The whole argument about having to leave statues up so we can appreciate our history is neatly dismantled by the Colston saga. The opposite was after all the case. Most people hadn't heard of him until his statue was tossed in the harbour. That moment started the conversation.
I was only aware of who he was - albeit dimly - because I'd visited a friend in Bristol in 2019 and he'd told me about it.
The affair shows the lessons that can be learned from questioning what's about us. And chiefly - why should an effigy to a ghastly person become immutable simply because some bunch of merchants decided to put it up 100 years ago?
And of course we don't want everyone to start pulling down statues - despite what some might be saying
And yes indeed as many are saying, the act of tearing the statue down, now becomes part of the story.
Also worth stressing that the statue itself was put up in 1895 - a very long time after his death. My house is older than that. It wasn't exactly an ancient monument
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