[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

It truly amazes me how people can get themselves worked up about a statue of some xxxx monster being hauled down, or some hoodies being looted from H and M but go straight to the next page when it comes to black people being murdered by police or discriminated against.

Its 2020 for gods sake.

I totally agree with your sentiments on this, but a line has to be drawn somewhere and it's just before violence kicks in. I can't think that anyone believes that racism will diminish when violence is used. In fact violence will only lead to even more entrenched extreme positions. Hauling down a statue does no good in the long run - it's a good photo opportunity, no more.

Much of Bristol's prosperity over the centuries was based on the slave trade, as were many British cities' wealth because of the cotton trade, a prime user of slaves. Perhaps we should be boycotting the clothing industry to make a stand against racism. British Imperialism was responsible for the parliament/transport/education systems in many emerging democracies in what used to be called "The Third World". Perhaps we should be tearing up railway lines in these countries as a protest againt British Imperialism.

Forced arranged marriages, female genital mutilation, modern slavery are all practiced in BAME communities - all conveniently ignored in the current BLM frenzy. The last country to officially abolish slavery was an African country - within the last 50 or 60 years. So what, let's all blame the UK for it's part.

Finally, the USA had a black President for 8 years and it made absolutely no difference to racist attitudes in the US. It'll take decades of hard work and tolerance to reduce racism, never mind erase it.

Black Lives DO Matter, as do all others.

Over here its a little different, the statues being torn down here are the ones of Confederate Generals, a group of men who committed treason against the US and ultimately lost, you don't memorialise people like that in the country that defeated them!!!

To be fair, I'm a big advocate of the Nathan Bedford Forrest statue in Nashville remaining up, mainly because it's impossible to look at it without pissing your sides laughing.

[hibeejim21]

"Protests have been hijacked by extremists says PM."

Yeah, I see that fascist xxxx Tommy Robinson and his mob on the march too.

[0762]

Another one of Johnson's many soundbites! Nothing new there!

[0762]

It truly amazes me how people can get themselves worked up about a statue of some xxxx monster being hauled down, or some hoodies being looted from H and M but go straight to the next page when it comes to black people being murdered by police or discriminated against.

Its 2020 for gods sake.

Re the desecration of targeted statues, I'm just listening to a news story on Scot bbc radio that the iconic statue of Robert the Bruce at Bannockburn has been paint daubed with the word racist(????). My only response to this inexplicable action is EHHHHHHHH???? Am I "jumping the gun" to the conclusion that this attack is a likely Unionist one? The extreme side of the Unionist factions up here has been active for quite a while "nipping away" at the Scot indy movement with various snide comments including a few from that non-entity of a Sec of State for Scotland/British govt stooge, Mr Union Jack, who the bbc persist in giving this moron a slot to utter his usual "out of touch" pro Union snide comments to a Scottish audience!! Thankfully most straight-thinking Scots don't listen to the bbc any more as they have sussed them out a long time for what they are and what/who they represent.

---

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/chief-nurse-dr...11619.html

You don't wanna back us eh Chief Nurse - well you can GTF!!! How the f### have this lot of Tory c#### got a huge majority govt in place to really f### us up big time!!? What a f###### shambles (and a huge mistake to vote them in!!) with all proper morality and principles "flushed down the toilet"!!!! Rant over!!

[ritchiebaby]

And if those uppity blacks just hadn’t looted all those shops or burnt all those cars - all of those police officers would probably have been charged and already in prison by now, right? Sure.

Thats the heart of the problem right there.

The other issues you seem to be conflating with racism are more to do with islam than anything else. Im not sure thats relevant to this. Hauling down a statue might just be photo opp, but its certainly got more people talking about the subject and learning about our history with slavery up and down the UK than ever before. A lot more folk will know about Colston now than before. Thats a real step in the right direction.

I'm just afraid that anyone reading your first sentence would get the impression that the way to get justice is to engage in violent activities. And that, I'm sorry to say, is the heart of the problem. Extreme views and actions from both sides just win out again.

I remember being taught at school about the British Empire and it's involvement with the slave trade. But also how it led the Abolition Of Slavery through Wilberforce and his allies.

My point about the other instances I mentioned is that it does not have to be Black v White to be considered racist. African countries have led the way in the slave trade (the Moors from the Barbary Coast, Egyptians with an almost acceptable form of slavery, Central African countries positively benefitting from the Atlantic Slave Trade). More recently you have Rhodesia/Zimbabwe and Uganda. Add in Myanamar and it goes on and on.

[ritchiebaby]

On a slightly different note, I'm amazed nobody seems to have asked Boris if wearing a burka is an acceptable form of face covering to combat the Covid-19 outbreak.

[0762]

Well that would place him in a bit of a quandary Ritchie and could well expose his racist credentials AGAIN. Just flick through the list of Johnson's highly questionable remarks against various nationalities and religious groups down the years incl Scots (who he described as verminous in The Spectator a good few years ago before the Editor rapidly removed the silly poem but too late - not the only poisonous remark about the Scots btw) plus his insulting remarks against Liverpudlians during the height of the Hillsborough disaster "slanging match" with the Tories! Those examples are just for starters (not black v white either btw as I recently pointed out to a bbc presenter yesterday morning in a scathing text re another misrepresentation!!) as he has a huge list of similar misdemeanours that are unbecoming for someone who has bizarrely ended up being a Brit PM and an awful one at that - as bad as his previous Foreign Sec performance!

[hibeejim21]

"I'm just afraid that anyone reading your first sentence would get the impression that the way to get justice is to engage in violent activities."


Violent and non violent direct action is precisely how justice has been gained in numerous situations throughout history. Things don't ever change without them.

Statues on the other hand teach us little more than to venerate, and tearing down statues of murdering racists is not "lying about our history" as Boris would say - it is an attempt to STOP lying about our history and face up to some uncomfortable truths. I honestly don't think Britain and its people have ever really come to terms with the empire and its loss. They really need to.

[spireitematt]

I've been having a debate with someone who voted Brexit and votes Conservative and he is a big fan of Johnson but can't explain why he votes Conservative, just says they are democratic and that they believe in Britain. He's anti-Labour, anti-Corbyn, hates the left, he hates Scotland, hates minorities. Believes that we will be fine out of the EU and that we can stand alone and don't need any trade deals with anyone. I had to explain to him what capitalism means and what privatisation means. He told me he's an old school Conservative but couldn't tell me what Conservative policies or a policy he supports. When I explained about privatisation, he told me that 'the Tories won't privatise the NHS as the Tories love the NHS and so does Boris as it saved his live'.

Found it quite disturbing when he told me that 'I need to wake up and get with the programme and stop reading everything'. I read books on politics and history, I read the manifestos from all parties every General Election, I read newspapers and follow the media, yet I'm being made out to be an idiot and a moron and apparently what I'm reading or I've read is all wrong and fake news.

[hibeejim21]

Watching Churchill's statue today being 'defended' by a bunch of hitler saluting, fat,drunken,moronic dickheads summed up todays Britain perfectly.

Those far Right thugs absolutely love Johnson. Same as their slack jawed, red-neck counterparts in the US love Trump.
He is there because of the likes of them. They are there because they believe Johnson and Brexit gives them license to flaunt their racism.