Letters..

It’s all in the past

RE the pulling down of statues and the call to change signs for streets named after people who were “slavers”, this was part of history.

It might not be a pleasant period in history for many but altering a few names or pulling down statues is not going to change what happened. Marlene Gibson

History lessons

A STATUE is erected by those of the time, or later, to remember someone or some event. It is part of history.

The same can be said of paintings, street names, building and park names – even family names. It is all part of history. History is an interpretation of events/people/places by writers/artists through the years and produces different results or emphasis.

History is being created today and every day, and will be subject to the same writings now and in the future.

History should be living, not a dusty bit of teaching and it should be open to challenge of previous works and interpretation.

Where appropriate, additions can be made to reflect society’s changes. In the case of statues and even paintings, plaques can be added to bring matters up to date.

History is the past and whether we like it or not, forms part of our past – it cannot and should not be just rubbed out.

Taught correctly and not just fact-based but as a discussion, and not biased by a teacher/ lecturer, it can form an important part of creating a society which ignores skin or race and treats all people as people. Peter, Dunbartonshire