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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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.
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!!!
When Desmond Tutu made a joke about his shirts Mandela said something like "and this is coming from a guy who wears a skirt"
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.
Like the spell checker not working ;-)
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.
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 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
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.
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...
YOU LEAVE CLIFF RICHARD OUT OF THIS SON!
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.
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?
that's BS, and this is my last comment on this thread
Maggie Thatcher, Tony Blair, Red Ken himself....