There was a time in history when the Churchill statue was a sign of patriotism. Overtime what qualifies as ‘patriotism’ is now interchangeable for ‘racism’.
Back in the 1940s, they did not have access to the full story as the media was filled with war propaganda. This was important for keeping up morale following the economic damage of World War II.
In 2020 technology has advanced further than society’s racial beliefs. Making it clearer that mainstream media is censoring the truth in order to preserve certain “British” values during this pandemic. Leading them to manipulate the narrative of the Black Lives Matter protests.
The peaceful protesters are being villainized as headlines place them at the centre of responsibility for the second peak and are being created to look like an aggressive mob. Whereas, the actual aggressive white/all lives matter rioters are being labelled ‘defenders’. If they were ‘defending’ their beloved statues then why were they using it as a toilet?
Image from Twitter user @TommyBr44380116 - Anti-BLM protesters that were preaching about Churchill’s leadership doing the nazi gesture at protests.
The education system we grew up in has brainwashed us into believing that Churchill was the sole reason for the end of the war. However, Churchill did NOT kill Hitler, he committed suicide. Hitler died yet the war continued.
The true end of the war was the fear of an atomic war. The atomic bomb was created by a British scientist. Not only that, but the British supported the US dropping the bomb on Japan, wiping out generations. Innocent lives taken as the bomb dropped in Hiroshima was dropped on a nursery filled with children.
So to claim that Churchill won the war is a weak argument. The war was never won, it ended out of fear.
The lack of education is evident in the set 8 mentality of a lot of these privileged white people expressing their views on social media, for example, boxer Tyson Fury tweeted this:
How can you be critical of the current PM when his racist bias is equivalent to Churchill? Churchill believed in racial hierarchies and eugenics. He killed 3 million Indians and enforced segregation in the army (D, Reynolds :1985):
‘...the treatment of the black soldiers who were in Britain as members of the US Army's expeditionary force. The American policy was to segregate them as much as possible from white troops. The Cabinet had now to make up its mind about a War Office proposal that British troops should be encouraged to adopt a similar attitude to the black GIs. The issue, bluntly stated, was whether the British Government should approve a discreet colour bar.’
Following the end of the war, black soldiers were treated indifferently to life before the war, leading us to where we are today. Century-old ideologies are being kept alive by the government and ‘patriots’.
As a history student, I can see both sides of the argument, but I know which side is holding the valid closing statement. Removing the statues of racist leaders is a step forward to demolishing white supremacy.
We should not be celebrating a racist that got away with everything Hitler did just because we want to be ‘patriotic’.
Also, it is evident from the actions of the government and racists that they have one agenda, to preserve white supremacy.
Take down the statues and replace them with the truth.
References:
Reynolds, D. (1985). The Churchill Government and the Black American Troops in Britain during World War II. Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, 35, 113-133. doi:10.2307/3679179
Petitions to sign:
Teach Britain's colonial past as part of the UK's compulsory curriculum
Enact The Dana Fletcher Bill, making body cam footage PUBLIC RECORD
OUTSIDE INVESTIGATION INTO THE OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTING OF ERIC JACK LOGAN
A harsher sentence for a former first grade teacher who molested first graders
Make racially motivated crime an act of terror and declare hate groups terrorist
Justice for James Scurlock, killed by Omaha racist during George Floyd protest
Justice for 1 Year Old Katera Jenkins Barker who was killed by white adoptive dad
Put the Minneapolis police officers who killed George Floyd in prison
Make Juneteenth a Federal Holiday to commemorate end of slavery in the USA.
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