Statues to racists and slaveowners

[Nefertiti2]

Another one bites the dust

https://twitter.com/meenaharris/status/1274207792325292032?s=21

[S. aureus]

Californians are going to be kept quite busy for a while if we're pulling down all the Junipero Serra statues around here. I wonder if they'll rename the high school (seems unlikely as the Catholics only sainted him 5 years ago).

[ursus arctos]

They could rename it for alumnus Barry Bonds.

This one is mostly hollow

[MsD]

Is that why we can't see it?

[ursus arctos]

Really?

How about this one?

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

Is that the worst Statue of a saint, since St Benezet laid the first stone of the bridge at Avignon with his giant giant hands?

[ursus arctos]

I was hoping that you would see it

The Serra statue is massive and sited above the interstate highway that goes down the San Francisco Peninsula. Tens of thousands of people see it every day.

It is always fun to watch the reaction by individuals who see it for the first time.

[Lurgee]

The statue thing came up at role-playing the other night. I was startled by how vehement people I've known for several years and who don't generally express political opinions were. And not in a good way. Apparently, white privilege doesn't exist because there are poor white people in the Appalachians. When mildly challenged on this, the sage opined that the reason black people are economically and socially disadvantaged is because "they are told they are victims."

I told them I had better things to do with my evening than listen to this sort of talk; if I had proper balls I'd probably have walked out at that point. But I didn't; I sat there feeling stunned that people I thought I knew fairly well harboured these ideas and felt comfortable expressing them. I'm still feeling it.

It isn't quite Rosa Parks, but do I quit the group over this? I struggle with the idea of sitting down beside people happy to espouse racist views. But on the other hand, my fictional game avatar is finally on the verge of getting somewhere with the half-elf mage he's been pursuing for months. It is a finally weighted balance ...

More importantly than my dilemma, the barely concealed hostility of the educated, comfortably off white middle classes doesn't bode well. I think there will be a significant reaction once the current protests run their course. The likes of Johnson and Trump will be able to capitalise on white resentment and fear. There may be repercussions beyond my opportunities to fiddle with curiously shaped dice.

[Hot Pepsi]

Really?

How about this one?

This could easily be converted to a monument honoring the Padres’ mascot.

[S. aureus]

...or It's a Knockout

[Hot Pepsi]

The statue thing came up at role-playing the other night. I was startled by how vehement people I've known for several years and who don't generally express political opinions were. And not in a good way. Apparently, white privilege doesn't exist because there are poor white people in the Appalachians. When mildly challenged on this, the sage opined that the reason black people are economically and socially disadvantaged is because "they are told they are victims."

There’s a tiny shread of truth to that bit about victim thinking. There is such a thing as “learned helplessness.” And there is no doubt that a feeling of hopelessness and low expectations permeates some places, including some places that are mostly white. That doesn’t mean that non-white people don’t face additional obstacles, but I can understand why some white people cannot see how being white is helping them.

I have read accounts from accomplished Black people who have said that their parents or grandparents always taught them that if they have to work twice as hard to go half as far, then that’s just what they’ll have to do. They were taught they should never blame racism for anything that doesn’t go their way, even though their parents or grandparents were painfully aware that racism was very often the reason things didn’t go their way. I have heard successful women say the same thing.

I guess if someone, especially a kid, spent much time thinking about all the obstacles in front of them, it would be easy to get discouraged and give up. So their parents and teaches encourage them to to fake it until they make it.

But those obstacles are very real, which is what the “they just think they’re victims” line denies. And the perseverance and success of some people despite all the racism doesn’t absolve the rest of us from our responsibility to make society much more fair and expand opportunities for everyone.

[Nefertiti2]

The police - no doubt egged on by Patel has circulated photos of those who dumped the slaver’s statue in the docks

bristol evening post has refused to publish them

We think this is at odds with what the majority of Bristolians believe should happen - as demonstrated by our poll to which more than 10,500 people responded in two days. More than half of them said that those responsible should not be prosecuted.

