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Nelson Mandela statue in london

edited August 2007 in Not Sports Related
shutting Parliament Square for 6 hours whilst they put a statue of him there. Begs the question why the fuck do we have to have a statue of him in Parliament Square alongside Winston Churchill let alone why we have to have one of him AT ALL.

What's he ever done for this country ---

Sorry AFKA I know you don't like thse kind of posts but I want the left wing amongst us to tell me why this is necessary because I don't get it.
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Comments

  • He gave us Nelson Mandela House
  • there is one already outside the south bank. hardly a british hero. why unvail it on a week day why not sunday whoops politians do not give a shyte about the working people.
  • Cos he inspired a great record by the Special AKA.

    Cos he is a great parliamentarian who, unlike too many freedom fighters, didn't turn in a despot.

    There are plenty of statues and blue plaques to other foriengers in London (if you were a cabbie you'd know that ;- ) so it's just one more.


    Any way, you can sink this now AFKA before we get into the freedom fighter/terrorist arguement.
  • Ledge, why don't you raise your concerns through the Mayor of London's office?
  • He gave us the sight of politicians wearing absolutely dreadful shirts.
  • He was named after a block of flats in Only Fools and Horses. That two legends mentioned in one of the best sitcoms this country has ever produced. Him and Charlton Athletic.
  • edited August 2007
    i demand one of castro, che, gerry adams, martin mcguiness, ian paisley and the guy who went crazy with a gun in that church yard to make it fair and square. whoops i cant as im not a london tax payer lucky old me.
  • Ledge is entitled to his opinion, although I don't agree with him, but I have come round to AFKA's point of view that we should avoid politics on here as it only drives a wedge between people.

    I have been as guilty as anyone of ranting on about some political stuff on here but I have come to realise that its not the place for it and there are plenty of other right/left/centre political sites where they welcome that sort of debate.

    For mine, I am just more concerned that we might have the most violent pair of full-backs in history if we do bring in Mills!!!
  • [cite]Posted By: Off_it[/cite]He gave us the sight of politicians wearing absolutely dreadful shirts.

    When Desmond Tutu made a joke about his shirts Mandela said something like "and this is coming from a guy who wears a skirt"
  • I agree Ledge does seem a bit strange...
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  • Pointless waste of taxpayers money
  • yes it is strange, and it doesn't really belong here.

    But then again i don't understand why there are statues and monuments in London of George Washington, the Burghers of Calais, Dirce, Peter Pan, Handel, Mendellson, Bethoven, Mozart, Cleopatra, Eros for example.

    But there are, and i can't really see anything that is worth getting worked up about. More importaqnt things than fretting about a statue.
  • [cite]Posted By: AFKA Bartram[/cite]More importaqnt things than fretting about a statue.

    Like the spell checker not working ;-)
  • For what its worth, and without taking the political bait, I think that the fact that London has so many statues/commermorations of truly global historical figures shows that it is a genuine international city and, indeed, the capital of the world in many, many respects.

    London is an instinctively outward looking city that has always welcomed outsiders and been aware of its place as one of history's most important cities because of the range of people that it has attracted.

    Looking back through history you see that George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, Karl Marx, Frederic Engels and, more recently, Nelson Mandela have all spent time in and been moulded by this truly incredible place and its history and there are probably lots more that I have not mentioned.

    It would be laughable to put a statue or other commemoration of any of the above people here in Brisbane or even somewhere more substantial because those places don't have the history to justify it, but London does.

    You are probably already aware, but in case you were not, London was where the African National Congress based itself in exile during the apartheid years and Mandela and other senior ANC leaders said that the assistance they received from Londoners during those years would never be forgotten and played a crucial role in sustaining the anti-apartheid movement.

    So, the statue to Mandela symbolises not only the admiration and love that many people have for Mandela but also the significant role that London played in helping to end the vile years of apartheid while Mandela was imprisoned as well as being another example of the crucial role that London and its people have played through so many periods of human history.

