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What is the intellectual framing of the UK statues debate? What is the intellectual framing of the UK statues debate?
"Taking the statues down is an 'iconoclasm of the Woke!'" "Taking the statues down is an 'iconoclasm of the Woke!'"
"Taking down the statues redresses protracted injustice" "Taking down the statues redresses protracted injustice"
"This crisis is an attack on the state!" "This crisis is an attack on the state!"
"We should re-imagine what these statues stand for!" "We should re-imagine what these statues stand for!"
We are witnessing a revolution against Western civilisation We are witnessing a revolution against Western civilisation
Toppling statues represents a juvenile understanding of history Toppling statues represents a juvenile understanding of history
This is a racist attack on the UK's helpless white majority This is a racist attack on the UK's helpless white majority
The statues crisis typifies the rising tide of cancel culture The statues crisis typifies the rising tide of cancel culture
This is the latest battleground in the West's desperate fight for moral authority This is the latest battleground in the West's desperate fight for moral authority
The fight against injustice should focus on changing the present The fight against injustice should focus on changing the present
The crisis forces us to confront the scourge of racism The crisis forces us to confront the scourge of racism
Statues should not distract us from the real issue at hand Statues should not distract us from the real issue at hand
Statues do not offer opportunity for nuanced debate Statues do not offer opportunity for nuanced debate
We are experiencing a long overdue political resistance We are experiencing a long overdue political resistance
The toppling of statues is an aggressive attack from liberal imperialism The toppling of statues is an aggressive attack from liberal imperialism
The crisis is an affront to the British values we hold dear The crisis is an affront to the British values we hold dear
Vandalism is art Vandalism is art
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What is the intellectual framing of the UK statues debate?
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"Taking down the statues redresses protracted injustice"

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Statues do not offer opportunity for nuanced debate

Statues cannot give a fair look into the past - they are artwork. We cannot imagine which aspects of a person's life these monuments celebrate. If they're public, any exercise to change its role is futile. Removal of these statues is easier than expecting a politicised shift in the national psyche.
Dean Urdahl Marvin Rees
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The Argument

People often see statues as a way to celebrate, reminiscence, and discuss historically significant people.[1] However, public statues of controversial figures – such as the British slave trader Edward Colston – lack the opportunity to discuss a person’s more substantial role in society, culture, politics, economics, history, and numerous other topics. Descriptions on statues are almost always brief, often one hundred and fifty words or less.[2] This concise of a statement does not give the reader a greater context, nor does it allow for multiple points of view. Instead, statues ought to be removed from their public domain and placed into museums and universities where curators and experts in the field can offer onlookers the opportunity for a nuanced debate about the statue.[3]

Counter arguments

When it comes to statues, context matters; statues represent an excellent way of conveying the context of a specific time and place. Rather than removing statues, we should add more around the ones that are already erected to strengthen the background and add perspective. Statues, if given the correct context, offer the opportunity for people to learn from our past.[4]

Proponents

Premises

Rejecting the premises

References

  1. https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/52965665
  2. https://carmandufferinheritage.ca/pdfs/Writing%20an%20Effective%20Plaque%20Inscription.pdf
  3. https://www.startribune.com/statues-facts-of-history-don-t-change-but-we-do/571276452/?refresh=true
  4. https://www.npr.org/2020/07/02/886503966/push-to-remove-confederate-monuments-opens-debate-on-other-honored-historical-fi
This page was last edited on Tuesday, 15 Sep 2020 at 00:16 UTC

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