Should problematic statues be pulled down?

It’s a debate that’s happening across the world right now: Should we pull down statues of people whose actions now appear hurtful and deeply offensive in today’s context?

Since the Global Black Lives Matter Protests a statue of Christopher Columbus in the US was decapitated, a statue of slave trader Edward Colston was thrown into a river in the UK, and in Belgium a statue of brutal coloniser King Leopold was removed.

In this episode we take the debate to Australia asking: Should we take down statues of people that inflicted hurt, pain or death to Indigenous Australians?

In todays headlines:

• Police body worn camera captures Rayshard Brooks’ final moments
• Statues still the focus of BLM protesters
• Victorian premier to respond to ALP corruption claims
• Back to the pub… More Covid restrictions ease

In todays episode we ask: Is tearing down statues rewriting or erasing a part of history? Is tearing a statue down an easy answer to a difficult question? Should we pull down racist statues?

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