New Zealand city takes down statue of British navy commander

 

Statue of British Naval Captain John Fane Charles Hamilton is lifted out of the ground and onto a truck in Hamilton, New Zealand, June 12, 2020. TVNZ via REUTERS TV

 

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A New Zealand city on Friday took down a statue of a British navy commander accused of killing indigenous Maori people in the 19th century, as global debate swirls over monuments that represent racial oppression.

 

Statues glorifying colonialists and slave traders have come into focus as part of a broader movement inspired by the Black Lives Matter protests that started in the United States following the death of George Floyd.

 

Floyd, 46, died on May 25 after a police officer knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes, sparking anti-racism protests around the world.

 

Protests in Australia and New Zealand have focused on atrocities committed against indigenous people by European colonisers, with thousands of anti-racism protesters marching over the past week.

 

The statue of British commander John Hamilton in the New Zealand city of Hamilton, named after him, was taken down a day after a Maori leader threatened to tear it down himself.

 

Mayor Paula Southgate said a growing number of people found the statue personally and culturally offensive.

 

"We can’t ignore what is happening all over the world and nor should we. At a time when we are trying to build tolerance and understanding between cultures and in the community, I don’t think the statue helps us to bridge those gaps," Southgate said.

 

Hamilton led a regiment at the Battle of Gate Pā between the colonial government and Maori tribes in the 1860s, where he was killed.

 

There had been repeated calls by the Maori community to remove the statue. It was vandalised in 2018.

 

However, not everyone agreed with the idea of taking down statues. Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters called it a "wave of idiocy".

 

“A country learns from its mistakes and triumphs and its people should have the knowledge and maturity to distinguish between the two,” he said.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-06-12

 

- Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you

- Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

Actually I shouldn't laugh. 

What is going on? I wouldn't be surprised if he's replaced with a statue of legendary Kiwi Jake the Muss.

lets tear down this statue of a convicted  terrorist too,  

Maori killed those there before them, waged constant war tribe against tribe and were cannibals at times. Hamilton has a museum completely dedicated to these savages and you can't take photo's because it goes against their beliefs. We civilised the place and have nothing to be ashamed of, statue should have been left. What next renaming Wellington after some ghastly Maori chief?

How about we remove all statues. 

Check out this trailer of Idiocracy, this is going to be us......

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=stupid+world+movie&docid=608038103280780168&mid=418E7C8397BBDA2DC4AB418E7C8397BBDA2DC4AB&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

Lol. Enjoyed the Jake the Muss quip (Once Were Warriors). Only a matter of time before the virtue signalling doris there would have it down anyway. Yep, have em all out of the ground, forget where you came from. Understand wanting to keep the peace, but how far do you want to go? Every white person in NZ is potentially persona non grata. I foresee the abolition of all flags (someone's always gonna be offended), and the end of proper friendship tween black and white people. 

Abhorring racism in all it connotations, I wonder if now we have removal of statues, and movies as well as tv shows from being broadcast, will books from libraries be next?

This move scares me, as did the removal of statues of terrible dictators. 

Theses terrible acts of massacres and slavery are part of history, in many countries and slavery continues in some countries.

Surely with the statues a well placed plaque could be affixed to explain the racism, slavery etc, and give an honest history of the person concerned. The plaque could be in a prominent place and easily seen.

Movies and TV shows could have a warning and explanation added at the beginning. 

 

We haven't heard from the folks who were booted off Diego Garcia by the Brits. 

Some off topic posts have been removed. 

NZ used to be populated by sensible people, for the most part. Sadly we seem to have been taken over by the same mentality as the rest of western ( soon to join the Persian, Egyptian, Greek and Roman civilizations IMO ) society. It's all about being offended now. People used to try and live better lives than before, but seems that now people are silly enough to think that if they remove the symbols of the past they can change what happened, which is of course a nonsense.

The rulers are fooling themselves if they think this is all that will be demanded. What's next? Perhaps all those that are of the wrong skin colour will be "asked" to leave the country and go back "home" even though "home" is NZ.

 

Youths used to do good deeds, but seems that vandalism and protesting are more fun than helping others. Sad days indeed for civil society when thugs and vandals are given free rein to wreak havoc.

2 hours ago, RJRS1301 said:

Abhorring racism in all it connotations, I wonder if now we have removal of statues, and movies as well as tv shows from being broadcast, will books from libraries be next?

This move scares me, as did the removal of statues of terrible dictators. 

