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Re-Defacing of NELSON Statue in Bridgetown

Submitted by David Comissiong, President, Clement Payne Movement of Barbados Dear Sir / Madam, I wish to remind Barbadians that it is not only the usual Afrocentric activists such as Trevor Marshall, Anthony “Mighty Gabby” Carter, Sir Hilary Beckles and David Comissiong who have been persistently calling for the removal of the Lord Nelson statue…

,
Submitted by David Comissiong, President, Clement Payne Movement of Barbados
Nelson statue defaced on the eve of Independence Day.
The person left a message.

Dear Sir / Madam,

I wish to remind Barbadians that it is not only the usual Afrocentric activists such as Trevor Marshall, Anthony “Mighty Gabby” Carter, Sir Hilary Beckles and David Comissiong who have been persistently calling for the removal of the Lord Nelson statue from its central and prestigious location in our capital city of Bridgetown.

In the year 1999 the then Barbados Government established a governmental “National Heroes Square and Gallery Development Committee” to consider and decide upon this issue of the correct location of the Nelson statue (among other issues).

I was a member of that National Committee.

The Committee held three Town Hall meeting on the issue and also solicited and received scores of written submissions from the people of Barbados.

In May 2000 the Committee issued its Report and recommended the REMOVAL and RELOCATION of the Nelson statue to one of two possible alternative locations.

The Committee also recommended that the statue be immediately taken down and kept in storage pending its relocation, lest it provoke “public controversy.” (See page 15 of the Report)

Membership of the Committee consisted of several very eminent and qualified Barbadians.

Sadly and regrettably the Recommendation of the Committee on the Nelson Statue has never been implemented.

I say that it is never too late to do the right thing, and hereby Call upon the present Government to take immediate steps to implement the recommendation of this National Committee by removing the Nelson Statue from its current prominent location in the heart of our capital city.

PLEASE  FIND  THE  RELEVANT  EXTRACT  OF  THE  REPORT  ATTACHED  HERETO.

233 responses to “Re-Defacing of NELSON Statue in Bridgetown”

  1. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    @ Dribbler
    Can you see any difference between being a conformist to fundamental long term algorithms ….as against conforming to short term brass bowlery?

    BTW
    Are you sure that ‘axiom’ and ‘axiomatism’ are synonymous terms?

    @ GP
    Why is it not true?
    You certainly got what you deserve…
    LOL
    ha ha ha

  2. Well Well & Cut N' Paste At Your Service Avatar
    Well Well & Cut N’ Paste At Your Service

    White is not a race nor a culture John…..it is a diseased state of mind….an ideology only….

    …….if Europeans had identified themselves as what they really are CaucASIANS…yes, that is what they are ASIANS from the CAUCUS mountains……

    ….instead of the bullshit fraud they have pulled on the earth for the last 500 years….most of them would not now be so very UNHAPPY…..

    ,…..that is because they wasted centuries trying to make BLACK people feel unhappy being natural and whole.

    So just remember who is taking all the:

    Xanax
    sertraline (Zoloft)
    fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem)
    citalopram (Celexa)
    escitalopram (Lexapro)
    paroxetine (Paxil, Pexeva, Brisdelle)
    fluvoxamine (Luvox)

    It is not Black people….yall crashed already.

  3. John Avatar
    John

    THIS IS CERTAINLY CONTRARY TO THE CONCEPT OF GRACE
    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Start in St. Andrew at “The CHOYCE”.

    Then follow the Christian values indelibly etched all around our country, left for us by our Quaker ancestors.

    Make the CHOYCE,
    exercise your PREROGATIVE,
    believe on the ROCK
    and you will gain the HOPE in the Resurrection.

    You will experience a CONTENT beyond description
    and work together in HARMONY and FRIENDSHIP.

    We have talked at length about the UNION that has resulted in most of us being of mixed ancestry.

    So, in addition to being able to self identify as black or white, most of us can also claim descent from some very remarkable people, Quakers!!

  4. Georgie Porgie Avatar
    Georgie Porgie

    Why is it not true?
    You certainly got what you deserve…

    WE DONT GET WHAT WE DESERVE BECAUSE CHRIST DIED FOR SINNERS

    YOU SAY YOU KNOW “BBE” AND PRETEND YOU KNOW THE WORD

    THAT WE DONT GET WHAT WE DESERVE IS VERY VERY BASIC

    sEE COLLOSIANS 2: 13-15
    13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
    14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
    15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

    2 COR 5:21

    21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

    HEBREWS 9:28
    28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

  5. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    Dr. Simple Simon Phd. December 2, 2017 at 12:07 AM #

    Do you believe in the gospel?

