As I continue to be stuck in lockdown, the western world has been hit by a wave of iconoclasm while coronavirus measures are bringing the arts sector in several European countries to its knees. I had hoped to have returned to European soil by now, but although airlines, including Lufthansa, receive billions of tax-payers’ money to stay afloat they don’t seem to be particularly bothered getting paying customers out of lockdown. As a writer and a closet hermit I operate well in solitude but four months of isolation in foreign lands have started to take their toll. As I am battling mental fatigue and social isolation, it becomes more evident in this bollocks-virus crisis what the system finds most important and it sure ain’t the arts and culture scene.
I can see clearly now
While governments just watch the arts and culture sector go to shits, George Floyd seems to have instigated an iconclast movement. The events that have made him a martyr, have lead to mass awareness about racism and white supremacy no other event has done in decades. Some people who were blissfully unaware have started to ask themselves- and others- questions. Companies and organisations consider it good PR to publicly express their support for Black Lives Matters and make attempts to diversify the workforce. Only time will tell if this is just a fad or if it will indeed bring about much needed structural change. The story of protestors tearing down statues of certain individuals has come and gone through the news cycle. These statues were initially erected to celebrate certain figures, predominately white men, who until recently had been revered as great individuals. However, like ‘regular’ mortals these ‘great’ men all have a murkier, oppressive and racist side that only recently seems to have come to the attention of the (white) mainstream. That the acts of Belgium King Leopold III in the Congo made him a big fat war criminal has been known for decades. Neverteless, it took 60(!!!) years for the Belgium government to officially acknowledge this and remove any of his statues that were scattered around the country. In the UK, US and other countries statues of mainstream heroes of history have been torn down much to the dismay of those who prefer to maintain the status quo. They are crying that history is being rewritten or even erased. I am not in favour of the destruction of any culture heritage, however murky. Rather than destroying statues I would place them in a museum where they can be put into context. But what those who are not ancestrally or emotionally involved consider common sense, is not at all that sensible when you had more than enough of the downplaying and denial of one’s oppressive experience and ancestral history. Dismantling statues is not retelling or erasing the past, rather it is reframing history; putting a certain narrative in a different context. No one in the mainstream considers the removal of any Stalin statues in Russia ‘erasing history’. Hitler played a very important role in German and European history, but for very obvious reasons you won’t find any statues of the man in public spaces. Statues in public places tell us who the system considers great people and it seems standard that those ‘great people’ are mainly racist, oppresive and murdering men.
Untold History
History is very much a social science and written by the winners who do not necessarily speak truth or are keen on incorporating alternative narratives. When history is predominately told by (straight), white men, then heroes of the past will be like them. Plenty of men- and women- have made the argument that women and people of colour are inferior as they haven’t gone down in history as great explorers, statespeople, inventors or artists. Besides that women and people of colour might not have had the same opportunities as white men of a certain class, any greatness they might have achieved- and those achievements are most certainly there- wouldn’t have made it into the history books. It also tells us loud and clear that exploring, invading and plundering are far more important than being a great teacher or nurturer, which are considered more feminine traits. So despite equal rights and equal opportunities, at least on paper, we women and people of colour are being told however subtle that we are inferior beings. The latest iconoclasm is putting much of this to the test. I can imagine that this is unsettling for some people. Something they seemed certain and maybe even proud of is being challenged and no one likes to see their heroes vilified. It’s like many white people in the Netherlands including good friends of mine, refusing to acknowledge that the Dutch equivalent of blackface Black Pete, is indeed racist. Because that means a treasured childhood memory is racist, which would make them racist by extension.
Winds of Change
Being forced to consider a different perspective can be uncomfortable and even painful. Big social or political change is likely to involve so-called collateral damage. The French Revolution was followed by the Terror. Women got the right to vote through what were then considered immoral protests. The initiating event for the gay equality movement, Stonewall, was a massive riot. The more recent MeToo movement claimed innocent people who unfortunately got caught up in the storm. The same is true for the current movement that calls loudly for the implosion of the patriarchal, white supremacist system and the reclamation of human sovereignty of women, men and non-binaries of all ethnicities. You can choose to resist this, but change is always happening, so better get ready.
Top image: J Crabtree
middle image: star4cast.com
bottom image: GirlTrek
Dark Fairy Adventures 
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