Lord Robert Baden-Powell, the Scout and Girl Guide founder, has been named the next in line for the purge list created by the Black Lives Matter protester’s influence in removing questionable historical character’s statues off the British soil.
And this time, the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council has responded positively, with the leader Vikki Slade officially pronouncing the seaside statue of the found to be removed immediately, and reserved for ‘safe storage’, according to her statement.
Dissent is heavy in the neighbourhood, with the Tory MP Conor Burns in the same constituency tweeting: ‘The removal of the statue of Lord Baden Powell from Poole is a huge error of judgement. Very concerned by the idea it is on advice from @dorsetpolice’. He added: ‘Are we going to follow the example of the Met and Bristol and let the mob rule the streets?’
The Scouts have also issued their own statement earlier today. While declining to comdemn such decisions, it indeed state that the organization hoped the removal would be ‘temporary’ in nature.
Councillor Slade said: ‘Whilst famed for the creation of the Scouts, we also recognise that there are some aspects of Robert Baden-Powell’s life that are considered less worthy of commemoration. Therefore, we are removing the statue so that we can properly involve all relevant communities and groups in discussions about its future, including whether a more educational presentation of his life in a different setting might be more appropriate.’
Corrie Drew led the movement in the area both for BLM and the statue’s removal. She said today: ‘Our people deserve better than a monument to Baden Powell. His starting of the scouting movement can be no excuse for his documented homophobia, racism and enthusiastic support of Hitler’.
Black Lives Matter supporters claim the educational milestone set by Lord Baden-Powell is mired and marred by the fact that he was a staunch advocate for Nazism and racial purges, an enthusiast who approved the messages in Mein Kampf- although his biographer Tim Jeal has said this support was more about his distrust of communism.
Lord Baden-Powell is recognized for his bravery during the Second Boer War in South Africa for defending a garrison town for 217 days from 5,000 Boer troops.point 250 |
However his track record in overall history remains contentious, as claims of him being racist persists because he starved locals so he could feed his own soldiers.point 138 | Baden-Powell also publicly denied masturbation and homosexuality, claiming the two acts are related to sexual and moral dissipation.point 253 | 1
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Replaced!