  6. ac Avatar
    ac

    Wow! It is the time of the year when GP would be exposing his bovine excrement on the virgin birth
    Still awaiting biological proof

  7. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    @ GP
    Choose your weapons.

    Are you sure that you want to go down the ‘scripture road’ with Bushie on this…

    No point in arguing advanced concepts when the basics are flawed.
    LOL….That is like trying to teach Stinkliar to balance a budget – when the poor fella is still fighting with decimals…

    Remember last time Bushie used the VERY BASIC parables and the Trinity… to illustrate that there are MANY things which you do not understand… and CANNOT …without supernatural senses.

    Why not let us just argue this one on pure face value.

    In order to argue that Bushie is wrong about “everyone ALWAYS getting what they deserve”, we would first have to establish WHAT each person ‘deserves’ … or at the very least, .. WHO DETERMINES THIS.

    Obviously what YOU think Bushie deserves; what Bushie thinks Bushie deserves; and what ac thinks Bushie deserves ….will be all different.

    On what basis, therefore, can you say that Bushie will not always get what he deserves?
    Perhaps the REAL question you may want to throw at Bushie is ‘WHO determines what we deserve?”

  8. Georgie Porgie Avatar
    Georgie Porgie

    GOD DETERMINES WHAT WE DESERVE.

    EVEN SUNDAY SCHOOL CHILDREN KNOW THAT.

    IF ANY OF US GOT WHAT WE DESERVED WE WOULD ALL BE DEAD FOR WE ARE ALL SINNERS.

    IT IS WRITTEN CLEARLY IN Romans 3:23

    For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
    and in Romans 6:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

    and in 2 PETER 3;9

    The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

  9. Georgie Porgie Avatar
    Georgie Porgie

    Romans 6:23 the wages of sin is death

    all sinned
    all due the wages of sin
    judgement delayed
    basic stuff ——very very basic concepts

  10. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    Very true – ALL that you said GP

    BUT…for God’s LOVE….
    What qualifies you to presume GOD’s determination for any particular fella?
    How do you know what God determines for a particular brass bowl?

    When BBE could choose a Brass Bowl like Bushie for adoption..
    – any shiite could happen Boss…

    One – he may CHOOSE to polish and shine and put on display
    Another one he may use as the heavenly topsy…
    Another he may keep in the yard to feed the spiritual dogs…

    If, therefore as you say, “God determines what we deserve”, what leads you to suggest that we can EVER get OTHER than what we deserve?

    What you probably mean (and would be 100% correct) is that we don’t always get what “GP” thinks that we deserve … or what “Bushie” thinks that we deserve….”

    …otherwise ac’s ass would be deep in grass long ago….

  11. Georgie Porgie Avatar
    Georgie Porgie

    re Very true – ALL that you said GP

    OFF COURSE GOD’S WORD IS TRUE

    RE BUT…for God’s LOVE….
    What qualifies you to presume GOD’s determination for any particular fella?

    WHAT OTHER ANSWER DO YOU WANT………..BUT GOD’S LOVE

    WHEREAS I DO NOT KNOW, NOR HAVE I SAID “what God determines for a particular “PERSON, i CAN SAY THAT NONE OF US GETS WHAT WE DESERVE BECAUSE THE SCRIPTURES SAY SO.

    YOU SAY THAT SOME BBE ADOPTED YOU………..HAS HE NOT TAUGHT YOU SUCH SIMPLE INFORMATION. OR IS IT THAT YOU HAVE NOT HEARD GOD’S VOICE BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT ONE OF HIS SHEEP.

    RE If, therefore as you say, “God determines what we deserve”, what leads you to suggest that we can EVER get OTHER than what we deserve?

    THE SCRIPTURES CLEARLY GIVE THE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION SEVERAL TIMES. IT TELLS US WE DESERVE DEATH BECAUSE WE HAVE ALL SINNED

    IT ALSO TELLS US THAT THE LORD JESUS CHRIST HAS INTERVENED ON THOSE WHO WOULD COME TO GOD THROUGH CHRIST IN SEVERAL NEW TESTAMENT TEXTS

    RE What you probably mean (and would be 100% correct) is that we don’t always get what “GP” thinks that we deserve … or what “Bushie” thinks that we deserve….”