Theses terrible acts of massacres and slavery are part of history, in many countries and slavery continues in some countries.

Surely with the statues a well placed plaque could be affixed to explain the racism, slavery etc, and give an honest history of the person concerned. The plaque could be in a prominent place and easily seen.

Movies and TV shows could have a warning and explanation added at the beginning. 

 

Sadly, probably because history isn't popular in schools, we are condemned to repeat it. It's all been seen before. A disgruntled element of society is manipulated by bad players and chaos ensues. The last time it took a world war to sort the confusion. Will that be what it takes this time?

13 hours ago, TopDeadSenter said:

What is going on? I wouldn't be surprised if he's replaced with a statue of legendary Kiwi Jake the Muss.

Well, we all Once Were Warriors.

13 hours ago, Joinaman said:

lets tear down this statue of a convicted  terrorist too,  

except he never actually committed terrorism, only suspected

Take down every statue, every flag, every building, every object however remotely associated with some misdeed, atrocity or word. Bulldoze the ground upon which walked the wicked.

 

Burn the books, the photos and obliterate history that contains even the most minute particle of discomfort. Then recreate a new history, designed by those who would put shackles on the minds of those who supported such folly.

 

It may be too late to turn the tide on this latest of all witch-hunts. Which is next? Social media?

All I can say is it just goes to show the number of idiots around the world today. 

Absolutely disgusting .... they should install a camera at all the statue sites and charge anyone who crosses a red line marked around the statues. 

Don't these knucklehead protesters understand history. It is what it is or was .... slavery, colored workers being traded.

Get over it idiots and move on.  

 

       All those in this loony barmy army, trying to change history, are going to wake up one day, a see a massif rise in racism, because the idiots its stirring up more racism.

1 hour ago, Card said:

except he never actually committed terrorism, only suspected

But he was married to a known murderer that included child killings...tear him down now

It seems we have a Pandemic on our hands.

 

A Pandemic of "isms"!

 

Racism, Nationalism, Sectarianism, Socialism, Communism, Commercialism, Feminism, Fatism, Elitism, Fascism......the list is endless. Add in the phobias, homophobia, xenophobia, etc.

 

Be honest, each and every one of us has some of these. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the World has too many people.

What's going to happen when the fires are put out, statue destroyed and all these protestors and looter stop.

When all this seems to end, now these folks are faced with the unpleasant reality of life. I mean going to work, paying bills, raising the family. I mean, their time protesting and looting, destroying American history was probably the highlight of their pitiful lives. It won't be long before they're back at it protesting that they don't live in nice big homes like some successful Americans and by god that's unacceptable, and yes that's racist.

 

If I can't have nice things then we should demand the same as the successful folks have. Won't be long before they're back at it burning down America if they aren't given the good life without earning it. At some point in the future the Military will be necessary to protect our cities and industries against these very people who protesting now.

15 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

I love it when something goes viral. 
 

Take them all down. 

Are they going to change the name of their  town/city as well then???????????????????????????????????

Take Nelson down off his Column!  he press-ganged guys for his ships!  OUTRAGEOUS!  I am deeply offended!!!  and I will not turn a blind eye!

15 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

I love it when something goes viral. 
 

Take them all down. 

Yeah! Let's take all the bunched panties down!!

I guess they can now move forward with the next logical step.

Council name change: How Hamilton got its name

"Hamilton was named after an English ship captain, John Charles Fane Hamilton, who was killed during the Battle of Gate Pa in Tauranga in 1864.

 

Kirikiriroa means "long stretch of gravel" in Maori. It's in reference to an area on the west bank of the Waikato River."

 

Welcome to the Land of the Long White Latte...

 

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12011599

For those who have never been there Hamilton is quite an ugly dump, apart from the gardens and walk along by the river. Hamilton would probably not want to be associated with it anyway.

15 hours ago, Orton Rd said:

Maori killed those there before them, waged constant war tribe against tribe and were cannibals at times. Hamilton has a museum completely dedicated to these savages and you can't take photo's because it goes against their beliefs. We civilised the place and have nothing to be ashamed of, statue should have been left. What next renaming Wellington after some ghastly Maori chief?

