Before we follow the lead of Tory politicians and those who objected that it was an assault on their heritage, we should examine the background as to why the BLM statue toppling was the end result of a long racist narrative that deliberately denied a more democratic solution.
When previous calls for the statue of the slave trader, Sir Edward Colston to be removed were made, they were met by repeated refusal to even discuss the matter and on one notable occasion a clique of Bristol business people blocked any attempt to even debate it democratically.
Similarly, the statue of the colonialist Cecil Rhodes whose presence at Oxford Uni has caused so much controversy for generations and as far back as the 1950’s when Afrikaner students protested his denial of their Britishness, was met with stonewalling and silence.
Not only that but another clique of University financial benefactors put their blockbehind the scenes that made British democracy look like a distant ideal rather than any visible reality. The myth that debate came first was shown to be false when it came to money and influence.
Such deliberate posturing by the establishment to maintain an undemocratic narrative on the colonial past is exactly the reason why we have come to the unfortunate/fortunate point of usually law abiding citizens taking that law into their own hands by removing a few statues.
So if we are to put these statues into British museums so that the children of today can learn about the history of their past in a neutral and positive context, let’s discuss it first by communities sitting down together and democratically deciding an honourable & just solution!
That discussion must address the wrongs of the past & the inequalities it created before we can indulge any sense of national pride in commemorating their place in history. Only then can we set the truth free to be proclaimed in all public places that all mankind is created equal