    Incidentally, should anyone doubt the love that many Londoners have for "Madiba" then they only had to go to Trafalgar Square back in July 1996 when an estimayed 35,000 people turned up to hear him deliver a speech on a Friday morning thanking the city for its support during the apartheid years. I was privileged to be there and will never ever forget that incredible day.
  • Well said Ormiston. London is an international city and if we can have statues of traitors like George Washington then why not Mandela.

    Never been one of those that "love" Mandela but respect the fact that he walked away from power and sort to promote democracy and reconciliation rather than take revenge.

    With all our South African links do you think he is a Charlton fan?
  • I didn't know that Ormiston. In which case it doesn't seem quite so strange!
  • Ledge, I am more left than right politics wise, and descendents of the miners shot on Churchill's orders might have a problem with his statue being there too. Although the closing of roads for six hours is just a tool for you to have a dig at the left, it's the disruption on a weekday that bothers me most, how utterly moronic to do it midweek, two days after we had a three day weekend when it would have caused far less disruption. If your problem really is with the road closures, then as medders says, get on to the people responsible, and let us know what they say.
  • edited August 2007
    [cite]Posted By: Gump[/cite]I demand a statue of Stalin in Trafalger Square.

    I disagree. He was a vile dictator who murdered millions of his own people.

    However his Red Army did run the fascists all the way from the Volga to the Rhine
  • edited August 2007
    [cite]Posted By: AFKA Bartram[/cite]yes it is strange, and it doesn't really belong here.

    But then again i don't understand why there are statues and monuments in London of George Washington, the Burghers of Calais, Dirce, Peter Pan, Handel, Mendellson, Bethoven, Mozart, Cleopatra, Eros for example.

    But there are, and i can't really see anything that is worth getting worked up about. More importaqnt things than fretting about a statue.

    yeah point taken - i am not getting worked up about it just don't understand why. Granted have a statue of the bloke but not in Parliament Square.


    [cite]Posted By: Medders[/cite]Ledge, why don't you raise your concerns through the Mayor of London's office?

    Because Ken doesn't care about white people's views Medders.
  • edited August 2007
    [cite]Posted By: Medders[/cite]Ledge, why don't you raise your concerns through the Mayor of London's office?
    [cite]Posted By: LedgeKnows[/cite]Because Ken doesn't care about white people's views Medders.

    By all means have a rant, but at least rant at the people who make the decision on these kind of things...
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  • I just told you it's pointless because I am white and Ken doesn't like white people unless you are an Irish terrorist
  • [cite]Posted By: AFKA Bartram[/cite]yes it is strange, and it doesn't really belong here.

    But then again i don't understand why there are statues and monuments in London of Peter Pan, for example.

    But there are, and i can't really see anything that is worth getting worked up about. More important things than fretting about a statue.

    YOU LEAVE CLIFF RICHARD OUT OF THIS SON!
  • crap comment Arthur.

    Was a decent debate about mandela but then retreats back to the anti-white stuff.

    I'm not going to say it any more times, this is not the place for it. I'm sure there are plenty of other places where you can have these moans, but a football site isn't one, and this one in particular.

    Not going to say again.
  • The bloke was instrumental in bringing down apartheid (regardless of whether one considers him a "terrorist" or a "freedom fighter"). In the eyes of black and coloured people throughout the world (to use South African terminology) that achievement makes him a very special person.

    There are a lot of British Blacks and Asians so it is only right and proper that somebody they see as an iconic figure should be properly recognised and a statue in Parliament Square seems appropiate enough to me.

    I would be more inclined to take issue with (usually) left wing councils who have undermined British History by renaming TRADITIONAL landmarks Nelson Mandela Park, Nelson Mandela Road etc, etc. I have no problem with NEW landmarks being named after him at all for the reasons given above but why does traditional British predominantly white history have to be airbrushed out of existence?
  • [cite]Posted By: Ledge Knows[/cite]I just told you it's pointless because I am white and Ken doesn't like white people unless you are an Irish terrorist

    that's BS, and this is my last comment on this thread
  • Are there any modern British people that should get a statue?
  • How about Kieron Dyer!
  • [cite]Posted By: Sco[/cite]Are there any modern British people that should get a statue?

    Maggie Thatcher, Tony Blair, Red Ken himself....
  • Stephen Fry
  • Oliver Postgate
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