The British didn't go to New Zealand to make the Maoris "civilized", but to grab land for settlers, at a huge cost to both sides:

 

The New Zealand wars:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_Wars

 

At the peak of hostilities in the 1860s, 18,000 British troops, supported by artillery, cavalry and local militia, battled about 4,000 Māori warriors^[8] in what became a gross imbalance of manpower and weaponry.^[9] Although outnumbered, the Māori were able to withstand their enemy with techniques that included anti-artillery bunkers and the use of carefully placed pā, or fortified villages, that allowed them to block their enemy's advance and often inflict heavy losses, yet quickly abandon their positions without significant loss. Guerrilla-style tactics were used by both sides in later campaigns, often fought in dense bush. Over the course of the Taranaki and Waikato campaigns, the lives of about 1,800 Māori and 800 Europeans were lost,^[5] and total Māori losses over the course of all the wars may have exceeded 2,100.

 

It is not the job of colonial powers to interfere with the way of life of indigenous populations or force their moralities upon them. If they chose to eat their enemies after they were conquered in battle, it's their way of life and their business.

 

But at the end of the day, the British didn't go to New Zealand to help Maoris. They were there to grab land and do whatever it took to achieve that purpose. The Maoris were collateral damage. There was absolutely nothing altruistic about colonization.

 

The introduction of the British musket was responsible for the slaughter of many tribes that didn't have them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

5 hours ago, RJRS1301 said:

Abhorring racism in all it connotations, I wonder if now we have removal of statues, and movies as well as tv shows from being broadcast, will books from libraries be next?

This move scares me, as did the removal of statues of terrible dictators. 

Theses terrible acts of massacres and slavery are part of history, in many countries and slavery continues in some countries.

Surely with the statues a well placed plaque could be affixed to explain the racism, slavery etc, and give an honest history of the person concerned. The plaque could be in a prominent place and easily seen.

Movies and TV shows could have a warning and explanation added at the beginning. 

 

"Movies and TV shows could have a warning and explanation added at the beginning."

 

That is the plan. The removal is temporary while they add appropriate information at the beginning and get the new version in place.

 

With regard to banning books, I haven't heard any mention of this so far. But book banning is nothing new, governments have been banning books for a very long time, usually because they challenge religious beliefs and/or existing government propaganda or are too sexually explicit for some. Some of the best books ever written have been banned at some point in time. And, of course, at least in the US, schools are not above white washing more problematic aspects of our history. 

2 hours ago, Benmart said:

Take down every statue, every flag, every building, every object however remotely associated with some misdeed, atrocity or word. Bulldoze the ground upon which walked the wicked.

 

Burn the books, the photos and obliterate history that contains even the most minute particle of discomfort. Then recreate a new history, designed by those who would put shackles on the minds of those who supported such folly.

 

It may be too late to turn the tide on this latest of all witch-hunts. Which is next? Social media?

I say ban social media. Its IMO created a mob of <deleted> that desire only to be offended by everything.

The similarity to Mao's Red guards running amok during 1966/67 and destroying things is astounding. Of course the present lot will be too ignorant to even know about Mao's red guards.

54 minutes ago, DPKANKAN said:

Are they going to change the name of their  town/city as well then???????????????????????????????????

I'm sure that's next. They already want to change all the English street names. IMO a bunch of morons.

15 minutes ago, JensenZ said:

The British didn't go to New Zealand to make the Maoris "civilized", but to grab land for settlers, at a huge cost to both sides:

 

The New Zealand wars:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_Wars

 

At the peak of hostilities in the 1860s, 18,000 British troops, supported by artillery, cavalry and local militia, battled about 4,000 Māori warriors^[8] in what became a gross imbalance of manpower and weaponry.^[9] Although outnumbered, the Māori were able to withstand their enemy with techniques that included anti-artillery bunkers and the use of carefully placed pā, or fortified villages, that allowed them to block their enemy's advance and often inflict heavy losses, yet quickly abandon their positions without significant loss. Guerrilla-style tactics were used by both sides in later campaigns, often fought in dense bush. Over the course of the Taranaki and Waikato campaigns, the lives of about 1,800 Māori and 800 Europeans were lost,^[5] and total Māori losses over the course of all the wars may have exceeded 2,100.

 

It is not the job of colonial powers to interfere with the way of life of indigenous populations or force their moralities upon them. If they chose to eat their enemies after they were conquered in battle, it's their way of life and their business.

 

But at the end of the day, the British didn't go to New Zealand to help Maoris. They were there to grab land and do whatever it took to achieve that purpose. The Maoris were collateral damage. There was absolutely nothing altruistic about colonization.

 

The introduction of the British musket was responsible for the slaughter of many tribes that didn't have them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now tell us about the  beginning of the USA, or even Australia.....