No. We do not build war memorials to celebrate war, but as a reminder of the tragic cost of war and a warning to future generations. And ultimately, it is why the others will come down, too. If they did, we would be living in a country of empty plinths, I think.” Why do we remove some statues and not others? T hese are some of the monuments that have been removed, covered up or vandalised in recent days:. This is why the city council of Charlottesville voted, a century after it was commissioned, to remove the statue of Robert Edward Lee. Should statues of Sir John A. Macdonald be removed? 53% of Democrats say the statues should come down; 71% of Republicans say they should remain standing. According to History.com, George Washington kept over 300 slaves at his Mount Vernon plantation and Thomas Jefferson owned around 175 slaves as did James Madison, James Monroe, and Andrew … Since we do not remove our parents, despite their weaknesses and errors, we do NOT remove a tradition that has given us meaning and life. If so, this is exactly why they should remain. That is why so many want those statues removed. The article says you will likely need 70 people pulling on very strong ropes or straps to bring down a statue. No. RA. As anti-racist protests spread around the world, more and more statues of controversial historical figures are being removed from the United States and the United Kingdom. Who decides which statues are to be removed and where is the limit? A drone image shows the area surrounding the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia. Protests over Floyd's death in Minneapolis have refocused the country's attention on police brutality and racial injustice. By Rick Anderson Opinion. Macdonald’s penchant for violence and degradation toward Indigenous … This is why communities across the region have a moral obligation to take up the cause of removing them. ... (but you totally should not read it and should not tear down a racist statue in what some consider vandalism). If the statues are not taken down, should new historical context be added so people viewing the statues can learn from the past? The US should remove Confederate memorials, flags, and monuments from public spaces. Now there is intense controversy over whether the statue should be removed. Taking down the Christopher Columbus statue can lead to the desecration of other statues and eventually the call to remove any statue honoring a historical figure because they will possess some flaw. NEW YORK. Students covered the Rhodes statue with graffiti and plastic bags, and promised to demonstrate until it was removed. Maman the Big Spider. Opposing view: Should statues of Sir John A. Macdonald be removed? Arguments on both sides. Students 13 and older are invited to comment. He says most Americans do not know or care who Jefferson Davis was, what century the Civil War was fought, and that relatively few people care about these statues … That is why the statue is there. In September, a number of activists came forward saying statues of our first prime minister should be removed from public places due to the racist policies he put in place. The Confederate statues were put up when they were put up [not just after the war but largely during periods of Civil Rights tension in the 20th century], to send a message about white supremacy, and to sentimentalize people who had actively fought to preserve the system of slavery. Why should the statues (not) be removed? Recent events make clear that we still need these warnings and reminders that violence will not heal our divisions and that silencing unpopular opinions through force will not bring peace. The statue, erected in 1890, is slated for removal. People weren’t looking at the entire record of people when they put up statues to them. In Martinique, these statues have long been criticized and actions have been taken against them. One of the arguments used by those in favour of keeping the statues of Leopold II is similar to an argument used in favour of keeping the confederate statues in America. Yesterday, people were spotted trying to fish the statue of Colston out of the Bristol harbour as conflict emerged over how the protesters have behaved and whether statues should be removed. There is a reason black citizens in the nation’s capital direct their Uber driver or cab to take them to “D.C. 32% now say those statues should be removed, compared with 26% in 2017. The statue had drawn criticism before, but none of … Having these statues in a museum instead of as a centrepiece of a city means the statues may be viewed less as a symbol of white supremacy and more as a piece of history But turning a statue of Cecil Rhodes into an invented psychological trauma, or demanding that it be removed as an act of decolonisation, will neither change the … Why should the statues (not) be removed? One of the arguments used by those in favour of keeping the statues of Leopold II is similar to an argument used in favour of keeping the confederate statues in America. ... My point here is not that one statue should go and that the other should stay, nor is my point that both should go or both should stay. ... not a partisan or ideological subset of it. While the left thinks that a monument’s primary purpose is to glorify great dead white men, the reality is that they were meant to be symbols of hope and progress. Why are Confederate statues being removed? Rick Anderson is a principal at Earnscliffe Strategy Group. And they should be removed. To be clear, symbols having meaning. From the Editorial Board:Remove Confederate monuments to America's original sin of slavery Tear down systemic racism brick by brick. Since this fundamentally conflicts with American values and ideas, they should be removed. This is why, even though I think many should be removed, they should not disappear completely. Pros Cons The principal legacy of Confederate statues is white supremacy and slavery. Who decides which statues are to be removed and where is the limit? Either remove it or put it in Statuary Hall over any other statue you would like to get out of there. Amid a world that seems hell-bent on tearing down statues in a cathartic frenzy, it is worth sparing a moment to reflect on why we erected those statues in the first place. Do not settle for the symbolic act of taking down statues… In the wake of the recent police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and widespread protests against police brutality and systemic racism in America, there are renewed calls for Confederate monuments around the country to come down—from Birmingham, Alabama, where a 52-foot obelisk known as the Confederate Soldiers & Sailors Monument was dismantled on June 1, to Richmond's … The statues of Confederate heroes represent for many a glorification of slavery and the attempted destruction of the United States by an enemy nation. Artifacts of hate will be lost, but their history and meaning will not. Re-Righting History: Why We Must Remove Confederate Statues Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com Since the death of George Floyd, the Black Lives Matter movement (BLM) has been calling for a transformation of America — not just in terms of racism and how blacks are treated but also the revision of the American landscape. 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