Owen Peter Jones is a British left-wing newspaper columnist, political commentator, journalist, and Labour Party activist. He writes a column for The Guardian and contributes to the New Statesman and Tribune. - Wikipedia
“British exceptionalism likes to portray the country as a historic oasis of liberty...The demands to remove statues...directly contradict this myth...Our new history teachers are explaining that the vast wealth of western societies – unjustly concentrated in so few hands as it is – was generated through slavery, colonial violence and theft. This oppression required the dehumanisation of the populations who suffered the consequences – its legacy is the embedding of racism in institutions and entire societies...What we are witnessing are minorities battling for rights and dignity they have long been denied – and a weaponised backlash from the right against their progress.”
“Our sense of self is bound up with our interpretation of history; that is what makes this struggle uncomfortable for so many. But it is not supposed to be comfortable. As more statues fall, a new history is remembered – each one casting a disturbing new light on the present. Understanding this threatens our iniquitous status quo – that is what detractors truly fear, not the toppling of bygone racist tyrants.”