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.

About Bristol being a vibrant city, yes I'd agree. I always remember Marvin Rees the (black) Mayor saying that word amused him because it conjured images of everyone walking down the road vibrating

Smile - I have a history of living with violent men, yes I would have felt very uncomfortable, you can't tell me how I would or would not feel. The sight of a statue being defaced, torn down and 'lynched' then tossed in the river, regardless of what it stands for, by a bunch of raging men (I don't know why you felt it necessary to mention they were white, bit racist?) does not make me feel comfortable.

Please don’t appropriate a word used to describe coordinated, often state-sanctioned mass murder of black people to describe a bit of rock being tossed in a river.

I despise communism, it's an disgusting ideology that killed many millions. Can I smash up every hammer and sickle monument I come across on my holidays to Eastern Europe?

Capitalism is an equally disgusting ideology. But going back to the wish to destroy monuments to Karl Marx I suspect it's not as simple as pulling over statues of people like Lenin and Tito and so on. The massive monument to Marx is still in Chemnitz and afaik the people of the former Karl-Marx-Stadt are happy to keep it there.

It is quite interesting to see comments by people who have never heard of Colston and have now learned a lot and people who have been to Bristol (or live there or whatever) who are very aware of him because he's all over the flipping place.

Has there been a decision yet on the renaming of the Colston hall?

Let's just rewrite history shall we by removing anything that is unpalatable rather than having debate and discussion and using the mistakes of the past to inform how we want to live in the future?

Why didn't people campaign to have the statue replaced by another more inspiring/ appropriate one?

Just an excuse for public disorder IMO with people venting all their frustrations - hardly a great example of positive change

Yes it was decided a while ago it would change its name when it reopened following it's refurbishment.

Why didn't people campaign to have the statue replaced by another more inspiring/ appropriate one?

They did. For over a decade.

and how do you know I don't know violence in my life? You don't
I didn't say I did! I was telling you my experience and how I felt about the video. You don't get to dictate to anyone else how they should feel, even if you were there. I've also explained in my post why I object to this action, but you haven't engaged with any of those, you seem to think because you were there that trumps any other points that might be made.
Colourblindess is not part of BLM. Research and learn What makes you think I don't know that? Bit of a presumptive leap that I need to 'read and learn' - sounds like what you're really saying is 'capitulate to the official narrative or else I will shame you'. You may wish to 'watch and learn' this, which offers an alternative view to the one you're proposing based in identity politics:

BTW - your reaction has confirmed for me that I'm right not to get involved in BLM! Holier than thou, patronising, superior tone, gasighting and shaming for anything less than complete unquestioning capitulation.

blatant hypocrisy of people who think they are so morally unimpeachable they think they should be exempt from the law.

Not for you to unilaterally decide when the law should be followed or not.

Unless you’ve never in your life had a parking ticket or watched a copyrighted video on YouTube, never broken even the tiniest little rule in your life (in which case we bow to you, your Supreme Holiness) that line of argument doesn’t wash.

I am one anonymous person on a message board expressing a personal opinion that I don’t personally regard this rule breaking as a big deal. How is one person stating a personal opinion unilaterally dictating the law? You’ve stated your personal opinion, why are you allowed but anyone with a different opinion is not?

If you saw a post on a parking thread telling someone to ignore a parking ticket, or a thread advising a poster to google for ways to watch their favourite show that hasn’t aired and can’t be viewed legally in the UK, would you make a big huge hoo ha out of attacking them over and over and accusing them of unilaterally dictating the law?

The people who sheltered Anne Frank were breaking the law. Do you think anyone who doesn’t condemn them is a hypocrite trying to dictate law?

Please don’t appropriate a word used to describe coordinated, often state-sanctioned mass murder of black people to describe a bit of rock being tossed in a river.
I'm not intending to do that, but the image was what it brought to mind immediately, which is possibly another reason why it made me feel so uncomfortable.

your reaction has confirmed for me that I'm right not to get involved in BLM!

Wow you’d really decide not to be involved in anti-racist just because one anti-racist said something you didn’t like?

If your support of equality is so shallow all it takes to destroy it is one sarky comment, that says pretty negative things about you.

The law has been used to oppress people and racism is woven into the very fabric of our system and institutions. Until that’s resolved, let’s not hold up the laws of the land as something that is always morally right!

which is possibly another reason why it made me feel so uncomfortable.

I’m sorry it made you feel that way, but springing an incredibly racially charged word that brings a lot of traumatic baggage on black people (in the middle of a debate about slavery and racism) also makes people feel uncomfortable.

Wow you’d really decide not to be involved in anti-racist just because one anti-racist said something you didn’t like?
No, that's not what I said, is it, I said BLM, completely different thing. You know nothing about me and the way I've lived my life, how I feel about racism, or indeed the color of my skin. I note the other common woke tactic of personal attacks on character have already started, so predictable. And ineffective.

ChocolatelyAsFuck OK, so we're both uncomfortable then. I've already said it was unintentional, didn't mean to cause any discomfort and was genuinely what I saw in the image, not sure what else you want from me.

“BLM” is an umbrella term for literally millions and millions of unrelated and unconnected people all around the planet, who are only linked by wanting to fight racism, and who all fight racism in their own way.

Posters often refer to BLM as though it’s some sort of gang or organisation, with leaders who are somehow responsible for everything anyone does. That’s not the case.

BLM is just a slogan, that’s all. Loads of different groups and loads of people who aren’t involved with any groups at all, all use it.

This thread is becoming increasingly depressing. I appreciate that it's an incredibly sensitive and emotional topic, but I honestly feel that things won't get resolved by people being judgemental and accusing each other of being ignorant or racist. It just causes people to shut off and close their ears and minds. I really feel that, as a society, we have lost the ability to listen to what each other are actually saying or trying to say.

I don't think the statue should have been there in the first place.

I don't think it should have been torn down and dropped into the harbour either. Apart from anything else people could have been seriously injured.

It should have been removed safely.

This thread is totally batshit.

if you really did know any if that you would not have joked that my post was 'a bit racist for pointing out that white people (including my partner btw) attended the march
Why can't you get your head around the fact that I don't agree with the approach that BLM takes, rather than simply being ignorant? This is such a lame, woke cop out 'educate yourself'. So utterly arrogant. Have you watched the video I posted? No, of course not. People are allowed to have different opinions to you, it's something you should really learn to deal with in life.

As to how you would have felt at a march you did not attend but I did. I can not be arsed to say any more
Just because you attended the march it doesn't mean you get to tell everyone else how they should feel about it. People have their own thoughts and feelings on the matter, which aren't cancelled out by your self-claimed authority. You don't get to dictate to anyone else what their opinions should be, much as you apparently would love to.