letting the Colston 4 go unpunished was a vandal's charter

[MaMaLa321]

As I type, there is a man on the front of Broadcasting House, bashing away at Eric Gill's statue of Prospero with a sledgehammer. The police, as ever, are standing around ineffectually. Now that you can attack whatever piece of art offends your sensibilities (vs Colston) you are free to destroy it.
FWIW I think Gill was a disgusting human being. But where does this stop?

@SirSamuelVimes

For me the difference is that the suffragette movement had a specific aim, an action, something concrete that would be different in future - women having the legal right to vote. What is the specific aim of the men who pulled down the Colston statue? What is the specific aim of the man hammering at the Gill statue? What is the concrete thing that will be different in the future?

Not to mention the fact that the suffragettes wanted to be jailed, despite knowing they would be force fed (tortured) and abused, to further their cause. These four men seem delighted with their acquittal.

You know one of the Colston Four is a woman right?

It's mob rule and the tide of shit it embodies will touch everyone one way or another as it gushes on.

@TameDucksAtChatsworth

It's mob rule and the tide of shit it embodies will touch everyone one way or another as it gushes on.

Trial by jury?

Yes it’s completely reasonable to expect people to respect the celebratory statue of a murderer and rapist which many locals have campaigned for years to be removed.

Would you want to walk past the statue of someone who’d raped and murdered your relatives?

Should we erect a statue of Hitler? He was also a historical figure.

Don’t stress about Colston who you probably only heard about for the first time last year. His decedents are probably still very rich off the back of his crimes and his statue is still on view for you to pay homage to in a museum. Having him in a museum is fine, it’s less celebratory. The fact the statue was pulled down is now also a part of history. History is not static.

@TameDucksAtChatsworth

It's mob rule and the tide of shit it embodies will touch everyone one way or another as it gushes on.

And yet we haven't seen hordes of statues being pulled down since the verdict, have we? That's a very strange tide of shit.

When did trial by jury become mob rule?

If you go to a former Communist country you will note that lots of the communist statues and structures have been taken down. Is that vandalism?

I also don't remember hearing cries of vandalism and mob rule when Saddam's statue was pulled down.

Yabu.
Hardly anyone wanted the statue of Colston. People had complained for years.

Same goes for the Eric Gill sculpture. He wasn't just a bit of a dick and slightly controversial. He sexually abused his children FGS. That sculpture can go.

It was a brilliant verdict by the jury - well done to them.

If you want to accuse something of creating a 'vandals charter' start with this Tory Government under Johnson who have broken the law. They are clearly communicated that the law of the land can be broken with impunity - any law, including that protecting 'private or public property'.

Still - that what the Bullingdon Club members did - of which Johnson (and Cameron) were members. Don't say we weren't warned.

It's time we stopped building statues - we can do so much better by creating something useful in memory of people or events.

Notice whenever the Tory party’s crimes come to light (2 in last 48hrs - Covid parties and the high court ruling the corrupt PPE contracts fast lane was unlawful), the culture warriors get to work to try and distract?

@Toomanyradishes - In answer to your question, I know nothing about the life of Antonio Canova (so as far as I know it was blameless), but if he were discovered to be a rapist would I demand the destruction or removal from public sight of The Three Graces? No, I wouldn’t.

It is a beautiful and historically significant work of art. I think it can be appreciated in isolation, it now has its own existence and it’s own relationship with the people who see it.

I don’t think the life of the artist should prevent us from appreciating it. I think we are sophisticated/intelligent enough to understand that bad people can create beautiful things.

@MaMaLa321 I have actually seen proper paintings by Rolf Harris displayed in certain very expensive galleries long before his conviction.

They were very good paintings but obviously now we know he's a sex offender no one wants to look at his artwork!!

And Eric Gill. What a disgusting sick man.

I’m commissioning a statue to be put up in your town. A huge bronze tribute to the man who as leader of the country that contributed the most to defeating Hitler should be honoured and celebrated by every single one of us for giving us our freedom.

Yes, a big bronze Joseph Stalin. Any objections ?

History is complicated and often misrepresented.

It's not just art though is it? I couldn't listen to music knowing its creator had been instructive in causing suffering and pain.

I don't suppose anyone listens to The Lost Prophets anymore.

History is complicated and changing all the time. How we regard an event a year after it happens, will probably change over the next 100 years.

People should be allowed to reflect on history and those who made it and express their opinions, even if that means destroying a work of art.

@brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

I’m commissioning a statue to be put up in your town. A huge bronze tribute to the man who as leader of the country that contributed the most to defeating Hitler should be honoured and celebrated by every single one of us for giving us our freedom.

Yes, a big bronze Joseph Stalin. Any objections ?

History is complicated and often misrepresented.

A few years ago, Manchester erected a statue of Engels (torn down following the end of communism in Ukraine). They even invited the local Ukrainian community to its unveiling. How on earth they thought that would be a good idea when the very reason that Manchester has a Ukrainian community is that they arrived as refugees from the communist regime there. Highly offensive.

Surprise, surprise. A jury has now cleared members of XR who glued themselves to a DLR train in 2019. It seems that you can now use "belief" as an excuse for anything now.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-59996870

[quote DdraigGoch]Surprise, surprise. A jury has now cleared members of XR who glued themselves to a DLR train in 2019. It seems that you can now use "belief" as an excuse for anything now.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-59996870[/quote]
Certainly does seem to be the case. The Prime Minister said only a few days ago that when he was at a garden party with food and wine being consumed he believed he was at work.