    FRANKLY I AM NOT INTERESTED IN WHAT ANY ONE DESERVES
    I AM CONCENTRATING ON THANKING GOD THAT HE HAS TREATED ME MUCH MUCH BETTER THAN I KNOW THAT I DESERVE

  12. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    Bernard Codrington December 1, 2017 at 4:46 PM #

    What I cannot understand is that parliament was also an inheritance from colonialism. Are we . going to vandalise parliament, too? What about when another generation decides to vandalise Bussa, and remove it to the museum?

  13. Peter Lawrence Thompson Avatar
    Peter Lawrence Thompson

    Hal Austin at 5:18 PM

    It’s perfectly easy to figure out Hal. The statue of Nelson is a monument to a racist erected by other racists. Its main function in 2017 is as an icon of White supremacy. It’s time to move it to a more appropriate location.

    The Parliament buildings are not an icon of White supremacy. There is no valid comparison. It is so interesting that some people are so devoted to the preservation of icons of White supremacy.

  14. Well Well & Cut N' Paste At Your Service Avatar
    Well Well & Cut N’ Paste At Your Service

    Slave mentality.

  15. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    @ Hal
    Must you ALWAYS be simple?

    We TOOK OVER parliament – (and now run it like a pack of wild boys)… What we need to do is to CREATE a modern, dignified, BARBADIAN parliament that reflects a UNIQUE, DECENT, CREATIVE, BAJAN way of running a parliament.
    If Caswell had BUPped, we would we halfway there as we speak.

    Of COURSE future generations will remove Bussa – hopefully dump his brass in the sea. Why would they need such a symbolic reminder of Blacks having to fight against whites ….in a future society that has evolved into a united, just, caring, righteous community of loving neighbours?

    @ GP
    You are confused.

    Your last statement is true….”THANKING GOD THAT HE HAS TREATED ME MUCH MUCH BETTER THAN I KNOW THAT I DESERVE”
    Better that YOU ‘know’ (think you know) but EXACTLY as GOD KNOWS that you deserve.
    QED

  16. Theophilius Gazerts Avatar
    Theophilius Gazerts

    But Hal,much of the talk has been about making ‘changes’ to parliament. Third parties, not one seat…

  17. Theophilius Gazerts Avatar
    Theophilius Gazerts

    Something’s you can just dump; others need a more elaborate process

  18. John Avatar
    John

    Peter Lawrence Thompson December 2, 2017 at 5:48 PM #
    Hal Austin at 5:18 PM
    It’s perfectly easy to figure out Hal. The statue of Nelson is a monument to a racist erected by other racists. Its main function in 2017 is as an icon of White supremacy. It’s time to move it to a more appropriate location.
    The Parliament buildings are not an icon of White supremacy. There is no valid comparison. It is so interesting that some people are so devoted to the preservation of icons of White supremacy.
    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Peter, I am here laughing my head off watching your convoluted contortions of language!!!

    Did racists or white supremacists erect the Parliament Buildings?

    The old “White Supremacy” phrase needs retiring!!

    Doesn’t work any more!!

    Go and reinvent yourself and find some new terms to use!!

  19. John Avatar
    John

    Its main function in 2017 is as an icon of White supremacy.
    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    When was its main function not as an icon of White supremacy and how did it miraculously become an icon of White Supremacy in 2017?

    Was it an icon of White Supremacy in 2016, 1916 or 1816??

    Was Bussa peeved at its erection?

    I attended all the Town Hall Meetings in the 1990’s and can’t remember ever hearing the term “White Supremacy” in them!!!

    I’ll see if I can dig up the report and see how and if the term was ever defined!!

  20. John Avatar
    John

    I can’t recall Bussa ever saying anything about the statue!!

  21. Well Well & Cut N' Paste At Your Service Avatar
    Well Well & Cut N’ Paste At Your Service

    “The old “White Supremacy” phrase needs retiring!!

    Doesn’t work any more!!”

    Not since they started arresting them, firing them from their jobs, refusing to hire racists, exposing their photos on social media and chasing them out of the society it don’t..lol

    In 5 years white supremacy will be remembered as an ugly, shameful relic, just like slavery. .

