Protests following the killing of George Floyd

sullydnl

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A statue of an actual slave trader being torn down by people demanding fair treatment for black people is one of the least objectionable aspects of these protests it would ever be possible to find.
 
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He's right though, if you see something horrible, or someone getting bullied, and you do nothing, you are pretty much complicit. You are the one making up lesser examples like tax dodging..
Pretty much complicit, or 100% complicit?

are you “actively anti” every wrong/ immoral/ abhorrent view or illegal situation you come across?
 

SteveJ

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The establishment are getting nervous.
 

2 man midfield

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A statue of an actual slave trader being torn down by people demanding fair treatment for black people is one of the least objectionable aspects of these protests it would ever be possible to find.
I've not actually seen many saying this is a bad thing. Most I've seen seem to be for it, or at the very least indifferent.
 

starman

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Fair enough I didn't spot that.

I had read the post you replied to already so didn't expand it, therefore it wasn't visible.

I found the cherry picking the narrative thing with the eye roll is a bit unnecessary.

I still don't really see your point. People can be happy a war was won without having to pretend Churchill didn't do some despicable things.
Who pretending? If you read about him, you know what he is about. If people want to dislike him thats fine.
But again if you read what I quoting it was questioning whether people should actually take a negative opinion of him and I was pointing out the trade off.
 

sullydnl

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I've not actually seen many saying this is a bad thing. Most I've seen seem to be for it, or at the very least indifferent.
I was specifically thinking of Farage's tweet there. Though in fairness his response was entirely on brand.

The vast majority of people have enough cop on not to be bothered alright.
 
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A statue of an actual slave trader being torn down by people demanding fair treatment for black people is one of the least objectionable aspects of these protests it would ever be possible to find.
the legacy of Colston and his name continuing to be used in Bristol has been contested for a long time now. I don’t know anyone in Bristol who would not want to get rid of that statue. They have been consulting on a name change for Colston Hall for a few years - this will undoubtedly speed up that process.
 

Rasendori

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In January 2019, I went to Liverpool specifically to visit the Transatlantic Slave Trade Museum. They showed at least 10 roads named after slave traders that exist in Liverpool till this very day.

One of those being 'Penny Lane' which was named after James Penny who went on eleven voyages as a captain in the slave trade, a vocal advocate for the slave trade at the Parliamentary Enquiry. There was even a trophy/cup which was given to him as a reward for his efforts.

I spoke with a guest at the museum. Naturally, I asked if I could offer any assistance in getting them off. They told me that they have had countless petitions signed over the years, and were told that the views of those who don't live on the road were of no importance.

I can definitely see those street names being damaged in the upcoming days
 

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I was specifically thinking of Farage's tweet there. Though in fairness his response was entirely on brand.

The vast majority of people have enough cop on not to be bothered alright.
Yeah I'd have thought he'd have something to say about it.
 

roseguy64

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My dad got upset about this one on the phone with me this morning. That all lives should matter is precisely the point. The claim is that some lives don't appear to matter as much. The slogan "Black Lives Matter" is highlighting a discrepancy between the ideal (that all lives matter) and the reality (that black lives appear to matter less).

When you respond to someone saying "black lives matter" by saying "all lives matter" you appear to be deaf to the actual point. It's the "all animals are equal" analogy from Animal Farm.
And it's exactly why Drew Brees got backlash. No one cares if he doesn't kneel for the anthem for whatever reason. Don't deflect a question about BLM to that. He was just showing that he completely misunderstood the entire point of BLM and Colin Kaepernick's protest.
 

iluvoursolskjær

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Had the Nazis won, the 2-3 million killed in the Bengal famine would be a rounding error.
I don’t get this argument. No one is disputing what he did for the freedoms we currently enjoy. But why is this being used to stopping just short of half justifying the deaths of millions?

Why is it a game of absolutes, one or the other: a hero for freedom or vile racist drunk murderer of millions.
 

sammsky1

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Every nation should own their own history.
Winston Churchill was fundamentally racist and revelled in his power to exert white supremacy over people of colour.
This should be pointed out every time other contributions he made are talked about.
 

starman

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Yet millions also died due to his actions. He was a genocidal villain, equal to the worst of his times.
Again, tell it to the Russians and change their hearts and minds, he's their hero.

There is no leader in history that is squeaky clean. This generation might be wanting to have statues of Obama put up, but you tell that to the people of Iraq and Afghanistan whos land and lives became a experiment for drone technology bombs
 

11101

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I don’t get this argument. No one is disputing what he did for the freedoms we currently enjoy. But why is this being used to stopping just short of half justifying the deaths of millions?

Why is it a game of absolutes, one or the other: a hero for freedom or vile racist drunk murderer of millions.
The original post was suggesting Churchill should be viewed negatively overall in the UK.

