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59 minutes ago, Rayvin said:

Sounds like Cecil Rhodes' statue is up next. He was apparently heavily pro-colonialism.

 

The guy Rhodesia was named after? Surely not

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7 minutes ago, Meenzer said:

 

The guy Rhodesia was named after? Surely not

 

I don't know who all these people are because the curriculum didn't teach it. Sorry :lol:

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I think the word 'bad' might have changed over time though in terms of what it covered. I mean I don't know tbh but I would imagine that colonialism was still considered at least neutral or good in the 60s and 70s, by and large.

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On the other hand, I'm technically willfully ignorant on the British Empire because I could go and read about it but I always end up looking at things like philosophy, historical figures from further flung places, etc instead.

 

So fair enough I guess, I should 'inform' myself.

Edited by Rayvin
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1 minute ago, Dr Gloom said:

Schools should teach about how much blood the british empire has on its hands 

 

It should. I mean history for me skipped from 1650 to 1900. And from 1900 on, there was basically no mention whatsoever of Empire.

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1 minute ago, Dr Gloom said:

I don’t remember learning about the East India company in school, for example 

It wouldn’t be that much if a stretch to say that The East India company was the reason for the Empire. 

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14 minutes ago, Rayvin said:

I think the word 'bad' might have changed over time though in terms of what it covered. I mean I don't know tbh but I would imagine that colonialism was still considered at least neutral or good in the 60s and 70s, by and large.

How old do you think Meenzer and I are? You cheeky cunt.

I’ve heard about Rhodesia and Rhodes without having studied them in any context at school though. And I did history gcse and a-level 

Edited by Alex
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21 minutes ago, Rayvin said:

 

I don't know who all these people are because the curriculum didn't teach it. Sorry :lol:

Read the novels of Wilbur Smith as a start. You have to read between the lines as his writing isn't exactly "woke" but the truth is in there. 

Edited by NJS
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7 minutes ago, Dr Gloom said:

Schools should teach about how much blood the british empire has on its hands 

And the horrors of war. A lot of this country seem to glorify both. Whether it’s the attitude of thinking the world owes us something or treating the period around Remembrance Sunday as an extra Xmas  for gammons 

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59 minutes ago, Renton said:

By and large, I'm against this. You can't 

judge the cultural norms of the 18th century by today's standards. If there are some particularly dubious characters,  by all means censor them. But for others just have educational plaques.

 

The other thing is, will this just mask the real issues. It's all symbolic, none of this will changes the political reality of today under the conservatives though. There are more important things in the here and now that need desperate attention. Coronavirus, Brexit, working rights, and massive inequality of which race is mainly a proxy rather than a cause.

I think if you were black, walking past a statue of someone like Colston would be a real issue. 

 

I can only compare it with a statue of Trelford Mills or Mike Ashley being outside SJP. 

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7 minutes ago, Monkeys Fist said:

It wouldn’t be that much if a stretch to say that The East India company was the reason for the Empire. 

We acquired Canada due to an insatiable appetite for beaver (wahey!) fur and its use in millinery 

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9 minutes ago, Alex said:

How old do you think Meenzer and I are? You cheeky cunt.

 

:lol: I was going to say like.

 

I get it though, there's a lot of information out there and you can't be expected to know everything, I just genuinely thought that was more common knowledge. Certainly wasn't something I was taught at school, though being the kind of kid who read atlases for fun probably helped. :blush: :D 

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10 minutes ago, Alex said:

We acquired Canada due to an insatiable appetite for beaver (wahey!) fur and its use in millinery 

The East India company’s army was twice the size of the British Army in the 1800s! 

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1 minute ago, Kevin Carr's Gloves said:

Not knowing stuff is absolutely acceptable you can’t know everything. Commenting and pushing an opinion on stuff you know nothing about is shit however and from reading social media there are many people who take part in that.

Spot on. I was just teasing Rayvin really. 

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I can't see that comment from KCG anymore for some reason. But I think you can be free to comment on anything based on the knowledge you have. I made an initial post about what was happening from the news, then made very lukewarm support for them continuing to tear statues down, which was based on my yearning for values to be consistently applied - and I think the protesters would support that in full tbh.

 

Beyond that, I'm not here defending the Empire, the statues, or even advocating for anything other than consistency. I don't feel that my lack of knowledge about who Cecil Rhodes was, should preclude me from making a post stating that some protesters are going to pull the statue down.

 

I just want to be clear on that, as much as I accept the point he's made (which I can't see).

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