Human vanity

[Docfoster]

Mainly mine.
But I am trying to be balanced.

[savvypaul]

Some of the stuff on social media about this issue has been hugely depressing. A pity there isn't a mainstream 'platform' for critical thinking.

On a positive note, it appears that Farage has lost his mainstream platform: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-53006006

[Daniel Quinn]

The only way to deal with these issues is democracy at the appropriate level.

Personally I think its a bit unfair judging an 18 century man by 21 century standards.

[savvypaul]

I think if they had changed the Colston plaque to something more balanced, as had been suggested, it would have satisfied most people.

[Docfoster]

Some of the stuff on social media about this issue has been hugely depressing. A pity there isn't a mainstream 'platform' for critical thinking.

On a positive note, it appears that Farage has lost his mainstream platform: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-53006006

Agreed Paul.
This is yet another issue that plays perfectly to our toxic political climate.

[Docfoster]

Personally I think its a bit unfair judging an 18 century man by 21 century standards.

I tend to agree with this.
I would think once one gets back into the 1800s the vast majority of Britons would have been comfortable with levels of racism beyond that which almost every current living Britain would find unacceptable.

But, I think there is a difference when it comes to people who effectively bought their own legacies with money made from slavery.
I simply can't get away from imagining the contemporary standards of those C18th slaves swilling about in the hull of a boat sailing across the Atlantic. I feel confident that they didn't think to themselves "Well just so long as this is OK under UK law, I'm absolutely fine with it".

[Docfoster]

I think if they had changed the Colston plaque to something more balanced, as had been suggested, it would have satisfied most people.

I think you might be right.
But personally, I'd rather see it in a museum with the plaque.
Not in a civic space, but not at the bottom of the dock either.

[Docfoster]

I had thought previously how odd it was that Bristol continued to use Colston's name so freely.
Not more than "odd" though.
A bit embarrassing for me really now I've had cause to reflect more closely on the issue.

[Daniel Quinn]

Coulston was probably mean to working class people, sexist and a snob. He was probably a good chap to his mates and never gave the slaves a second thought.

Had any of us been born in his class at his time, I bet we would have been the same.

I don't live in Bristol my opinion on his statue isn't relevant.

[Docfoster]

Coulston was probably mean to working class people, sexist and a snob. He was probably a good chap to his mates and never gave the slaves a second thought.

Had any of us been born in his class at his time, I bet we would have been the same.

I don't live in Bristol my opinion on his statue isn't relevant.

No idea what he was like as a person.
But rest assured Dan, your opinion is always relevant here!

I do agree that on average there is no meaningful genetic difference between us and humans born at any time in the past 200,000 years. So yes, had any of us been born at a different time in humanity's history, and into some human society with different values we would have been shaped by them accordingly.
Moreover, in 100, 1,000 and 10,000 years I'm sure people will look back in shock, horror and revulsion at us. I will piss my pants if a statue of me is ever erected, but if somehow that happens, I will accept that one day it will be vilified, defaced, torn down and chucked in the Gloucester-Sharpness canal when it turns out that by some future standards of course I am actually an inhuman bastard. In fact I will be pretty disappointed if 2020 is the pinnacle of human morality.