The Packet
Controversial commemorations. Minor moment?
The title of the article “The Mighty Have Fallen” in the June-July 2019 issue creates the wrong impression. Removing statues does not erase historical figures and their deeds from history. They live on in other sources. If a statue and accompanying plaque convey a seriously deficient conception of the past, historical revisionism must take place to remedy the imperfections. Historical revisionism has been anathema to some, but in itself it is a beneficial thing in appropriate circumstances — presuming there is no hidden agenda to distort the facts (for example, Holocaust naysayers).
The end goal must not be to obliterate what these objects represent. Rather, where appropriate, it must be to challenge past orthodoxies and to construct a more factual history based on a conscientious analysis of new or existing evidence. In our view, controversial statues and plaques should not be consigned to the rubbish heap, except in egregious circumstances. If necessary, a plaque with current facts should be placed adjacent to them, or, if the existing site is offensive to many, they should be moved to a more innocuous location.
George and Terry Goulet Sechelt, British Columbia