We think the majority of Bristolians accept that the years of frustration and offence at the statue’s existence mitigate what happened two weeks ago.

That is why the Bristol Post or Bristol Live will not publishing the police photographs.

The BBC, of course has been enthusiastically circulating the pictures

[Nefertiti2]

There’s a tiny shread of truth to that bit about victim thinking.

But those obstacles are very real, which is what the “they just think they’re victims” line denies. And the perseverance and success of some people despite all the racism doesn’t absolve the rest of us from our responsibility to make society much more fair and expand opportunities for everyone.

So there is a tiny shred of truth- and a large amount of untruth.

[Nefertiti2]

https://twitter.com/TristanCorkPost/status/1278423274930802689?s=20

[DCI Harry Batt]

There are eighteen, they've arrested one, and they are still looking for sixteen...

[Aha, one "attended a police station voluntarily", appaz.

Anyway, FTP and fuck the grasses.

[Nefertiti2]

This particular case appears to have been resolved reasonably well

https://twitter.com/squirrelclimb/status/1278640681477648385?s=21

[Nefertiti2]

There are, though other points of view on this

https://twitter.com/n_linhhh/status/1278642142555049985?s=21

[Snake Plissken]

I get the feeling that the actions of the police and the council in arresting the people who removed the statue is purely performative. Which is a good thing.

[Patrick Thistle]

Yes, if anything the police are trolling the fash here.

"We're going to make you pay for your crimes by donating to an anti slavery charity."

[Etienne]

I was talking to my father-in-law the other day as he's a useful insight given he's a sterotypical northern Tory voter, grew up with absolutely nothing, worked bloody hard, bought a house in the right place and the right time and so is now comfortably off, voted Labour when young, but has voted Tory (or UKIP) for the last 20 years at least. He's second generation Irish immigrant so I asked him about the statue of Cromwell in Warrington near where he lives. He said that when he was young his best friend wanted to, and seriously discussed, putting a rope around it, attaching it to a lorry at some nearby traffic lights and watch it get ripped down. Now he thinks that it should stay up as a reminder of the horrors Cromwell committed. This makes no sense to me.

[ChrisJ]

I get the feeling that the actions of the police and the council in arresting the people who removed the statue is purely performative. Which is a good thing.

I think the police showed no interest in pursuing this until the councill made a formal complaint, at which point they had to.

I'm sure the legal eagles of OTF will have something to say, but a caution may not just be performative depending on your line of work. If you need DBS clearance, t'll show up in a search for at least 6 years and may be longer depending on the offence admitted. I think most of the offences that can't be filtered off a record are serious ones like rape or offences against children, but AFAIK there's lower-level stuff like affray too.

[Eggchaser]

There are, though other points of view on this

https://twitter.com/n_linhhh/status/1278642142555049985?s=21

Looks like Starkey has committed career suicide with the quote, "Slavery was not genocide, otherwise there wouldn't be so many damn blacks in Africa or Britain, would there?

Edit:" MSM" career suicide.

[DCI Harry Batt]

You'd hope. I'm not confident.

[Snake Plissken]

I think the police showed no interest in pursuing this until the councill made a formal complaint, at which point they had to.

I'm sure the legal eagles of OTF will have something to say, but a caution may not just be performative depending on your line of work. If you need DBS clearance, t'll show up in a search for at least 6 years and may be longer depending on the offence admitted.

I have no doubt that the people pulling that statue down broke a law somewhere. The law seems to have punished them to the minimal possible extent in order to make the matter closed.

[Snake Plissken]

Looks like Starkey has committed career suicide with the quote, "Slavery was not genocide, otherwise there wouldn't be so many damn blacks in Africa or Britain, would there?

Edit:" MSM" career suicide.

Considering he went on Question Time in 2010 and said "the whites have become black", and that "a particular sort of violent, destructive, nihilistic, gangster culture has become the fashion" and later "had values "entrenched in the foothills of the Punjab or wherever it is"" then I reckon he's going to be Just Fine.