Outrage at calls to tear down Nelson’s Column because Britain’s great naval hero ‘was white supremacist’
Guardian journalist Afua Hirsch said the monument in London's Trafalgar Square should be felled because the Admiral 'defended slavery'
A JOURNALIST has sparked outrage after calling for Nelson's Column to be removed and branding Lord Nelson a "white supremacist".
Many people reacted with fury after an article in suggested it could be time to "look at our own landscape" in the wake of a spate of statues being removed in the US.
Writing in the paper, journalist Afua Hirsch said the monument in London's Trafalgar Square should be felled because the Admiral "defended slavery".
In the article titled: "Toppling statues? Here's why Nelson's Column should be next", she claimed the man who helped defeat Napoleon was "what you would call now, without hesitation, a white supremacist".
She added: "Britain's best known naval hero – so idealised that after his death in 1805 he was compared to no less than 'the God who made him' – used his seat in the House of Lords and his position of huge influence to perpetuate the tyranny, serial rape and exploitation organised by West Indian planters, some of whom he counted among his closest friends.
"It is figures like Nelson who immediately spring to mind when I hear the latest news of confederate statues being pulled down in the US."
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Her comments come hot on the heels of protests calling for the felling of statues of Confederate leaders across the USA.
The article was met with outrage on social media with hundreds slamming the piece.
Brexit campaigner Daniel Hannan commented: "Now, it seems, #NelsonMustFall. This is where competitive virtue signalling leads."
Twitter user Andrew Graham said: "Toppling statues? Nelson’s column should be next." These days someone's offended by everything... #RewriteHistory".
Russell Lloyd added: "Tear down Nelson's Column, what an insult, it's part of our history, where in the world do these pathetic idiots come from?"
Andy Fleetham said: "History can't be change, but you can learn from it. Social opinions 200 years ago won't be erased by kicking over statues #NelsonsColumn."
Chris McGovern, of the Campaign for Real Education, said: "Statues and monuments provide the landmarks of our past that define our national identity whether we approve of it or not.
"They should be protected and in many cases revered. 'Pulling them down polarises society and leads to violence and social breakdown.
"Hadrian's Wall is a monument to Roman power that was built on slavery.
"Should we destroy the ancient identity of western civilisation. No."
The calls come after an unsuccessful campaign tear down a statue of Cecil Rhodes at Oxford University.
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