I had not heard of Stone Mountain. The regime destroys the monument as a:
"...symbol of oppression..." (p. 94)
History should be preserved. In Britain, a crowd pulled down a statue of a slave trader and threw it into Bristol Harbour. The statue was rightly recovered and is now exhibited in a museum in its graffitied state. A jury found four people who had pulled it down not guilty of criminal damage. A new plaque on the now empty plinth tells the story. We live history and make it.
The narrator was a member of the Stephen Decatur Society. Here, more than ever, Poul Anderson's knowledge of history informs his futuristic sf. Remember the short story called "Marius." Another almost forgotten short story that I had approached with misgivings yields far more than expected.
6 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
If I had been on that jury I would have voted to convict the vandals. Besides prison time they should have been ordered to pay for all needed repairs/cleaning of the statue.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
It was right to throw a statue of a slave trader described as a "benefactor" to the city into the sea. The history is complete now that the plinth is empty and the defaced statue is not in the bay but in a museum with a full explanation of what happened.
Paul.
Until historically quite recently, slavery was a universal human institution. For example, at the time of Domesday Book, 14% of the population of England were chattel slaves.
Kaor, Paul!
I don't care! Those vandals were still criminals. Imprison them and order them to pay for the repairs. I'm sick of pampering thugs.
As for slavery, keep in mind what Stirling said. EVERYONE has slaves or slave trafficking ancestors. Including the blacks in Africa who happily sold slaves to all who wanted them.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
Everyone did and now we all turn against it.
Lancaster Quakers have to acknowledge that some of their then members were involved in the slave trade.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Incorrect, not all have turned against slavery. Some Muslims are reviving slavery. And trafficking in slaves kidnapped from Nigeria or Sudan. And we have sex/child slave trafficking.
The Quakers you mentioned have no reason to feel guilty. They did not traffic in slaves. They were not guilty of what was done 200/300 years ago.
Ad astra! Sean
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