On Statues

I would like to state that I do not like or condone slavery any more than colonialism or racism. I try to understand the anger and emotion that has come to surface recently, triggered by the terrible murder of George Floyd, but being a white guy I need to be humble and reserved on the topic. I particularly liked Philip Olagunju’s video on the topic: https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/activity-6676084006058000384-0ve1

I now read that councils, political parties and no doubt other organisations in the UK are preparing long lists of statues to be removed – statues of those associated with the slave trade, of objectors to attempted abolition of it and/or those champions of colonialism. I grew up in Hungary but even to me, many of the names on the lists are famed names of UK history.

Equally, I am neither a town planner nor a historian and I am not even sure I know why we have public statues of historical figures at all. Alas, they are there and now there appears to be a rush to remove many. I believe there must be a better way for a country – any country – to reckon with its past: here are my challenges.

It is an emotional response to deep seated issues. When was the last time I made a good decision based on emotion? I understand statues may project values and tearing down one or two may happen in the tumult of a crowd driven by emotion. But is emotion the best guide for a more longer-term solution to the problems that we now associate with these individuals? I don’t think so.

It is also a superficial patch (however good it may feel symbolically). Removing statues is one thing but that will not change continually existing, deep seated beliefs or behaviours. Maybe we should consider how we can arrive at a more balanced assessment of our leading figures and how we can have a measured discourse on history, how we want to teach future generations on history’s prominent figures and how we more fundamentally address the injustices that still prevail today – always remembering that we project our values and norms of today on individuals and events of the past.

Lastly, we need to have a democratic debate on whose statues we should remove and whose we should keep – we should be able to identify the good deeds of history’s famed alongside their abhorrent or despicable ones and come to a reasoned conclusion on who is worthy to be commemorated in this way. Winston Churchill was a believer in the colonialist British Empire yet his positive role in the second world war is undeniable (and one of his statues is now also on one of those lists) – surely he is worthy on balance. We may come to different conclusions on others.

It is only in novels and movies that characters are uniquely good or bad – real life is most often more complex than that! Let’s recognise that, let’s review history, let’s do it well!