Spineless Leadership Of The Uk

[thesshhh]

I’ve spent a lot of time in France, Italy and Australia, and I can tell you that those countries would not tolerate mob rule, and demands for the destruction of its history. They’d clamp right down on it very rapidly. Why do the UK government and authorities cave in so pathetically to protesters and allow them to decide on which statues etc stay or go, for example? Give them an inch - which they more than did re the Colston statue in Bristol - and the protestors take a mile. So now we look likely to use memorials to key historical figures because Boris and co show no resistance, no backbone. It’s a dangerous precedent cos the govt aren’t really running this nation now, the mob are. If only we had a leader with the strength and integrity of Churchill and Thatcher....

[douglas9401]

The genie's out of the bottle, Gromit. No protection is now possible for any statue or monument deemed offensive by revisionist thugs who now know exactly how feeble the law and government are.

It's open season on history.

[Gromit]

One statue vandalised of somebody most of us had never heard of is not a revolution, and certainly is not the mob ruling the country. It was one protest that got out of hand. The Government aren’t going to fall, the hard left aren’t taking over.

[Gromit]

// No protection is now possible //

Utter nonsense, of course protection is possible.
Stop being an alarmist cry baby.
The majority of the people do not want our history wrecked, so they won’t let it happen. You seem to have no faith in the British people.

[Spicerack]

Which 'side' are you on, gromit. You seem to be defending what happened and saying British people will stop it happening again.
And at least 2 statues were removed.

[diddlydo]

As far as I am aware, the demo in front of the Cecil Rhodes statue in Oxford was entirely peaceful. This protest was nothing new - there have been many questions raised in the past regarding this racist imperialist and his ties with Oxford University. Protest doesn't always equate with violence.

[Gromit]

Spicerack

I am not on any side.
Some statues probably shouldn’t be on public display, and now that everyone has the ability to research these historical people, then there will be a clamour to remove some of them.
But that shouldn’t be a green light for An army of vandals to arbitrary wield sledgehammers to them.
The authorities should listen to both sides and reach a decision. Some statues should be removed and stored for their own protection, and others should be protected and Retained for the whole community.
Statues and memorials are attacked all the time by all manner of protestors. The best thing we can do is prosecute the vandals, and clean and restore the vandalised objects if the tax paying public want them restored.

[Spicerack]

That may all be true, diddly. People have a right to peaceful protest. Has anybody said they don't?

[Spicerack]

//Some statues probably shouldn’t be on public display,//

There's the rub. You and your comrades may well think so. Normal people don't think that way.

[iluvmargie]

Don't always agree with you thesshhh, but by God, I do this time. Boris led us to believe that he would be a strong leader and his cabinet seemingly backed that up, but he's just like all the rest bowing to minority pressure and allowing the mob to dictate what happens in our country. Shocked and saddened here.

[Old_Geezer]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8408223/Black-Lives-Matter-protesters-tore-Edward-Colston-statue-likely-escape-prosecution.html

[Gromit]

// There's the rub. You and your comrades may well think so. Normal people don't think that way. //

Firstly, they are not my comrades. I have already explained I don’t want these artefacts destroyed willy nilly.
Secondly, some normal people do think that way. The Colston statue had been the subject of a petition by Bristolians, and the local MP had asked the council to remove it. I doubt anyone was consulted when the statue was erected, and I doubt public approval would not have unanimous if the fact that 44,000* people died on his slave ships had been widely known.

* Now that the historical detail of tens of thousands of people killed by this man’s business ventures is widely known, some people rightly ask why is the community celebrating his life?

[thesshhh]

Thing is once the memorials to the allegedly racist have been removed, how can the authorities refuse if other groups, whether they be Irish or Jewish or whoever, then object to different commemorated figures? It is an extremely dangerous precedent that is being set at the moment

[Gromit]

iluvmargie
I am not a big fan of Johnson’s leadership, but what happened in Bristol and Parliament Square is not his fault, and there was nothing he could have done to prevent it.
People have a democratic right to protest. They don’t have a right to riot. The protests got out of hand, but that is more the fault of the local policing, not the Prime Minister.

[Bobbisox1]

ILM! I agree, this isn’t the government I voted for when I put my X next to Boris Johnson’s name , like you I thought I was getting a strong government at last after the years of Cameron/Clegg then Teresa May , I feel very let down by the ineptitude of them to control Mob mentality and kow-tow to their demands , the very sight of them standing heads bowed at a minutes silence for something that happened nearly 4000 miles away ? Could anyone here imagine those in the White House doing that??? Yes,Floyd should not of died like he did and Yes those responsible should feel the weight of the US judiciary on them , no one can deny that but it’s gone too far, I listened to LBC on Tuesday night , the day of Floyds funeral, a minister was shouting about “Pray for the soul of our brother, he’s a martyr and won’t be forgotten all over the world, even in the midst of a Pandemic, we came out , England, France and America , came out for you” and so it went on, what next, will Floyd be canonised??,

[woofgang]

France...no mob rule..... what about he yellow jackets, the hauliers, just google french riots and see the list roll up..its such an issue they have a specialised response unit.

[Bobbisox1]

Woof, I was paraphrasing the Texas Preacher

[ToraToraTora]

usual rot from 10cs at 06:55.

[iluvmargie]

9:10 I did not say that was his fault, what IS his fault is kowtowing to these mobs and not telling them that all statues will be staying whether they like it or not. He is showing no resistance, as the OP states.

[Gromit]

thesshhh
Cases judged on merit.
Statues of Victoria and Nelson are never going to be removed, but scoundrels like Cromwell are going to offend a lot of Irish people. But even then, his historical importance as an English leader, might out weight his uselessness of his reign.

[woofgang]

Question Author "Thing is once the memorials to the allegedly racist have been removed, how can the authorities refuse if other groups, whether they be Irish or Jewish or whoever, then object to different commemorated figures? It is an extremely dangerous precedent that is being set at the moment"

"the authorities" I hate that phrase. Local and national government is there by the will of the citizens and put there because they say they will do what citizens want....and why should they refuse if a good case....as was made about the Calston statue and dithered over for so long....is made for other statues and monuments?