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How do we think about taking down controversial statues in the UK? How do we think about taking down controversial statues in the UK?
We have every right to take the statues down We have every right to take the statues down
How dare they tear down our statues How dare they tear down our statues
We should approach the statues issue with caution We should approach the statues issue with caution
The statues sustain structural oppression The statues sustain structural oppression
The controversial statues celebrate evil acts The controversial statues celebrate evil acts
The controversial statues venerate evil people The controversial statues venerate evil people
The controversial statues oppress UK ethnic minorities The controversial statues oppress UK ethnic minorities
The controversial statues represent UK history inaccurately The controversial statues represent UK history inaccurately
Having controversial statues in a museum sanctifies evil Having controversial statues in a museum sanctifies evil
The controversial statues legitimise racism The controversial statues legitimise racism
The controversial UK statues destroy the intellectual health of the public The controversial UK statues destroy the intellectual health of the public
Controversial statues hide deep injustice Controversial statues hide deep injustice
The controversial statues debate shows how Britain's democratic channels have failed us The controversial statues debate shows how Britain's democratic channels have failed us
This is the revolutionary resistance we have been waiting for This is the revolutionary resistance we have been waiting for
The people tearing down controversial statues are erasing British history The people tearing down controversial statues are erasing British history
We must defend British culture against those who tear down controversial statues in the UK We must defend British culture against those who tear down controversial statues in the UK
The violent mob are race traitors The violent mob are race traitors
We have been forced to accept multiculturalism against our will We have been forced to accept multiculturalism against our will
All lives matter, so tearing down controversial statues in the UK is wrong All lives matter, so tearing down controversial statues in the UK is wrong
The police are working in the interests of the enemy when they support those who tear down controversial statues The police are working in the interests of the enemy when they support those who tear down controversial statues
Non-whites should go back to where they came from rather than tearing down controversial statues Non-whites should go back to where they came from rather than tearing down controversial statues
This is an attack on the white working class This is an attack on the white working class
The controversial statues are an attack on the UK's white majority The controversial statues are an attack on the UK's white majority
We should find ways to give more context to these controversial statues in the UK We should find ways to give more context to these controversial statues in the UK
Controversial statues have an educational purpose in the UK Controversial statues have an educational purpose in the UK
Our approach to storytelling UK statues is flawed Our approach to storytelling UK statues is flawed
The UK controversial statues debate is about the decline of the West The UK controversial statues debate is about the decline of the West
The UK controversial statues debate is an opportunity to think about how we look at history The UK controversial statues debate is an opportunity to think about how we look at history
The controversial statues are a distraction from the real issue at hand in the UK The controversial statues are a distraction from the real issue at hand in the UK
We should focus on the UK's present, not its past We should focus on the UK's present, not its past
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How do we think about taking down controversial statues in the UK?
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We have every right to take the statues down

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The controversial statues oppress UK ethnic minorities

This debate is largely around figures who have historically subjugated ethnic minorities. They are therefore a form of soft power that oppresses these groups in society.
Owen Jones
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The Argument

Public art, such as public statues, are a way of conveying the values of a society within which it is exhibited. [1] During the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests in June 2020, statues globally were defaced or removed. In the UK, Edward Colston’s statue was toppled into the Bristol Harbour, and the statue of Winston Churchill was defaced. Later petitions to remove the caricature atop the Greenman’s Pub sign in Derbyshire were also signed. Demands were made to have statues placed in museums to understand history, rather than to glorify the acts of the individual. [2] Statues of Edward Colston and Winston Churchill are placed up as signs of British Exceptionalism. The demand for, and the removal of the statues during the BLM protests is no coincidence. These figures have built their standing upon the oppression of large ethnic minority populations, which often is not well explained in history books. If statues are a way of expressing societal values, and the figures are those who have built their empires by oppressing minorities, the values that the statues represent, rationalise, and normalise institutional oppression. It is evident from the insistence from anti-racist groups of the removal of such statues, that there is a feeling that the statues oppress ethnic minorities. [3]

Counter arguments

Statues are a way of reminding people of their history. Values are transformational. Historically society was racist, sexist, and homophobic. What statues do is educate us on society’s transition through time, and the values of it during that time. By removing the statues, we are not settling the issues of the oppression of ethnic minorities, we are seeking to eradicate traces of history which are flawed and unpleasant to come to terms with, including those when the oppression was facilitated. We are eradicating an educational part of history rather than aiming to be better informed about it. [4] The statues were placed to venerate an individual in history who achieved an aim that society at the time considered to be good. Demonising historical figures such as Cecil Rhodes to justify their removal does not assist in eradicating the oppression which ethnic minorities face in contemporary society. The statues should not be removed. They should remain as an educational emblem to remind people that we still have a way to go to eradicate the oppression of minorities. [5]

Proponents

Premises

Rejecting the premises

References

  1. https://speakartloud.wordpress.com/2010/05/21/25-ways-art-impacts-the-community/
  2. https://www.expressandstar.com/news/uk-news/2020/06/08/thousands-demand-removal-of-racist-and-unwelcoming-statues-across-the-uk/
  3. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jun/11/toppling-statues-bygone-tyrants-forces-british-people-face-present-day-racism
  4. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/mar/13/cecil-rhodes-campaign-oxford-david-mitchell
  5. https://www.theguardian.com/education/shortcuts/2016/jan/04/racism-oxford-deeper-than-statue-cecil-rhodes
This page was last edited on Tuesday, 22 Sep 2020 at 09:19 UTC

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