In the news

Would be nice to think so, sadly Bristol is littered with references to the Slave trade, https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/forget-colston-heres-five-bristol-8465

Don’t read the comments..!

Seem's like putting a dome over this would be a suitable replacement for the time being:
https://twitter.com/beardedjourno/status/1269687373148950529

Police explaining their decision not to intervene:
https://twitter.com/darrenpjones/status/1269716714150862850

Churchill statue next , that would really rile middle England

Yeah because he's exactly the same as someone who profited from the slave trade for personal gain, and subsequently spent money on white washing themselves.

Exactly what this country really needs to bring it together.

From my very limited understanding Churchill was quite enthusiastically racist towards some groups, more than average for those days.

Of course it would rile some if the statue comes down, if that's a reason to do or not do things we may as well give up cycling as well ;)

He also changed his mind about various racial groups throughout his lifetime.

For example as a young man he wrote some pretty nasty stuff about Muslims but later in life wrote how he admired Muslium society, even to the point that some relatives feared he might convert.

It's a hard one to measure isn't it. He definitely wasn't a fan of Jews or Catholics, and didn't value the lives of those in the Indian subcontinent.

Tl;Dr he had a complicated eventful life and its probably safe to assume anyone with a binary view either way is ignorant or a basic bitch.

Let 4m bengali's die from famine while he stockpiled australian grain in Europe, even though it was passing through Kolkata on the way but he signed off not letting any go to the Indians. He also forced them to export their own rice harvest during the famine to troops in the middle east but it was never used and went to waste. Other countries offered aid and he refused it.

Also stripped black south africans of their voting rights and sent a huge number of kenyans to concentration camps.

Think these are just some highlights from a very long rap sheet.

More than a little nuanced as an individual but more people should be aware of our colonial past and he is a great example to teach people through.

Some people put the British India death toll as high as 35m.

One thing that really struck me when I was in India, is how many people say they have a positive view of that era. Truly baffling.

I assume that figure includes from partition?

For example as a young man he wrote some pretty nasty stuff about Muslims but later in life wrote how he admired Muslium society, even to the point that some relatives feared he might convert.

So there’s still hope for Boris, lol

Isn't it the other way round with Boris?

I.e his real family name is Kemal and his grandfather changed their name to Johnson because they found the UK to be more than a little bit racist towards people with foreign sounding names...

I like the idea of leaving the Colson statue where it is now.

Agree, I just hope it's deep enough that it doesn't come in contact with boat/ship.

I was really getting at all the racist things that Boris has said. Most recently in relation to Muslims and his fan boy obsession with Churchill might mean that in later life he might see the error of this ways.

Isn't it the other way round with Boris?

Boris likes to portray himself as the second coming of Churchill. That's failing badly at the moment, so he would love the chance to be seen as Churchill's defender.

He definitely wasn't a fan of Jews

A few Churchill quotes about Jews from his Wikipedia page:

"Some people like the Jews and some do not, but no thoughtful man can doubt the fact that they are beyond all question the most formidable and the most remarkable race that has ever appeared in the world."

Why is your chief so violent about the Jews?... what is the sense of being against a man simply because of his birth? How can any man help how he is born?

(Said to Hitler's confidante Ernst Hanfstaengl when Hitler refused to meet him in Munich in 1932).

He was definitely complex and didn't seem to like Indians much:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racial_views_of_Winston_Churchill#India

Moving on to someone who is undoubtedly racist, Priti Patel is doubling down on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/pritipatel/status/1269917466702106624

I'd love to say that I initially understood 'justice will follow' to mean that she was planning to dismantle years of institutional racism, violence and discrimination perpetrated against black people under a system of exploitation and white supremacy, mostly under Conservative governments, but this is Priti Patel we're talking about.

I don't think you understand. She's brown and she's done ok so how can there be racism?

I don't often find myself genuinely despising anybody, let alone a politician I have never met but she is giving it a good go.

The Conservatives are going to make a lot of noise over this, as it’s literally the only thing that can distract from their woeful handling of Covid-19. It’s pretty standard law-n-order posturing from the government.

Starmer’s position is more complex - he has to say they were naughty because if he said anything other than ‘it bad’ the press are going to crucify him. On the other hand, it’s just fucking spineless. The press are going to lynch him anyway, and fucking around trying to arrange the words to please everybody is a waste of time.

Just noticed that BBC news offers the chance to change your nation.
Considering doing this (Spanish or Dutch perhaps).

Priti Patel is really making this more urgent

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I'm not really on Twitter much. Is it normal for cabinet members to use newspaper front pages in that way? Seems really off to me (obvs I find DM repellant most of the time but it's more than that, using media as official comms)

I dunno, its perfectly possible to be of the opinion that criminal damage is bad and symbolism of slavery is also bad.