To feel emotional at the slave trader statue

[Millicent10]

being pulled down earlier.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52954305

This says so much and the symbolism of throwing it in the river is such a suitable ending. Reminds everyone what happened to so many slaves.

@thedancingbear

Without Colston's money (and others) and without the slave trade Bristol wouldn't exist as it does now - do we demolish the whole city because of it?

No, just the fucking statue of him. What a stupid question.

You coming on here and sticking up for a FUCKING SLAVE TRADER in the current climate is the most crass, tone deaf and ignorant thing I've ever read on here.

No, I am not stickng up for him. I have clearly stated that what he did was morally wrong but it was within the law. The law that he acted within was wrong.

The protesters today were not acting within the law. They have committed vandalism, criminal damage and pollution of a waterway.

I’ve jist watched the video and it looks to me that young, white men were mainly pulling the ropes that pulled the statue down. So let’s make sure the right demographic of people take the blame for this.

Somehow being pulled down in this way is so much more of a symbolic removal than if the council just removed it.

The atmosphere looked amazing, it must have been incredible to be there!

What those protesters did was illegal. We can’t just obey laws we think are unfair or wrong.
I agree that the statue shave been taken down but I don’t think this was the way to do it, it was vandalism and they should be prosecuted .

@justanotherneighinparadise

I’ve jist watched the video and it looks to me that young, white men were mainly pulling the ropes that pulled the statue down. So let’s make sure the right demographic of people take the blame for this.

Did they travel there on their bandwagon? I suspect they are not supporters of the BLM movement but were taking advantage of the event for their own purposes.

I am in tears. I did'nt think I would cry at watching a statue fall.

I'm surprised it was still there, but it is a little disturbing. I think that statue should be fished out and stuck in a museum somewhere, as a reminder. What are all these riots trying to achieve now, in a country foreign to the trigger event, on a different continent? America has had independence since 1776, or 1783. There have been two world wars and two industrial revolutions since then.

I was very at the white protesters racing to the front.

Perhaps they should have stood back and let BAME protesters lead.

Rowantree2020 where does this kind of direct action end

Gaining votes for women for one...

The statue...was legally erected to remember somebody who made his money doing something which was within the law and did good for the city at the time.

Pollyskettles you didn't post this at 17.19 then?

He owned 80,000 slaves. Eighty thousand.

@Thesispieces

You're comparing the actions of a mob in wartime and extreme conflict, to the wilful criminal actions of "protesters" during peacetime?

I can't help here.

Gaining votes for women for one...

@damnthatanxiety so true.

"Deeds not words"

*Colostomy primary school changed its name a couple of years ago.

I'm not surprised, that's a terrible name for a school.*

autocorrect disaster, and I posted in a hurry!

Perhaps they should have stood back and let BAME protesters lead.

I think, were that to happen, some of them would be getting a kicking from the local constabulary by now.

I've no problem with white people taking direct action to support other communities.

Oh yes let's have a democratic process to remove it...only those people in position are shock horror white people that's why its stayed there

You can't re-write history, only learn from it.

Pulling down statues will do sweet FA and only alienate those people who are supposed to be sympathetic.

Violence and anarchy is never right.

Racism is a mind set, and you can only legislate so far for that.

Sorry but the violence this weekend has just hindered their cause.

What those protesters did was illegal. We can’t just obey laws we think are unfair or wrong.
I agree that the statue shave been taken down but I don’t think this was the way to do it, it was vandalism and they should be prosecuted

Unlawfully killing black men and women is illegal but it happens doesnt it....at least nobody died from thise act. Frankly this statue should have been removed long ago.
I think its fitting that the statue honouring a white man who traded black people for money and power was torn down during BLM protests.

Blacks wouldn't dare.

Yeah, fuck them. They should know their place, shouldn't they?

You need to think about the language you're using.