Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth statues toppled in Canada

Shocking. Send a gunboat.

No, it isn’t.

They represent the colonial system that treated the indigenous folk so badly.

Not sure what they are trying to achieve, may appease their anger at what happened in the past, and some of what is happening now, but toppling statues does not get rid of what happened, or May still be happening. Perhaps they should also topple statues of their own leaders who have been in charge since. The school at Kamloops was not presided over by Queen Victoria, and certainly our present Queen whose her role is non active, would have been horrified, as I’m sure any decent human being. This makes horrendous reading from a Canadian Journalist off-guardian.org/2016/01/18/canadas-shame/.

Whitewavemark2

They represent the colonial system that treated the indigenous folk so badly.

That in the wake of a huge number of graves fround, of indigenous people who were massacred.

Toppling over statues is not the way I would deal with this- what will it achieve? But I can understand, truly.

From the NY Times

For decades, the Indigenous children were taken from their families, sometimes by force, and housed in crowded, church-run boarding schools, where they were abused and prohibited from speaking their languages. Thousands vanished altogether.

Now, a new discovery offers chilling evidence that many of the missing children may have died at these schools: The remains of as many as 751 people, mainly Indigenous children, were found at the site of a former school in the province of Saskatchewan, an Indigenous group said on Thursday.

The burial site, the largest one to date, was uncovered only weeks after the remains of 215 children were found in unmarked graves on the grounds of another former church-run school for Indigenous students in British Columbia.

The discoveries have jolted a nation grappling with generations of widespread and systematic abuse of Indigenous people, many of whom are survivors of the boarding schools. For decades, they suggested through their oral histories that thousands of children disappeared from the schools, but they were often met with skepticism. The revelations of two unmarked grave sites are another searing reminder of this traumatic period in history.

“This was a crime against humanity, an assault on a First Nation people,” said Chief Bobby Cameron, of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, the provincial federation of Indigenous groups. “The only crime we ever committed as children was being born Indigenous,”

My opinion is that it is hundreds of years of grief and rage spilling out on the discovery of the 1000’s of children’s graves, alongside the 100’s of missing indigenous woman and the affects of colonisation. I’m not surprised, but I am sad that people seem to be more upset about statues rather than this heartbreaking discovery of loss of life.

The affects of colonisation was taught in NZ schools when dil was young, and much of what she said I was very surprised, it is not something I was taught at school.

I think we must accept that the U.K does not have such a positive image abroad and while we earned great wealth from colonialism and slavery (as seen in the inherited wealth of many in the uk gov and House of Lords, it came at great expense of other countries and peoples who’s countries are still suffering the ill effects of the exploitation of their peoples and resources.

I’m conservative with a small c, but the reaction of the right to these issues is inching me closer to left.

There's nothing 'shocking' about statues being toppled, in the circumstances.

I think what I hate most about this is that it represents anarchy and you have to wonder what will happen next and where will it end?

Chestnut

I think what I hate most about this is that it represents anarchy and you have to wonder what will happen next and where will it end?

Blimey it is only a couple of statues. Anarchy is hardly the word I would use.

Anger - yes
Sadness - yes
Frustration - yes

I think toppling a couple of statues very mild in the circumstances

I said represents anarchy, i.e. breaking the law by taking action of a destructive nature with no regard to authority. And these things often have a snowball effect, look at George Floyd. They can be replicated and then someone takes a step further and so on. In an ordered society we don't just do whatever we want.

Toppling statues seems a very infantile form of protest to me.

Artefacts have been the focus of protest for millennium.

Just go back in history and you will understand exactly what these cultural representations mean and why they become the focus of protesters.

It isn’t a new phenomenon. Better artefacts than people.

In most or many cases it is the Catholic church that commits this type of crime against humanity and they should be taking responsibility for all the dreadful things they've done.
I accept that many people probably mistakenly thought they were doing the native population good by 'civilising' them, but there was no excuse for cruelty or neglect. The Catholic church committed cruelty and neglect of children on an epic scale all over the world.

Chestnut

In most or many cases it is the Catholic church that commits this type of crime against humanity and they should be taking responsibility for all the dreadful things they've done.
I accept that many people probably mistakenly thought they were doing the native population good by 'civilising' them, but there was no excuse for cruelty or neglect. The Catholic church committed cruelty and neglect of children on an epic scale all over the world.

It wasn't just the Catholic church, Chestnut. Missionaries from all branches of Christianity contributed to the destruction of indigenous cultures (which included their artefacts) and, albeit unwittingly, to the deaths of many indigenous peoples.

It is hard to grasp that some people's reaction to this story is to care about the statues.

The government sponsored genocide that lasted until 1996. Who is the head of the government? The royal family. The anger is extremely understandable. Especially when none of this was taught in schools and many people had no idea that this was even happening. This is a dark time in Canadian history.

The last school closed in 96. Not long ago.

Instead of being upset about some rocks being knocked over, maybe people should be upset about the thousands of children who were taken from their families never to be returned. The thousands of children who were taken from their families and taught to hate themselves. Let’s get our priorities in order here.

Ilovecheese

It is hard to grasp that some people's reaction to this story is to care about the statues.

Where? I can't see anyone expressing that they 'care' about the statues, only that the toppling of them is breaking the law and could lead to further disorder.

Chestnut

I think what I hate most about this is that it represents anarchy and you have to wonder what will happen next and where will it end?

Hopefully with less genocide?

Toppling statues is hardly anarchy.

I don't care about the statues.
I do care that not enough respect is shown to the indiginous peoples and their children.
It is so recent too.

Not to mention that even now the tribes ares till trying to prevent oil companies tearing up sacred lands......there is NO end to it and there needs to be.

Statues do not have feelings. people do.

If the main offender is the Catholic Church then it is time for the Pope to make financial reparations to the indiginous peoples.
The Vatican wealth remains obscene.
The tribes could could use soem of the money to fight the oil companies in the courts

Summerlove Toppling statues is hardly anarchy.
I've already said it represents anarchy (have you even read the posts?) not that it actually is anarchy. And don't forget anarchy has to start somewhere.

It wasn't just indigenous people who were badly treated - many poor and orphaned children were shipped from this country to the colonies to be used as cheap labour and often neglected and abused by their hosts. The powerful in all countries have abused their power in the past, and still do.