE SHIPS used to port.
I can’t even write that sentence without the burn of pain and rage under the fierce glee of getting rid of the fucking statue.
Priti Patel, the always-awful Home Secretary, urged the police to respond, but the mayor of Bristol and the police seem understanding, so fingers crossed nobody gets arrested for it.
Also LMAO:
And Wikipedia pic.twitter.com/S659GT1IZJ
— Harvey 🚜🇬🇧 (@MccartneyHarvey) June 7, 2020
It’s easy to overstate the importance of symbolism, but I’m just gonna savour this moment for a sec.
no subject
Date: 2020-06-08 03:39 pm (UTC)