General Chat

The wonderful David Olusoga is on BBC1 at 9pm, talking about how nurses and doctors from overseas have been arriving in the UK, for 70 years, to keep our NHS running.

My question is:
Is it right, that we should be 'stealing' these skilled workers from their own countries?

Of course, when Edward Colston who I have now Googled, was carrying out his nefarious trade, the country was still engaged in debate as to whether black men had souls and the world was still full of great unknowns.

He used a lot of his profit to do charitable deeds for his own people and no doubt, many of us donate our clothes and goods to charity shops BUT can we ever be sure that none of it as been manufactured by a child chained to a bench in a sweatshpp in some part of the world we can choose to forget?

Slavery still goes on now. I agree Caroline destroying things from the past is trying to change history,we should look at them and learn

Didn’t the Moors invade Southern Europe?

Agreed LaGooner but by destroying things that represent the past they are trying to change it. As BarbinGlos says white men didn't go into Africa to get the slaves, two wrongs don't make a right but the whole story is that. Let's not forget the Romans they went around the World taking slaves in many cases, are we knocking everything down in Rome? The Spanish not only invaded but killed are we destroying everything in Barcalona? The list is endless...and then we can start on Men belittling women and the wealth they made.....The Irish being denied basic rights....Northerners and Southerners....where do we stop and say this is the point we're making History new and acceptable again?

We cannot change the past but we can learn from it and change the future

I'm with Sharron on this, I have never been to Bristol and know very little about Colston. I did watch the series "A House Through Time " so the little I know comes from that.

Have to agree with Caroline about the money should be spent on education.

we must not forget the black tribes captured other black tribes then sold them as slaves to the traders


The slave trade is all history that should never be forgotten

Like the majority of people,I don't live in Bristol.

He was some bod on a plinth who symbolized the wealth made from the slave trade.

There used to be an Oliver Whitby school in Chichester and I am not really sure who he was.

Caroline

Exactly right.

The thing is toppling the statue hasn't changed anything really has it? We're suddenly changing street names etc here and to what end....spending far more doing that than educating people as to why these people wouldn't be acceptable in today's society. If we had loads of spare money just lying around fair enough but I'm pretty sure no country does.

Rollo has not mentioned the school (public) founded by Edward Colston in 1710.

Now known as Colston School it is investigating the possibility of changing its name.

Colston had a huge affect on Bristol. It is unlikely that it would be the place it is today without him.

I assure you Sharron that the late Edward Colston, born in Bristol was well known to most of the city's population. Other than his statue there are various roads (still) named after him while the large and magnificent concert hall was named after him until recently when it became "The Bristol Beacon" after a large scale update.

BBC2 "A House through time". #3 Bristol had quite a lot to say about Colston.

He has always been a controversial figure but as the city changed so much his support melted away. The police just stood and watched while his statue was dumped ino the Floating Harbour. Now it is in a city museum complete with red paint lol.


btw Bristol has a very distinct accent which adds an "l" before / after vowels.

I can see what the idea was behind toppling the statue of that slave trader,whose name I have forgotten, into Bristol docks but the fact that I can't now even remember his name must show how relevant the individual was.

I never knew the names of any of the black men and women who were so cruelly exploited by the slave trade any more than I knew his name.As an individual, he was just as anonymous to me.

His and similar statues were always, to me, a reminder of how that smug looking bastard was able to dress up like a bloody Christmas tree off the suffering of those he felt himself to be superior to. To enjoy a life of very evident luxury and un deserved power.

He could have been anybody. He was just symbolic of all we must be ashamed of and learn from.