Black writer statue attacked in Bristol

[TheEmpressMatilda]

A statue of a famous black playwright and actor has been attacked and doused in bleach, presumably as retaliation for the Colston statue.

Has anyone seen anything about this on the news, or here on MN? I’ve not seen a word about it, except this one online article.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-53011774

I haven’t heard about the incident but you’d be naive not to have expected a backlash.

If there are no repracussions for those who pulled the other one down, how can they possibly change anyone for this?

Charge

The point is the destruction of a white statue was headline news all over the world. Damage (which may be permanent damage) to a black statue has been almost totally ignored.

There are at least five MN threads defending Colston and telling lies in order to excuse his involvement in slavery, calling everyone who opposes racist statues “violent thugs”, and exploiting concepts like censorship and the whitewashing of history to defend a statue which was the definition of censorship and whitewashing history.

A black statue is attacked, where’s the outrage about “thugs”, and how statues are precious and must be protected at all costs?

What are their reasons for dousing the statue in bleach ? What did Fagon do or stand for that was so abhorrent. being black??If they could explain that might help us understand their point of view. BLM have openly made their reasons for Colston clear (whether you feel they are right or wrong is the next debate but at least there is a discussion which opens them up to be challenged) Maybe these people could come out during daylight and discuss rather than hide away and do this under cover. Otherwise BLM could also retaliate by desecrating any statue that is not BAME and where will that lead. Anyway let's wait to hear of their reasons.

The colston statue being torn down was also filmed, live tweeted, in front of thousands of people there in person cheering in the middle of a weekend of massive international protests. This says it happened unseen overnight on a weeknight and wasn’t reported to the police until another day later. Of course the media coverage is going to be different. I don’t think it’s evidence of media bias that you seem to be hinting at OP?

Bleaching a statue of a black person is a disgusting thing to do however you look at it, whatever their reasoning was. Tearing down colston, a statue that has been campaigned against for years and the authorities have sat on it (despite having a black elected mayor now) was IMHO reckless, dangerous, obviously a criminal act BUT I understand & empathise with the rationale behind it, it was clearly a protest against institutional racism. Bleaching a commemoration of black person, I don’t understand - it seems threatening, designed to intimidate anti-racist protestors, a display of overt racism. Gross, as the kids would say.

It clearly is bias.

The fact MNers tell lies to defend the mass murder of black people, and place statues of slave traders above human lives, but only give a shit of their precious statues are of white people, says everything.

OP
The news has only just come out so let's wait and see.

I am local to Bristol. It was on our local BBC news last night, more mentioned as an after thought, having already covered in a longer piece the removal of the Colston statue from the harbour. As a pp said, you surely can't be surprised by a backlash response?

I read about it this morning, I think. This article, perhaps: www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/jun/11/statue-of-black-poet-alfred-fagon-feared-attacked-with-bleach-in-bristol

Looks to me like a tit-for-tat attack by someone who was angered by Colston's statue being toppled. It's vandalism, pure and simple, and the choice to bleach it makes the attack seem particularly insiduous.

Whoever did this, they're not someone you want to be stuck in a lift with.

Honestly I'm quite happy that racist arseholes doing a retaliatory strike get no publicity. At all.

Up until they get arrested, anyway.

@TheEmpressMatilda

It clearly is bias.

The fact MNers tell lies to defend the mass murder of black people, and place statues of slave traders above human lives, but only give a shit of their precious statues are of white people, says everything.

Well there's nothing we can say to that. Obviously if I say I only just heard about it them I'm lying. If it's that bad here maybe you should be speaking to the owners of mumsnet directly about their responsibility to keep track of statues.

I'm curious about 'MNers telling lies'

Could you explain, OP?

This is a terrible act of vandalism just as the Colston removal was.

Nobody should be tearing down any statues, but anyone who is involved in tearing down a statue should be held legally accountable.

Ugh this is vile

What makes it worse is that the statue person was born in the 1930s and so presumably has close living relatives and friends who will be affected by this now.

Hope the perpetrator is caught soon

@Flaxmeadow

Ugh this is vile

What makes it worse is that the statue person was born in the 1930s and so presumably has close living relatives and friends who will be affected by this now.

Hope the perpetrator is caught soon

Good point.

I've been reading about him and he sounds fascinating. As a response to the vandalism of his statue, I think I'll buy some of his work. I expect the royalties will go towards his living relatives who will enjoy seeing that his work is reaching a new audience.

www.waterstones.com/author/alfred-fagon/1659925

I only heard about this by a friend who lives nearby. Nothing in media, certainly not like Colston. But no racism here eh?

I thought the nature of the retaliatory attack and the difference in how the 2 incidents have been reported/commented on in the press and elsewhere make the point about BLM perfectly.

@Pothole - Amazon has sold out not sure if it was sold out before or if. It's a response - but like you I will now be buying his work .

Try Oberon Books. Small publishers, which is also doing 30% off all their stock at the moment. They seem to publish a few authors from ethnic minority backgrounds. Be a shame if this vandalism were to lead to people buying more black authors, wouldn't it?

www.oberonbooks.com/books

OP lots of people seem to think they can justify Colstons behaviour because he did good with his money from it. Like those 100,000 lives were disposable or a fair exchange.
There is no justifying that statue. It was built in a different time. Bristol City Council were repeatedly asked to remove it and it stayed put. Whilst I don't condone any criminal act I for one am glad it's gone!

Some of the pro statue people are so pig headed that they can not see past it- it's just a shame they didn't get that upset when a man was killed by a police officer.

Our country's history is important but not the whitewashed kind and discrimination against blacks is rooted in the history of slavery. Personally I think this is a great opportunity to bring together items such as statues of slavers to open a Modern British History Museum (after all, we need a boost to our economy!). I feel the last few years have been fascinating from a political perspective and has really changed Britain. We could have a section for understanding what lead to Brexit, Olympics 2012, Covid 19 Pandemic. Perhaps others can think of more watershed moments from 2000 onwards. Just a thought.

Hmm am I seeing hypocrisy here?

Apparently, a backlash/retaliation in the form of destroying a statue of an innocent black man should be expected because BLM destroyed the statue of a slave trader (so I suppose that justifies what they did?) BUT BUT BUT when BLM retaliated against hundreds of years of aggressive acts against their community, not to forget slavery itself, by destroying a statue of a slave trader, they are thugs? No backlash was to be expected? Aren't they retaliating justifiably? They were supposed to do it another way?

I don’t see any justification or excuse of either act, just explanation, and a sad lack of surprise, not lack of condemnation. I experienced the widespread media coverage of the colston statue as giving the message “look at the depth of feeling here - this has to be listened to”, not “look at these thugs and vandals”. It was a watershed event (ironic given the location!), a symbolic expression of public outrage, with thousands of public witnesses, the people who did it did it openly, bravely - I feel, in front of police officers who didn’t stop them, it deserves media coverage and analysis. The response of some public figures describing it in certain terms, showing how out of step they are with the public mood, how little they understand the situation and what this means for the story of our nation, deserves coverage and analysis. I include the term “desecration” in this btw, I shuddered when Boris said that. As if that lump of metal was somehow sacred in the first place. Yuck.

The bleaching of Fagon’s statue is a cowardly, anonymous, petty, disgusting act of pure hatred, intended to harrass, to abuse a community, and does not deserve significant attention in the same way. It is a childish, spiteful footnote to a significant historical event, and should be treated as such.

I do think the colston statue should be in a museum, btw. Laying on its side displaying the damage it sustained, surrounded by placards from the protest, as part of an exhibition on the experience of and fight against racism in modern Britain.