How many of us had heard of Edward Colston before the weekend? I suspect only those from the Bristol area. Reading up on him, he was obviously a significant figure in the history of Bristol ... without question .... and funded many philanthropic projects and causes... the obvious problem is that the fortune he amassed and used for the 'benefit' of the city was derived from the vile trafficking of human slaves. However, the statue wasn't originally erected as a direct "in your face" provocation towards black people or emancipationists. It was put up in a society which was very different to that of today... one that was naive and, let's be frank, rather ignorant ... we as a country were, at that time, pushing the boundaries of empire throughout the globe with little thought or concern about the impact we were having on indigenous populations. The statue, in my opinion, and with the benefit of hindsight, should have been confined to history many years ago - placed in a Bristol museum as an educational reminder and reflection on historical events both of the region and the wider country - Yes, there was a time when people generally thought it was acceptable to own other people - unbelievable as that sounds in our world now (and it is debatable that it still exists in parts of the world - albeit poverty slaves predominantly). I do think the vandalism and dumping in the dock was ill advised as it deflected from the dignified peaceful protests and played into the hands of those seeking to denigrate the protests as typical of violent left wing activists hell bent on the destruction of property and heritage etc. Just my take, of course.
So by their logic we should be hunting down those who pulled down the Sadam Hussain statue, get those ****ers who pulled down any Hitler memorials!!!! Bring them to justice right? How far do we go the other way, ****s put back Fred Wests house?
They must have been fuming when this famous philanthropist and charity fund raisers statue was wanged. https://www.thenational.scot/news/16033718.glasgows-wooden-jimmy-savile-statue-has-been-destroyed/ Can’t even have a statue of a mass murdering slave trader anymore, might as well pull down the pyramids! PC gone mad I tell ya!
Black people took down a statue of a former slave trader...bought and sold their ancestors...I’m surprised it took this long tbh...the fact that it was still up sums up the deep rooted issues of this country that many like to deny.
I can't ... it's not my city and I only know what I have read recently... but there is no denying that he used his fortune or a significant proprtion of it, to the benefit of the City of Bristol. Stripping away the emotion, I think it is more likely that the statue was erected to reflect those contributions more than some right wing city officials having a rascist or pro-slavery agenda. ... but as I said ... just my view.
That would make it a trio tree. Trios, oo remembers them eh? (Peter Kay moment) Derek Griffiths? Definitely John Peel at the end.
I was sent a facebook thing from Durham where people were on about protecting a war memorial... only it wasn't a war memorial, the bloke on there who did nothing other than tell people what it was got dog **** abuse. He wasn't saying it should be destroyed, removed, defaced... Only correcting and educating these people
I knew you would know what road I meant. Quite an horrific story when you think about it, at least I do remember some things! Although I must be a bit sadistic, that's the plague, the great fire and now the Kolyma Highway. Although my latest favourite topic is General Anesthesia, there was a medical break through in the last few months and some more understanding of how it works. It appears some scientist conclusions back in the 90's was correct, but they didn't have the technology back then to prove it... https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/05/200529150619.htm well I found it interesting.
All old bollocks to me, from day one life has been about the strong taking from the weak. Enslaving the weak slaughtering the weak. Ottoman, Roman and British empires to name but a few were born on such actions. Even today life is not fair for all, it never will be it’s how things are right or wrong. It’s not a perfect world, it can never be, fighting for one injustice in hundreds of thousands won’t change **** all. Drops mike whilst you all get over yourselves.
Well that's the issue that needs addressing first. Not that people took it into their own hands to take it down, that it was still there in the first place despite the numerous requests for it's removal. The requests fell on deaf ears... It's no shock that certain people are making the protests all about the small minority involved in violence and damaging things, totally ignoring and not willing to acknowledge or discuss what the peaceful majority are ****ing pissed off about.
Cecil Rhodes is getting it next. Also on Sky news, there's some nutters gathered around Churchill's statue.
From the footage I saw, it seemed that the people on the ropes were predominantly white. I also thought I heard somewhere that the petition to remove the statue only got 11,000 signatures... this in one of the UK's largest cities and one with a large black community. Now if I had been living in Bristol and knew the issue, I'd have signed that petition without doubt. So it's all a bit baffling.
You might be right about it’s original dedication. However, having looked at the local history regarding it, it appears to have been a contentious issue in the area for around 30 years. What I find mystifying is that in face of petitions to have it removed, and voices to the contrary, the local council proposed a compromise as recent as 2018, that being, a second plaque that highlighted the man’s part in the slave trade. Only to see that blocked by local groups and Tory councillors. So I can completely understand why at a BLM protest it attracted peoples ire, and the fact that they chose to take the issue into their own hands. It had no place in that City in 2020, and left to the politicians it was clearly staying.
