Originally Posted by
jon1959
Yes, much of that was very positive. Police went out of their way to praise the organisers and most of the protesters for promoting and following government guidance on social distancing, and on the event being almost totally peaceful and respectful.
The Colston statue removal raises a lot of interesting questions about how we treat our history and the messages we want to put out today. Clearly it was a small group out of the full demonstration who took down the statue and dumped it in the Avon. The police will be after them for criminal damage, but they have started a debate that has been missing for too long in Bristol. The city's wealth was based on the slave trade and there are countless references to slave traders in street and place names, the Colston Hall and the rest. This action should focus minds on how Bristol wants to recognise its history, but also who it wants to celebrate and why.
I remember watching a documentary last year that was looking in part at the slave trade legacy in Liverpool - especially street and place names. The black academics, activists and local historians who took part were almost all against re-naming to erase references to the slave trade past. They preferred to see information boards put up that gave information on the people and the trade ( a sort of blue plaque system) so that there was greater understanding and education. So Penny Lane would stay, but there would be a brief information board explaining how James Penny made his fortune - and at what cost to the slaves.
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