The constitution and laws of the United States of America state that ‘the first duty of government is to ensure domestic tranquillity and defend the life, property, and rights of its citizens’. But how exactly does the government plan to follow these rules if police are defending their ‘precious monuments’ over its citizens? I get it. Statues are meant to teach us about the past - our history. But not all statues always disclose the absolute truth… Sure, they are symbolic representations of different victories or historical figures but are they really worth more than someone’s life?
Throughout social media, there have been widespread calls to remove ‘racist’ monuments of invaders. In the UK, the statue of Winston Churchill was daubed with the words “was racist”. Here in Australia, on Montefiore Hill in the North of Adelaide, a statue of a colonial figure of Colonel William Light was vandalised for the second time. It was tagged with the phrase ‘no pride in genocide… death to Australia’ in red at the base. His statue wasn’t the only one that has been targeted. In Sydney, Captain James Cook’s statue, the ‘founder’ of Australia, was defaced as well on the 14th of June saying “change the date”. Gladys Berejiklian - NSW Premier, spoke out saying that she may have to consider tightening laws to protect monuments and prevent future attacks. She stated that:
“It’s only a very very small percentage of the population that’s engaging in this activity...we think it’s disrespectful, it’s unaustralian…”.
As of right now, penalties for damage to monuments (this includes graffiti) includes having to pay fines which could range from $440 to $2,200 or even imprisonment.
Naturally, the police were quick to respond and took the effort to guard the monuments. A tweet by @PeterWMurphy1 read:
‘So, if you’re a woman with children suffering #DomesticViolence, the NSW Police will take a statement and file a report. But if you’re a 140yo statue of an English explorer, they’re out in force to protect you! #priorities #JamesCook #HydePark #BlackLivesMatterAustralia’
Another tweet by @TheAviator1992 wrote:
‘Hey, police you’re supposed to be protecting PEOPLE, not the statues of history’s best-known racists! #JamesCook #BlackLivesMatter’
Of course, it would only be right that this riled up thousands of people. You don’t even need to think about this twice. The fact that the police are doing this endorses the notion of white supremacy. Law enforcement is defending their white ancestors rather than taking care of their current citizens. In the eyes of the oppressed minorities, these statues represent thousands of years of discrimination and slavery.
If the police are responsible for protecting and preventing outbreaks of violence, then can someone please explain to me why we have riots on the streets? During a number of Black Lives Matter protests, law enforcement officers have violated human rights instead of respecting the right to peaceful protests. These acts included violent beatings amongst hundreds of innocent protestors, tear gases and unnecessary firings of less-lethal weapons - such as rubber bullets. As a result, people have been severely injured and loved ones have been lost. But of course, this shouldn’t be any new news to you. One might argue; “but the reason why police are doing this is that the riots have led to the deaths of government officials and business owners who are just defending their property”. But the thing is, this IS the outcome of police trying to stabilize crowds of people through violence and mob intimidation.
Do you see the underlying issue here? When it comes to historical monuments, without hesitation, the police are ready to defend and take care of them - even if these statues are of people who were deemed as racists and had a link towards slavery. But when it comes to people fighting about their rights, beliefs - they’re quick to attack. Please, for the sake of everyone, get your priorities in check.
Written by: Shantelle Balakid
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