I am not trying to be controversial, but...........

Sadiq Khan has already had the Churchill statue and some others boarded up. They're quite safe.

I feel like I’m in a parallel world.

How on earth are statues more important than peoples lives?

I thought so Loislovesstewie but apparently there are a couple of people on here who find that too difficult to understand, sadly.

Doubtless the protesters will all have their mobile phones at the ready oblivious to the suffering of the small children mining for cobalt in the Congo, some as young as 4, but protesting en masse about what’s happening NOW isn’t on the agenda. I wonder how many shop at Primark? No problem with the poor kids labouring away in those sweatshops for hours on end, as long as they can all buy the latest fashion on the cheap.

I call it political activism and the death of George Floyd, dreadful as it was, is another excuse for the agitators to stir up trouble and I do wonder how bad this is going to get.

GGumteenth, I was in ours the other day with my drain rods clearing a blockage ! what an enjoyable afternoon that was.

Mmm. You seem to be having an attack of whataboutism tickingbird. All the things you mention are worthy but they are just a distraction at this point aren't they.

If I read you right you just don't like what they are actually protesting about. Equality doesn't seem that bad to me but if you are against it you are certainly allowed to put your opinion forward.

Oh dear Loislovesstewie. Poor you.

That old chestnut - whataboutery. Sigh..

Oh you poor old thing. Sigh.

Caught out in your distraction tactics which, if you were honest, have nothing to do the current issues but are issues in there own right. I find that use of genuine issues which do need our attention, in order to deflect from another genuine issue that you don't happen to agree with or back, quite deplorable and it is called whataboutery.

Sparklingsilver much earlier in this thread talked about a programme exposing a significant ultra right racist group of men in the British army, some of whom had actually been convicted and imprisoned for stockpiling weapons and planning violent confrontations, but some of whose supporters remain in the army.

She described in her post as "foolish young men", men who:

exchanged jokes about lynchings,
expressed admiration for Nazi doctrine and leaders
photographed themselves next to burning crosses,
used the swastika to decorate a cake
referred to non-white people in the most disgusting and racist way

and then decried the programme's exposition of seriously racist and violent hate speech and behaviour, saying it was a "witchunt".

And still people say they can't understand what all the protests are about.

Oh dear Gumteeth you seem all flustered. Call it what you will, I call it the classic get out clause when someone’s stumped for a truthful answer.

Can you answer why the present day slavery is of little importance to these millions of protesters all over the world. Why are statues and historic slavery more important? We can’t change the past but we can change the present. Imagine the good that could be done if these forces were mobilised to that end. Mind you it might mean paying a bit more for the latest must have trainers or that up to date fancy phone or maybe just having a phone that was just a phone. Strange how a large percentage of those shouting racism and slavery don’t spare a thought for present day victims especially when it involves them giving up some of th

the proceeds. Hmm?

I absolutely agree Tickingbird.
Yes black slavery was abhorrent but it should not be expunged from history. The modern day slaves, including those in this country, should be priority as those could be freed.

I have been saying the same thing tickingbird , it is impossible to change the past, we can only learn from it.

Time magazine had an article about young black men being sold in Libya in the past year (sorry having trouble with links but it's easy to find) this is something which they can do something about. The terrible conditions that young black men and women are forced to endure in the vast polytunnels in Spain which supply EU with fruit, salad and veg!!!

I haven't heard anybody speak out about the Asian slave labour used to build all the 5 / 6 star hotels in Dubai and other Gulf States?

Sorry posted instead of previewed.

I have a problem with rap music lyrics slapupmybitch whitemotherf***ers , the glorification of knife and gun carrying etc., does that make me a priveledged white person

^ it is impossible to change the past, we can only learn from it.^

Who is asking for the past to be changed?

There seems to be some very muddled thinking going on here...

No I am not muddled, thank you.

With regard to 'changing the past', and, as we argued about the use/misuse of the quote from Orwell's 1984, this popped up on twitter this morning:

Cathy@NarcAware

Delete our history, who on earth would do such a thing?

Conservative party deletes archive of speeches from internet

An old story from 2013, but that doesn't make it any less appropriate in this context:

www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/nov/13/conservative-party-archive-speeches-internet

If you're not muddled, GG13 why are you talking about 'changing history?

Who is changing history?

Missfoodlove you are so right. That is exactly the way to go. Otherwise history is erased. We need to learn from past mistakes not deny them.

I actually said it is impossible to change the past we can only learn from it MaizieD

Those of us with a brain DID learn from the past ! It's those who have no concept of education in general who haven't. I speak of both black and white races.

Has everyone forgotten our soldier Lee Rigby, killed brutally by Balck Muslim activists? There were no worldwide protests then. .......

Oh dear Gumteeth you seem all flustered.

Do I? Not a very good judge are you? And you have offered your poor form of argument yet again and again, in a very abhorrent way, tried to use other, very important issues, to try and destroy the people you don't like and don't agree with. It is a Black Lives Matters demonstration.

On all your other "what about" points where you cannot know where the people on the demonstration stand and yet you attribute negativity to them. You castigate them because you need a deflection from the BLM message. Your desperation to talk of other things and blame the BLM protesters for not doing so, appears to be just a cover for the fact that you don't agree that black lives DO matter.

Stop waffling and stick to the subject and I will take you seriously. Otherwise you are just a distraction and not worth a reply.

CrazyH. Right now, his mum doesn't want his name used in this lot. It WAS the most brutal killing in broad daylight and took me a long time to get over it. God bless him.