They can’t get down to All Saints on Corn Street quick enough on a wet and windy October morning to worship the remnants of the great man’s toenails.
But it seems Bristol’s Edward Colston loving Tories aren’t quite so keen to get down to the Commonwealth Museum this Friday and explain to the city’s black community what they think is so great about this slave trading, profiteering scumbag.
For it seems that a proposed debate supposed to be taking place at the British Empire & Commonwealth Museum on Friday to consider whether Edward Colston should be considered a hero for his philanthropy or a villain because of his involvement in the slave trade may have to be cancelled because nobody is prepared to publically defend Colston’s reputation in front of a largely black audience.
Certainly Bristol Tory boss Bunter Eddy doesn’t want to do it despite being happy to blather down the telephone to the Evening Cancer from the safety of mummy’s Headley Park semi that: “Colston was a great Bristolian who made an immense and continuing contribution to our city and we should not “airbrush” him out of history.”
Neither does big Colston fan Business West boss John Savage want to do it. The deluded Tory loon – who greets visitors to Business West’s HQ at Leigh Court Mansion by booming “welcome to my home”at them – and influential Merchant Venturer with well-known ambitions to be the city’s first elected mayor has also been invited to speak but bravely hasn’t bothered responding at all.
Presumably ignorant toff Dennis Burn, the Master of The Society of Merchant Venturers, who appeared in a televised debate on Bristol’s role in the slave trade back in March is barred from any further public appearances after making a prize ass of himself by telling black people in the audience they were welcome to come begging to his multi-million pound organisation for cash for youth projects if they wanted.
That just leaves Nick Hood. He’s at a loose end these days isn’t he? Perhaps he could do it? He could also tell us what he’s done with all that cash he made through his lucrative directorships of Enron subsidaries couldn’t he?
(Cartoon by Evelyn Post. Evelyn Post is The Bristol Blogger’s resident cartoonist. He has a woman’s name)
FFS! He made a lot of money from slavery. He gave some of it away to charity. He’s been dead for ages. Why can’t people get over it? He’s not worth sucking up to, nor is he in any top 100 fleabags list.
Jozer – As a descendent of enslaved Africans it is not so easy to simply “get over it”. I don’t think street names should be changed, but it is upsetting to know that large sections of the city I am now bringing up my children in are still hero worshipping a slave trader. What is the point of education and insight if it doesn’t change things for the better?
Yes that was then and this is now, but denial and excuses of past ills doesn’t make the present day any healthier. The stubborn refusal to change the name of the re-vamped Colston Hall is a stark reminder of that. The relaunch of that building is the city’s opportunity to prove that the values of yester-year are not those of today. But as it stands, the good Colston did for a few people are embraced and the bad he did to many others ignored.
Whenever I see the Colston statue (which I don’t think should be removed, but re-plaqued to educate), I know it’s not so easy to “move on” and “get over it”. If it was that easy the statue would have been officially removed long ago.
One rule for one and one rule for the other it seems.
‘… the Colston statue (which I don’t think should be removed, but re-plaqued to educate).’
I like this idea – good one Shawn!!