  22. John Avatar
    John

    Super moon tomorrow!!!

    Tides reaching as high as 0.9 on Monday!!

    https://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Bridgetown-Barbados/tides/latest

  23. millertheanunnaki Avatar
    millertheanunnaki

    @ John December 2, 2017 at 6:58 PM

    Sounds like the ideal time to keep a full-moon street party from Hastings to Oistins?
    Agree Sir John?

    It would be the right time to engage in the maddeningly overwhelming past time of perfume sniffing Barbadiana style.

    Why not enjoy the fragrance of a whiff of Bajan jobby?

    Sir John, why don’t your people rise up and kick out this lot of low-class negroes before they totally destroy the place your Quaker ancestors worked so hard to create by instructing their slaves how do the heavy lifting?

    The remaining lot of you can’t just run away anymore to the Mother country or Her white-controlled territories like ANZAC Land, Las Malvinas and Canada unless you apply for refugee status by claiming reverse racism from the likes of WW&C aka Cut & Paste at Your Service.

  24. Well Well @ Cut and Paste @ Your Service Avatar
    Well Well @ Cut and Paste @ Your Service

    lol….not even that will work…i will just be my usual charming self, contact those countries and give them an ear full….they dont want any second rate racists in their countries either, they are working to crack down on racism and get rid of the ones they got…., preferably in a hole somewhere..

    .so let these stay trapped in their YOU BLACKS population and serve out every day of their time….because there is no such thing as reverse racism, it never existed and never will…it was just another white scam designed to get the most slave minded and brainwashed Black people to call each other racists…and appallingly it worked.

    there are too many mentally weak people in the majority population, the next scam they design for them will be equally evil and the weak will fall for it like a rock…shameful.

  25. Dr. Simple Simon Phd. Avatar
    Dr. Simple Simon Phd.

    Gospel.

    Mataphor Hal.

  26. John Avatar
    John

    Sounds like the ideal time to keep a full-moon street party from Hastings to Oistins?
    Agree Sir John?
    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Not if you don’t want to get splashed!!!

    Yup, some of the manholes along the way are running!!

    Now, if you think it is sewage you may have a problem!!!

  27. John Avatar
    John

    The Committee also recommended that the statue be immediately taken down and kept in storage pending its relocation, lest it provoke “public controversy.” (See page 15 of the Report)
    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Nope, can’t find anything in the report referring to White Supremacy!!

    PLT is once again, out to lunch!!

    So the puzzle, if he is actually right, is how did the statue suddenly become an icon of White Supremacy?!!!

    I can’t recall any public controversy it has provoked, a couple of malcontents.

    The same ones over and over again, spewing hatred can’t be viewed a “public controversy” …. just a couple of idiots!!

  28. NorthernObserver Avatar
    NorthernObserver

    @miller
    if Canada is your desire, you just have to plead discrimination based upon sexual orientation.

  29. Well Well & Cut N' Paste At Your Service Avatar
    Well Well & Cut N’ Paste At Your Service

    lol….that won’t fly either, they want asylum because they were sexually discriminated against by Cut & Paste. .ha, ha, next available flight out, especially when they are most of them well known racists…

    …..many tourists have complained about their behaviors toward the majority population over the decades and the practices allowed……on the island.

    ….not all foreign whites are savages or beasts, you get many who are humanitarian and they speak out in their countries when they encounter racism and discrimination, while vacationing.

    My intent still stands.

    ….not even that will work…i will just be my usual charming self, contact those countries and give them an ear full….they dont want any second rate racists in their countries either, they are working to crack down on racism and get rid of the ones they already got…., preferably in a hole somewhere..

    …..so let these stay trapped in their YOU BLACKS population and serve out every day of their time….because there is no such thing as reverse racism, it never existed and never will…it was just another white scam designed to get the most slave minded and brainwashed Black people to call each other racists…and appallingly it worked.

    there are too many mentally weak people in the majority population, the next scam they design for them will be equally evil and the weak will fall for it like a rock…shameful

  30. John Avatar
    John

    I see from the report in the article that there was “credible evidence to suggest” back then that a Marine Museum or Heritage Centre was to have been built which could have been the statue’s final resting place.

    I wonder if anyone can tell me where it is located!!!!

    Incredible … who jokers prepared this report?

