I love the statue that has replaced the slave trader

I agree with varian and sandelf.

It is a good idea from Varian.

The old statue of Colston was fossilised. Art is not art unless people are emotionally aware of it.

I think that's a great idea varian

Our expectations of people and our response when they dont think as we do is troubling.es, I agree.

I suppose you wouldn't be an activist if you were an easy-going live-and-let-live person.

But it's one thing to work for gay rights - great! - because you are working towards a defined and achievable set of rights.

It's another thing to work for BLM, who demand that we change ourselves and our society. No clearly defined and achievable demands. If you don't toe the line, you're a deplorable, as evidenced in this thread.

Me too but I think if it is to stay, the story of how it came to be there should be on the plinth.

Grandad it was ridiculous because it was meant to be

Some people do vote as instructed to by others. My mother in law (now 93) told me years ago that she always votes whatever her husband votes. And my sister, who is widowed, told me that her son takes her to the polling station and tells her what to vote.
I’m appalled by both.

I would like to see this statue, along with that of Colston, displayed together in one of Bristol's museums, with the story of Colston and the protests. I believe that museum staff collected many of the banners left by the protestors and they could become part of the display.

The empty plinth could become, like the plinth in Trafalgar Square, an opportunity to show a series of statues and sculptures relating to the history and contemporary life of the city.

Expecting people to present in some impossible perfect way is partly why things have become so tribal I imagine some of the suffragettes were a pain in the arse, as were some of the campaigners for gay rights. And? Someone up thread complained because one of the.protestors was wearing an Adidas top and the hypocrisy of it. I am a hypocrite about a thousand times a day. Our expectations of people and our response when they dont think as we do is troubling.

A perfect not I perfect

Yes. I perfect reason to not place any importance on what they do or say where it doesn't feed into the Democratic process. But instead bullies and intimidated opposition.

Like TRAs. I'm sure they think they're in the right.

Activists are human beings flopen so they are difficult, imperfect people as are the rest of us.

Yes, flopen, but women were still expected to vote as their husbands instructed them.
How does that work when you vote in private?

Fair enough trisher I didn't know that.

But, when you think of the Welfare State, was that achieved by activism? No. I think claiming activism as a necessary force for good is wrong. I dare say the IRA thought that they had right on their side when they did the Birmingham pub bombings.

You might think this is far off the mark, but activism is dangerous. The activists speak only for themselves and their friends. They have no interest in anything beyond that, and will go to great lengths to put down anybody who doesn't buy into their vision (see BLM).

Marvin Rees was on local radio this morning and said the artist was completely unaware of what is happening in Bristol. He had a conversation with him and asked him about several well publicised things which had taken place and he had no idea about them. Marc Quinn may be well known in London - unheard of in Bristol.

By the way the statue is not "in the skip" it was carefully removed and is now at the museum waiting for the sculptor to either collect it or donate it to their collection.

flopen it had very little to do with WW1 (although this was claimed at the time). In fact women very nearly got the vote several times before 1914, the main reason for the Bills supporting this being defeated or talked out was the desperation of the men to cling on to power. Had war not broken out it would very likely have been granted in 1914 anyway. Without the suffragettes and the women's suffrage organisations it wouldn't even have been on the agenda.

It is all good the forces of law and order remove the statue. The drama of the statue is still proceeding, and what matters is the drama is making people aware of what they had not been aware of.

Some art is performative art. The original statue had been allowed to remain in situ for so long because of a deficit in public consciousness. The purpose of art is to rectify deficits in consciousness.

Starblaze

The statue was a safety hazard? How? Was it actually a robot? Does it kneel on people's necks if they get too close?

What a rediculas post, although not to be unexpected from those who support the BLM leadership.

Did Marvin Rees actually say on BBC Radio 5 Live that “ running around provoking debate without any awareness of the potential consequences of that debate is not OK”? If he’s not careful he will end up being cancelled. That may be no bad thing.

The statue was a safety hazard? How? Was it actually a robot? Does it kneel on people's necks if they get too close?

Do as you are told or we threaten you with the far right.

Yes, flopen, but women were still expected to vote as their husbands instructed them.

Of course they alienated people, change is deeply uncomfortable, gay rights organisations alienated people but they facilitated change.

trisher, the statue was a severe safety hazard and therefore either had to be secured at considerable cost or taken down.

It was also causing serious arguments between people walking across the city centre. Doubtless, with many bars and restaurants etc in that area much more serious trouble may well have broken out adjacent to the statue at the weekend.

Do BLM supporters really wish to hand such a gift as this statue to the extreme right in Britain, for that is what it was?

the suffragettes alienated many people at the time by their tactics. It was WWI that led to women having the vote.

Sparklefizz

We have a black mayor at the moment.

Yes, I know, but the black mayor from so long ago may be a more worthy figure.