Felling of British slave trader statue heats up simmering debate

[Kadilo]

2 minutes ago, vogie said:

Please don't you jump to conclusions that Boris is my hero, my avatar is my concern and nothing to do with the topic.

But just for the record the Tories will be making decisions for a lot of years to come, no opposition see.

No Leadership that’s why they didn’t make any decision. Just a load of fluffy words from a Bottler Boris. 
 

Edited June 8, 2020 by Kadilo

[sirineou]

Just now, Chomper Higgot said:

He traded in slaves, he does not merit a statue.

 

And now he hasn’t got one.

That does not answer it my question only states your opinion.Will you also be tearing down all statues by Newton ?

[tribalfusion001]

2 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

Trying to burn the Union Jack at the Cenotaph today ^

Police were absent around it all day, even though it would have been a target. Someone higher up told the police not to protect statues and the photos of spray painting/burning go viral to incite others to either to the same or disgusted by it.

[rasmus5150]

45 minutes ago, Susco said:

Look at the videos from all over the world. The same is going on in every country.

 

This is not about George Floyd any more it is something that was floating in the air for a few years already, and they have seen a chance now and grabbed it.

 

Expect this to escalate much further

 

24 minutes ago, simon43 said:

 

 

 

Nope, nothing going on here in Laos.  Granted that you're get a severe kicking and thrown into prison if you tried anything.  I sometimes think that people who live in so-called democracies don't realise how lucky they are to have the right of peaceful protest. 

 

22 minutes ago, Susco said:

Maybe I should have been more specific, and clearly mentioned that this not included communist, third world and military ruled countries, but I guess you knew that and wanted to troll a bit

None of that urban terrorism in Scandinavian countries.

A few peaceful demonstrations, that's all.

[vogie]

10 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

He traded in slaves, he does not merit a statue.

 

And now he hasn’t got one.

If I can quote Arny "he'll be back" we can't have yobs deciding what goes and what stays.

 

8 minutes ago, RuamRudy said:

None of the examples you cite glorify the people responsible for the slave trade. The Bristol statue even bore testament to the man as being of good and virtuous character - that in itself must be offensive to black people. 

Always somebody elses fault, but one day you might run out of excuses to blame on the English, tis a tad boring at times.

Edited June 8, 2020 by vogie

[BillStrangeOgre]

22 minutes ago, vogie said:

Whether the statue should be there or not is not up to us to decide but the residents of Bristol and lets not forget that a lot of the world was built by slaves, should we knock the pyramids down, should we pull the acropolis and the parthenan down or what about the Whitehouse, it is all part of our culture now and all built by slaves. Thank god those days have gone but it was the norm just a few hundred years ago infact wasn't it a Yorkshireman Wilber Wilberforce who led the way in slave abolishment.

...in 'normal' times i would agree with you. It's not up to the public to decide what statues stand and what are pulled down (outside of the ballot box). But at the risk of sparking a riot i think the police got it right.

Now, don't get silly and equate pulling down an unremarkable statue of a slave trader with destroying one of the seven wonders of the ancient world or architectural master pieces...yes it's all part of our culture, that's why the mayor was correct to have the statue pulled out of the harbour and will be placed in a museum, as a historical record of what happened

Edited June 8, 2020 by BillStrangeOgre

[vogie]

1 minute ago, BillStrangeOgre said:

...in 'normal' times i would agree with you. It's not up to the public to decide what statues stand and what are pulled down. But at the risk of sparking a riot i think the police got it right.

Now, don't get silly and equate pulling down an unremarkable statue of a slave trader with destroying one of the seven wonders of the ancient world or architectural master pieces...yes it's all part of our culture, that's why the mayor was correct to have the statue pulled out of the harbour and will be placed in a museum, as a historical record of what happened

Most people would not condone mass howling rabid mobs but settle things at the ballot box.

[Andrew65]

18 minutes ago, sirineou said:

I dont know much about this or about Edward Colston, but was the statue erected because he traded in slaves or was the statue for some other reason he was famous?  

 

His philanthropy has meant the Colston name permeates Bristol. Besides the statue, there is Colston’s, an independent school, named after him, along with a concert hall, Colston Hall, a high-rise office office block, Colston Tower, Colston Street and Colston Avenue.

 

 Colston then began to develop a reputation as a philanthropist who donated to charitable causes such as schools and hospitals in Bristol and London. He briefly served as a Tory MP for Bristol before dying in Mortlake, Surrey, in 1721. He is buried in All Saints Church in Bristol

Edited June 8, 2020 by Andrew65

[Bruno123]

1 minute ago, BillStrangeOgre said:

...in 'normal' times i would agree with you. It's not up to the public to decide what statues stand and what are pulled down. But at the risk of sparking a riot i think the police got it right.

Now, don't get silly and equate pulling down an unremarkable statue of a slave trader with destroying one of the seven wonders of the ancient world or architectural master pieces...yes it's all part of our culture, that's why the mayor was correct to have the statue pulled out of the harbour and will be placed in a museum, as a historical record of what happened

 

Wrong. It is up to the public to decide....or would you prefer a dictatorship?

[Chomper Higgot]

12 minutes ago, Kadilo said:

Sounds like the Council used slave labour to pull it down. Kinda ironic really. 

