MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Focus on substance of racism and less on symbols, Boris Johnson suggests
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday (Jun 19) that people should focus less on symbols and more on the substance of racism, adding that he saw no reason for any ban on the rugby song “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”. Read full article
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Disclaimer & comment rulesHmmmmm..., Boris dear...
Jun 20th, 2020 - 04:28 pm - Link - Report abuse 0A bit diiiiiifficult to “focus on the substance of racism” when walking them central streets of any major Engrish town..., one does encounter..., every couple of blocks or so..., a 10 feet tall anthropomorphic bronze symbol of racism...
Racism is like the Coronavirus..., dahling...
You don't know how bad it is... until it hits you...
Capisce...?
Do tell us which of these statues are symbols of racism:
Jun 20th, 2020 - 06:00 pm - Link - Report abuse +1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_public_art_in_Nottingham
Is it the WWI fighter pilot, the lifelong socialist football player and manager, the Irish Chartist and land reformer whose brother fought with Simón Bolivar, or the abolitionist MP? Or did you mean Robin Hood, famous for carrying out an early form of wealth redistribution?
I was talking to my policeman friend today. He's been accused of racism after stopping cars where he couldn't even see the occupants beforehand. He also knows of a couple of genuine cases, but said they get buried by the spurious complaints. And he told us British police are trained not to keep suspects facedown on the ground for any length of time, because it could be dangerous for them. Apparently US cops are not.
I can understand a song written by a slave trader, like Amazing Grace, being objectionable, but not one written by a victim of slavery. However, when it comes to other symbols, like statues, I should think it's obvious why they're important. There are no statues to Goering or Ribbentrop in German public spaces; that is because Germany was forced to confront the reality of its crimes of aggression against the rest of Europe. Statues of Leopold II, for example, show that Belgium has not really confronted its crimes against the Congo in a similar manner.
Jun 21st, 2020 - 03:54 am - Link - Report abuse 0Any statues of Julio Argentino Roca in Argentina??? He was certainly on a bank note.
Jun 21st, 2020 - 11:45 am - Link - Report abuse +1Better not be any statues of Invaders of the Falklands, WHOOOOSSSHHH, BANG, rubble.
DT
I was talking to a Prison Officer very recently, apparently they train (at least in part) the Police, instructor called a halt to the training exercise (restrain and cuff a prisoner in one cell then move him to another cell, first the POs move a copper pretending to be a con, then vice versa) and sent the Police back to basic training, that bad.
In the Floyd incident he said they basically did everything wrong, kneel on the neck, cut of the airway, hands/arms stretched behind him, more difficult to breath, knee on back, prevents lungs being able to expand, sustained over any length time any one of them could have killed him.
In the US they probably didn’t have to practise “restraining” people much in past, just shot them.
As we saw in the most recent case, couldn’t restrain him so they shot him, knowing he was unarmed and no threat to life.
Not just White police officers either, this happens with Black and Hispanic officers in towns like Baltimore with a majority black population and Police officers, black Mayor and Police Chief.
“I can understand a song written by a slave trader, like Amazing Grace, being objectionable, but not one written by a victim of slavery.”
Jun 21st, 2020 - 03:01 pm - Link - Report abuse +1Yeah, I don't understand that either. It's one of those things that feels like people are going out looking for reasons to be offended, rather than focusing on the real and obvious problems. Which obviously exist, but economic problems, drugs and broken families that cause young men to turn to crime and disproportionately affect black people in America are a much bigger problem IMO than racist cops. Add in the crappy training the police in America get, plus the attitude on both sides of demanding respect and using violence in response to perceived disrespect, and you have a recipe for disaster.
As for statues, I think it's a much bigger issue in the US, where the civil war 'heroes' in the South are being honoured for exactly the (racist) actions and attitudes that other Americans object to. Whereas in the UK, it's mostly the case that historical figures are known for and being honoured for the good things they did, but some also did bad shit or espoused dodgy beliefs. In those cases it's more a matter of judgement. And contrary to what Think says, there aren't reminders popping up around every corner.
Very few white people in Bristol knew anything about who the statue was of. Maybe that is part of the problem, to most people it was just something for the pigeons to shit on.
Jun 21st, 2020 - 04:21 pm - Link - Report abuse +1However once you do know the history, you can understand for some people it is the equivalent of walking by a statue of Hitler.
Only place for it, apart from the river bed, is in a museum, with an explanation.
In other cases, historical figures are being condemned for having attitudes that were prevalent in their time, nothing to do with what they may or may not have done.
This is not even “political correctness” run riot, more an attempt to airbrush history for ideological reasons.
I suspect you are right DT, statues in Dixey will lead to explosives and bloodshed, apparently not everything “went with the Wind”.
Statues often represent a page in the book of history, oftentimes a history that should not be forgotten. Some perspective must be maintained.
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