So last week, the statue of a prominent slaver in Bristol was dumped in the river. There have been ongoing plans to remove the Statues of Confederate Generals from public buildings throughout the USA, and in recent days, a number of statues of Columbus, who "discovered" America (he didn't, he was just the first European to make a big noise about it) have also ended up in the sea.
Baden Powell in the UK has been taken down for his own protection (there are plans to do so anyway) as he was a huge supporter of many of Hitlers views, as well as the whole Boer War starving the native workers to feed the whites during the Seige of Mafeking thing.
Is it time to revisit our own history? As mentioned elsewhere there was some discussion about John Mitchell, United Irishman, who decided slavery was a great thing, after his escape from Van Demens Land. Some controversy too about the statue of Sean Russell(veteran of 1916) in Fairview park, who died aboard a Nazi U-Boat while en route to assist German spies in the Irish Free State, having been trained by Abwehr in Germany in the use of explosives in Sabotage.
Are any of our 1916 leaders free from modern Criticism? Thankfully, Sir Roger Casement has been redeemed somewhat in recent times from attempts to darken his name due to his sexual orientation. Belgium has removed the statue of King Leopold (who caused much suffering to the people of the Belgian Congo) and who came in for huge criticism from Casement.
Are there any other Irish Heroes who need to be airbrushed from history due to their actions not being compatible with modern standards of common decency?
Baden Powell in the UK has been taken down for his own protection (there are plans to do so anyway) as he was a huge supporter of many of Hitlers views, as well as the whole Boer War starving the native workers to feed the whites during the Seige of Mafeking thing.
Is it time to revisit our own history? As mentioned elsewhere there was some discussion about John Mitchell, United Irishman, who decided slavery was a great thing, after his escape from Van Demens Land. Some controversy too about the statue of Sean Russell(veteran of 1916) in Fairview park, who died aboard a Nazi U-Boat while en route to assist German spies in the Irish Free State, having been trained by Abwehr in Germany in the use of explosives in Sabotage.
Are any of our 1916 leaders free from modern Criticism? Thankfully, Sir Roger Casement has been redeemed somewhat in recent times from attempts to darken his name due to his sexual orientation. Belgium has removed the statue of King Leopold (who caused much suffering to the people of the Belgian Congo) and who came in for huge criticism from Casement.
Are there any other Irish Heroes who need to be airbrushed from history due to their actions not being compatible with modern standards of common decency?
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