We Have Problems. Tearing Down Statues Won't Solve Them,

We Have Problems. Tearing Down Statues Won't Solve Them,
Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP)
Earl
ier this week, a group of protesters involved in Black Lives Matter demonstrations spray-painted a statue of Winston Churchill in historic Parliament Square, adding the words "was a racist" under Churchill's name. As critics of Churchill are quick to remind us, the former British prime minister supported the use of chemical weapons against rebellious Kurds and Afghans (though whether he advocated for the use of lethal gas is a subject of historical dispute). Churchill also supported Britain's colonial grip over the Indian subcontinent. When Mohandas Gandhi began his series of hunger strikes in protest of British rule, Churchill's casually morbid reply sounded like something you'd hear from an action-movie villain: "We should be rid of a bad man and an enemy of the Empire if he died." Yet even Gandhi no longer gets a pass, apparently. In Washington, D.C., which also has witnessed protests, vandals defaced a Gandhi statue outside the Indian embassy. The motivations aren't clear, but it's believed they relate to Gandhi's prejudiced views toward black Africans during his time as a South … Read Full Article »


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