Blovertis
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So long Alexander Wood, it was nice knowing you.
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Church-Wellesley Village
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What??
deerparker
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From the BIA’s website ^
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One does not rewrite history or pretend it is not there, you explain, apologise and try to make amends. https://www.blogto.com/city/2022/04...toronto-removed-and-destroyed-without-notice/
TheSix
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It was the right thing to do.
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I would say that it was a lost opportunity to EXPLAIN the past and not simply put unwanted facts into a dumpster and hope nobody notices. Wood was active in a volunteer society - under the patronage of the Anglican Church and with many (other) prominent citizens - that tried to 'civilise the natives' and convert them to christianity. He was far from alone in this kind of activity (and it continues today in other societies/countries) and is clearly an idea put forward by those who think they are somehow 'superior'. Wood (or, at least, this aspect of his life) should NOT be celebrated but he is part of our past and it would have been far better we learned from him and the ideas he promoted and did not pretend he (and they) did not exist.
TheSix
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For some people pictures (or statues) are better than 1000 words and I was not saying that Wood's statue should have remained where it was, only that destroying it was/is a lost opportunity to use it as an educational tool.
TheSix
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You have a great point on this, but I think we just have a different way of looking how we can learn from this.
This is a great opinion piece on why ALL statues should come down. "Statues do not just fail to teach us about the past, or give a misleading idea about particular people or particular historical events – they also skew how we understand history itself."
Side note, books also have pictures and there is also the internet, which is arguably a better and more accessible teaching tool over problematic statues tied to pain. IMO, I'd rather save the valuable space these statues would take up (in museums or public spaces) for powerful art that leverages the very communities that these statues hurt.
ARB
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Saw today that the Pizza Pizza at Church & Wellesley has the windows papered up and a sign saying they're closed for renovations.
Mystic Point
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Mystic Point
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A very thoughtful piece that reminds us how dangerous and foolish it is to judge our 'ancestors' with the eyes and opinions of today. Wood probably did not 'deserve' a statue a decade ago but his story is important to remember and, as the statue existed, it should have been retained and explained. Throwing his statue (and memory) into a dumpster does not remove him from our past; keeping it (somewhere) and using it to educate would have been a mature reaction to the (rather belated) realisation that he was a man of his time - and one who may, or may not, have been gay.
dt_toronto_geek
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It’s still being worked on. Presumably they’ll be ready for Pride week.
Mystic Point
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Gay Queer divide. Gay is a cop-out. Queer is about transforming the society and squashing capitalism. It’s about bringing down Whiteness. Queers use the pursuit of equity as a battering ramp, Trojan horse, hidden within is a Marxist Post-Modernist agenda.