He did some bad things (and unlike the Nazis, his level of blame in them is debatable) but we rightly view him as a hero because of the good he did.
 

sammsky1

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The original post was suggesting Churchill should be viewed negatively overall in the UK.

He did some bad things (and unlike the Nazis, his level of blame in them is debatable) but we rightly view him as a hero because of the good he did.
Absolutely not. He helped save the world from a far, far worse fate than anything going on today.

I think defacing the Churchill statue will be the turning point for public opinion on the protests in the UK, and you will start to see the police more actively shutting them down now.
That's only because Churchills racist acts have been whitewashed out of officially taught British history. They are arguably as heinous as Hitler's.

Also the way history is taught evolves over time. I can foresee a time when Churchill's racist acts are front and centre and he will be vilified.
 

entropy

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In January 2019, I went to Liverpool specifically to visit the Transatlantic Slave Trade Museum. They showed at least 10 roads named after slave traders that exist in Liverpool till this very day.

One of those being 'Penny Lane' which was named after James Penny who went on eleven voyages as a captain in the slave trade, a vocal advocate for the slave trade at the Parliamentary Enquiry. There was even a trophy/cup which was given to him as a reward for his efforts.

I spoke with a guest at the museum. Naturally, I asked if I could offer any assistance in getting them off. They told me that they have had countless petitions signed over the years, and were told that the views of those who don't live on the road were of no importance.

I can definitely see those street names being damaged in the upcoming days
Good reminder that decolonization is a long overdue but eventual process. It is sad that it takes a protest of this level to even recognize it. Let alone address it on a fundamental level.
 
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iluvoursolskjær

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The original post was suggesting Churchill should be viewed negatively overall in the UK.

He did some bad things (and unlike the Nazis, his level of blame in them is debatable) but we rightly view him as a hero because of the good he did.
That’s fair enough, but just like 99% of other historical figures, people are complex multi-faceted people and simply acknowledging that he literally let people die of starvations cos brown lives didn’t matter as much as white (not debatable btw) - doesn’t need to challenge the great things he actually achieved. Nuance and that, right?
 

sammsky1

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That's amongst the most ridiculous things I have ever read :houllier:
You are only looking at this purely through an English and Rule Britannia point of view. Again, assuming your lived experience is superior to the majority on this planet.

How many people did Churchills decisions kill? How many people in the world utterly despise his acts vs the Brits/Euro's that think he is great?
 

Dan_F

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A statue of an actual slave trader being torn down by people demanding fair treatment for black people is one of the least objectionable aspects of these protests it would ever be possible to find.
Definitely. If anyone wants a definition of white privilege, it’s all the people arguing that it was out of order. Just imagine having to walk past that every day as a black person, knowing that it was put there as a celebration of a slave trader. History can be learnt in museums and booksand maybe if the council had listened earlier, it wouldn’t have come to this.

The rhetoric being taken by the right at the moment is really dangerous. I can fully understand people’s frustrations at the social distancing, however bar London, the vast majority of protests were observed with masks and some kind of distancing (maybe not 2m, but this rule has been ignored by so in parks and beaches). Yet they are all being made out to be some kind of aggressive act, even in London it was a very small part of the overall protest.
 

sammsky1

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A statue of an actual slave trader being torn down by people demanding fair treatment for black people is one of the least objectionable aspects of these protests it would ever be possible to find.
I hope the Bristol acts inspires people all around the world to remove or vandalise any symbols that glorify people involved in slavery.

Would be a good first step forward.
 

11101

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You are only looking at this purely through an English and Rule Britannia point of view.

How many people did Churchills decisions kill? How many people in the world utterly despise his acts vs the Brits that think he is great?
Yeah, I'm not. I'm looking at them through a rational and sensible point of view.

Hitler literally loaded people into gas chambers and exterminated them, and you think Churchill was on par with that.
 

JPRouve

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Yeah, I'm not. I'm looking at them through a rational and sensible point of view.

Hitler literally loaded people into gas chambers and exterminated them, and you think Churchill was on par with that.
Figuratively. And I'm defending Hitler.

Churchill's actions were for a large part despicable even though he didn't reach Hitler or Stalin level.
 

sammsky1

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Yeah, I'm not. I'm looking at them through a rational and sensible point of view.

Hitler literally loaded people into gas chambers and exterminated them, and you think Churchill was on par with that.
So you own what is rational and sensible? Can I see your certification and qualifications for that? Keep digging that hole.

Yeah I think dying over a period of weeks of starvation, watching all those you love go through the same is perhaps the most tortous and horrific way to die. Millions and millions. A sentence imposed upon you after a few minutes of thinking from Churchill. That’s all those lives were worth.

And that’s just the Bengal famine. There are many other slightly less obvious examples. And just because you are not white.