Some photographs of the restored statues. pic.twitter.com/mRy7UfVUYQ
— Ronan McGreevy (@RMcGreevy1301) December 15, 2020
This morning.
Shelbourne Hotel, Dublin 2.
Finally.
Previously: Nubians Nobbled
Sponsored Link
Everything. As It Happens.
Must pop in for a ribena
The moment of madness that had these statues removed was a highlight of a daft 2020. Its up there with poor John Boyne, JK Rowling and all the other victims of the hysteria that wokeness and cancel culture has brought. Colm O Gorman and Tara Flynn have a lot to answer for with their bleating for compulsory kindness, regardless the cost to ANYONE.
JK Rowling dug her own grave years ago. It was only a matter of time before she suffered a fall from grace.
by saying men who identify as being women are not the same as ACTUAL WOMEN? if that’s a grave well she’s not alone in there
That’s not the point I’m making. She’s far from alone in her opinions.
JK Rowling is one of the most successful children’s authors, ever. That’s indisputable. However she has shown that she’s unable to take criticism of her most famous work, Harry Potter, as can be seen by her retroactively trying to add details about characters after the books have long since been published, like a coda to her completed work, to satisfy the criticisms of her fandom. It is so beloved by so many, with a worldwide fandom, and was very much a much beloved author, it may well be an understandable response to that kind of critique.
I think with this, it’s a similar thing. She has her opinions, has been vocal about them on twitter, to an audience of millions. And to me her reaction seems par for the course, when you look at how she has responded in the past to criticism of her work. Though in this case it is a criticism of her opinions, and of her as a person. And of course it’s not only coming from one person, nor is it private. This is many people on a very public stage responding negatively to her opinions. Which must be a difficult thing to take. What is more, many of the people now criticising her are people who were kids when Harry Potter came out, who grew up with Harry, and who idolised Rowling.
It is, for so many people, especially those who would have found a safe haven in the world of Harry Potter, very disappointing to find that the author they so idolised has beliefs that don’t align with theirs.
For what it’s worth, I think that if Rowling had not come out with the assault rebuttal (and I am in no way downplaying what happened to her) and doubled down on her opinions, she may have had a different outcome. If she had given the appearance, even, of listening to what so many people, many of whom would have been her fans, it might have made a difference of sorts. But I don’t know really.
John Boyne didn’t cover himself in glory either. ‘Victims of hysteria’ my neck. This whole incident is representative of that ‘hysteria’ all right – nobody said a word about those statues to prompt their removal.
Oh come on Nigel. You lot have sent us back Crucible times. Every day now has some public mortification of some poor soul (today its Stanley) for some thoughtcrime they committed against the new rules yourself and you cronies have been tossing around. And you know it. You have moved all discourse on civil rights and liberties back decades with your need to be relevant to issues you have no part in, and a saviour to those who don’t need your saving.
This is complete nonsense, of course. Social media has raised the pitch and volume of feedback and discussion on any subject, you’re just singling out backlash to racism, sexism, etc as being somehow unique and exceptional in that regard while ignoring the far, far worse and much more abusive and destructive discourse around other subjects. Civil rights are being pushed back by the right, by Trump and his supporters, and by Brexit and the Tories, and it has nothing to do with statues.
Sadly, people are turning to Boris and Trump for some relief from the enforced new orthodoxy, so the woke are causing much more harm than good. And to call it just an acceleration of existing mores by social media, I don’t agree. There have been periods such as Victorianism, Irish Catholicism of the 20th century, Calvinism etc, where a certain cohort of people pushed their morals on individuals and had extreme forms of shaming and punishment for those who failed the woke test. This has all the hallmarks of such a movement. A hysteria of insufferable superiority.
Nobody turned to Boris or Trump because of wokism, they just really hate people who don’t like racism, sexism etc and squeal about it a lot.
ah lovely
back where they belong
Welcome home girls
…never thought I’d hear myself say this…but, well played Michael McDowell…
In fairness, he hitched his post to go historians who highlighted the mistake first. Still cool though.
…fairplay to anyone concerned…I always loved those statues…to pick on them yet ignore something like the ‘Barak Obama Plaza’ which glorifies a living person who has reintroduced open slave markets in North Africa seems wrong…
I heard ‘Barak Obama’ cut the ribbon at the opening of the slave markets. Then he ordered drone strikes for everyone.
Thankfully Trump came along and cancelled all the drone strikes and the world has been at peace for the past four years.
He also freed the Mole Children from under Central Park, that poor, misunderstood, mistreated, seperating-families-and-losing-the-children-and-beating-the-men-and sterilising-women-at-the-border hero.
…nah…t’was crooked Hillary who willingly did all the dirty work in Libya…cuts and ribbons were involved though…
Really? Because you said it was ‘Barak Obama’. So if it was Clinton does that mean the plaza is in the clear?
Well, whoever started it, at least Trump sorted it all out.
…ah Bertie…I think you know what I mean…and don’t forget sleepy Joe…the third leg of the stool…so long in the shadow of boss Obama but now he has his finger on the button…Broadsheet could run a competition about how long it takes him to carry out his first regime change or start his first war…
Like I said before, it’s great that US military operations are bad again, now that Trump is on the way out.
…hardly bad again…but definitely worse if his past form is anything to go by…
Ignoring, as usual, that Trump increased the number of drone strikes. They’re only bad when Democrats order them, right?
…just worse under the Democrats, it seems…don’t think Trump initiated any new wars…but I suppose if you were in leg irons and neck braces in Tripoli, those nuances wouldn’t matter so much…six of one and half dozen of the other…
So even though Trump did more the ones by the Democrats were worse?
You know you can say that drone strikes are terrible no matter who orders them, right? Trump won’t send a drone after you for saying it and it makes you less of a hypocrite.
The same goes for the slave markets that continued to operate under Trump’s presidency. If you actually find them offensive then it’s not enough to only blame the president who was in office when they were set up. Trump has had 4 years to do something about them. Excusing his inaction exposes your obvious bias and shows that you care not about the slave markets and the associated human suffering but only about having a go at an ex-President.
…oh do pay attention Bertie…if you wish to butt in a long standing squabble between Nigel and me you should realize that the target of my vitriol is crooked Hillary…remember her…the one who wanted to call a drone strike to take out Assange in Central London…the one whose boast regarding Libya was: I came, I saw, he died.
I guess that’s the problem with airing a private feud in public. What means something to you makes you look a certain way to everyone else.
Yes, all the war done by the Republicans, but his target is Hilary. I don’t even defend Obama’s foreign policy – it was a bloody diaster – but the Republicans started the second Iraq War ffs.
Slaves or not, they don’t look to be happy holding those yokes up!