 

11 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

He built many of the schools and hospitals and things in Bristol and helped to develop the place

I guess that makes his slave trading OK then?!

[ThailandRyan]

19 minutes ago, tribalfusion001 said:

Spreading like the virus, social media posts pitting left vs right, black vs white, nasty stuff going on underneath.

Darn Covid-19 has now mutated into a virus that is creating rage fueled hatred for anything that suits the bill.  I think therefore I am.....

[CorpusChristie]

1 minute ago, Bruno123 said:

 

Wrong. It is up to the public to decide....or would you prefer a dictatorship?

He quite Cleary meant individual members of the public , rather than a government choice (to remove the statue)

[n00dle]

1 hour ago, simon43 said:

Seems like mob rule has taken over in the UK..... police deciding not to intervene..... rule of law broken time and time again.  I'm glad to have left the UK 18 years ago - it's gone to the dogs!

Yes tear gas and rubber bullets and water cannons should be readied I say old chap!

[tribalfusion001]

This does country seem to wallow in it's past too much and it is time to move forward.

[Susco]

8 minutes ago, rasmus5150 said:

 

 

None of that urban terrorism in Scandinavian countries.

A few peaceful demonstrations, that's all.

Guess there are 2 Scandinavia in the world then

 

https://www.rt.com/news/491137-black-lives-matter-sweden/

 

The Swedish city of Gothenburg has been shaken by street violence, after an initially peaceful ‘Black Lives Matter’ protest turned into a riot. Police clashed with demonstrators, who threw stones and smashed storefronts.

 

 

[Kadilo]

1 minute ago, Chomper Higgot said:

 

I guess that makes his slave trading OK then?!

Not at all. I would of preferred to have seen the Council pay someone off their own backs to take it down and break it up into hardcore. 
 

 

[Bruno123]

15 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

He built many of the schools and hospitals and things in Bristol and helped to develop the place

 

Developed the place on the backs of torturing and enslaving people? Proud of that are you?

So I can rob your house, killing most of your family, but as long as I give 10% of the proceeds to an old people's home, it's ok? 

Edited June 8, 2020 by Bruno123

[CorpusChristie]

3 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

 

I guess that makes his slave trading OK then?!

Just pointing out the reason why the statue was there in the first place , it was there because of the financial contribution he made to the town

[tribalfusion001]

2 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Darn Covid-19 has now mutated into a virus that is creating rage fueled hatred for anything that suits the bill.  I think therefore I am.....

It always was going to turn out this way, rather than live happily ever after defeating the evil virus.

[CorpusChristie]

Just now, Bruno123 said:

 

Developed the place on the backs of torturing and enslaving people? Proud of that are you?

So I can rob your house and give the proceeds to an old people's home....is that ok? 

I dunno, which old peoples home would you give it to ?

[Chomper Higgot]

3 minutes ago, tribalfusion001 said:

This does country seem to wallow in it's past too much and it is time to move forward.

It’s way past time for the British to learn the full story of their own history.

[tribalfusion001]

The division in this thread is being played on the streets and in social media too. Dangerous times unless everyone gets a grip.

[Bruno123]

3 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

He quite Cleary meant individual members of the public , rather than a government choice (to remove the statue)

 

Who is Cleary and what does he have to do with the subject?

The people are the government. Those idiots are meant to represent us.

[Andrew65]

1 minute ago, Chomper Higgot said:

It’s way past time for the British to learn the full story of their own history.

We're fully aware that our country was involved in slavery.

Edited June 8, 2020 by Andrew65

[Chomper Higgot]

2 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

Just pointing out the reason why the statue was there in the first place , it was there because of the financial contribution he made to the town

It was there because his slave trading was ignored.

 

And now it isn’t.

[Bruno123]

1 minute ago, CorpusChristie said:

I dunno, which old peoples home would you give it to ?

 

Seriously, educate yourself before you leave this mortal coil. Your contributions here lack aforethought.

[tribalfusion001]

1 minute ago, Chomper Higgot said:

It’s way past time for the British to learn the full story of their own history.

I know my history, I was taught it in school and I read about world history too. The UK was not an angel, but we cannot apologize for everything in the past.

[RuamRudy]

14 minutes ago, vogie said:

 

Always somebody elses fault, but one day you might run out of excuses to blame on the English, tis a tad boring at times.

Well it wasn't me who loaded the slave ships so I cannot take responsibility. It would seem, however, that the chap in the harbour had a hand in it so I am happy to point the finger there. Who mentioned England? Obsessed much?

[CorpusChristie]

1 minute ago, Chomper Higgot said:

It’s way past time for the British to learn the full story of their own history.

I agree, Brits need to know that we only entered the slave trade after it was fully established and had been going on for 100's years before we got involved and it was us who outlawed slavery and put a stop to it .

  Britain outlawed slavery

[BillStrangeOgre]

12 minutes ago, vogie said:

Most people would not condone mass howling rabid mobs but settle things at the ballot box.

Mass, howling, rabid mob??

The protest in Bristol was pretty peaceful from what i gather. No buildings set afire, no shops looted, no violence towards police or property of any kind, correct me if i'm wrong...the protesters were pretty focused, pretty on point considering the context, racial inequality. 

Edited June 8, 2020 by BillStrangeOgre