  31. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    Theophilius Gazerts December 2, 2017 at 5:59 PM #

    Is the inherited so-called Westminster/Whitehall model a reminder of slavery and, later, colonialism? We cannot mix and match.
    Some people seem to think shouting loud is winning the argument. Museums are about the .preservation of culturally significant artefacts, which says more about .the dominant group/culture at any particular historical juncture than .it says about the cult.ural or political relevance of .the item.
    The shouters want to remove the Nelson statue, but not destroy it. There must be logic there somehow. The shouters do not see anything wrong with vandalism, then they cry out about rising crime. Opposing anti-social behaviour is a principle, not a political option.

  32. Dr. Simple Simon Phd. Avatar
    Dr. Simple Simon Phd.

    @Bernard Codrington December 1, 2017 at 4:46 PM “My reading of history suggests that the removal of the artifacts of history achieves nothing. The citizens have to look in the mirror and ask”Am I satisfied with me? Can I be a better me? What do I need to do to improve my situation?”

    But sure it is possible both to remove artifacts AND to look in the mirror and determine to create a better me?

  33. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    On the issue of the Nelson statue, David Commisiong has proved himself to be a shameless apologist for a brutal and unethical government. What has this got to do with his brief as CARICOM ambassador? The guy is a loose cannon, a rent-a-quote, an empty vessel, a guy who could not maintain an ethically consistent narrative. He is a joker, despicable.
    This is his latest diatribe:

    ctivists calling for the removal of Lord Nelson’s statue have been advised to stick with the Government’s plan to have it moved to the Barbados Museum instead of causing further contention over the controversial monument.

    In a recent interview, Barbados’ CARICOM Ambassador David Comissiong reacted to continued anger and disappointment after culture minister John King reported a delay in the removal of the statue from Heroes’ Square by August 23.

    The ambassador, who has been championing its removal for decades explained that the process of removing the “fragile” statue was not as clear-cut as some may have thought and described the projected date as “overly ambitious”.

    “I think the problem is that many Barbadians do not understand and sufficiently appreciate how technical a process it is to remove a 200-year statue,” he told Barbados TODAY.

    “It is not something that you could just send a team from MTW to snatch up and move it to the museum. The museum will install it, but it will take time to prepare a proper exhibit space, and in the meantime, it will have to be stored somewhere and there will be technical requirements for all of this,” Comissiong explained.

    The ambassador, who previously sat on two national committees appointed to analyste the issue, was involved in talks as recently as three weeks ago on the logistics of moving the statue in collaboration with the museum.

    He subsequently attended a meeting that included Minister King and Director of the Barbados Museum Alissandra Cummins, who has appointed a team of experts to oversee the technical details associated with moving the monument.

    “There is nobody more keen to see the statue moved than me, but I am also aware that it is not a simple operation. It calls for technical expertise, a lot of planning and all of that takes time.

    “Minister King was hopeful that that could have been accomplished by the 23rd of August and was making preparations for that, but many suspected that that was a very short timeframe, because he had to go back to cabinet with the consensus decision that the statue should be moved to the Barbados Museum, he had to get the approval of cabinet, and then preparations had to be made to move a 200-year-old statue.

    “So minister King was really being overly optimistic that he could accomplish all of that by the 23rd. It was well meaning, but in my opinion it was overly optimistic,” Comissiong contended.

    The bronze statue of Vice Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson was erected in March 1813 paying homage to the naval captain for his battles won in the name of Britain.

    Similar to other parts of the world, anti racism protests erupted here calling for the removal of the colonial monument by the Caribbean Movement for Peace and Integration as well as a movement led by Alex Downes. The groups have promised to continue and intensify their activism.

    The CARICOM ambassador has however discouraged further unrest and argued that the Mia Mottley administration was one of the only Governments across the world that has committed to removing such monuments. As such, activists could send a powerful message to the world by working with Government on the issue.

    “It is important that we do the moving of this statue well. It is important that it not be acrimonious, that it be presented to the world as an enlightened Government and citizenry moving arm-in-arm to lift this country to another level of consciousness and self respect and self acceptance.

    “And I am telling you, the eyes of the world will be on Barbados when the statue is moved. Barbados will be in the international spotlight and we have this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to send a very positive and progressive message that hopefully other countries will take to heart,” Commissiong declared.

    “This kind of issue does not have to be reduced to bitterness, recrimination and a divided society,” he added. …(Quote)

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