The loudest and most strident voices drown out the wiser ones
THANKFULLY the planned rally at the Colston statue plinth of far right groups protesting against attacks on statues was called off, and the predictable counter protest by their left wing counterparts only attracted around 100 people on Saturday.
Unfortunately, right vs left like this just reinforces the simplistic and dimwitted view that everyone is either a supporter of Colston or is against him, well illustrated by another of those ‘good riddance to Colston’ type letters which appeared here recently.
This absurd ‘culture war’ obsession insults the intelligence of the many Bristolians with no political axe to grind who just want Bristol’s history, both good and bad, told honestly and openly. This nearly happened in early 2019 when the council was due to add a second plaque to the statue (this was before the toppling in 2020) with wording agreed after lengthy discussions with members of the public, including myself.
Anyone could comment on this plan (the responses were overwhelmingly in favour), planning permission for the plaque was gained and the plaque cast... but unfortunately it was blocked at the last moment by mayor Marvin Rees, who called for a rewording and insulted members of the public, including myself, who had contributed to the discussions on the wording!
Since then, the promised reworded plaque never happened but the toppling did and a relentless dumbing down of the history and corresponding indoctrination went into overdrive, culminating in an error-strewn display of the damaged and defaced statue and correspondingly flawed survey into the future of the statue. The ridiculous acquittal of the Colston 4 and predictable survey results illustrate the saying ‘rubbish in, rubbish out.’
In time, the ‘Countering Colston’ cult will be seen as just an ill-conceived and ill-judged hiatus in how Bristol’s history, both good and bad, is told honestly and openly.
Maybe it will be seen as an example of how the loudest and most strident voices, amplified by the use of social media, were allowed to drown out the wiser.
Perhaps another positive of the calling off of this rally is the planned police presence can be redeployed to counter the vandalism and arson which is increasingly blighting our city?
Julian Hill Knowle