Expunging the past to fit today's views

Tearing down statues, banning the streaming of television series, prohibiting the showing of latter-day films, all in the name of honouring the death of George Lloyd. I'm sorry, I don't get it. Well, I do get it but isn't it a bit over the top to start knocking down statues that have sat on plinths for decades/centuries because they are identified with slavery or stopping people watching films such as Gone with the Wind because they apparently glorify the role of slaves? In these enlightened times, the very concept of slavery seems depraved and among the worst of humankind's evil deeds. But history is history. It is part of our growing up as human beings to understand and put into historical context appalling mistakes of the past. In my view it is not a reason to obliterate such things from the history books, nor is it a reason to ban films or TV series that dare to mention such matters as slavery or make fun of the white/black divide that patently exists to this day in so many countries. Statues that appear to glorify the slave-trade, such as the one of slave-trader Edward Colston in Bristol that was torn down and thrown into the River Avon a few days ago, should be put into dark backrooms of museums and occasionally brought out so that visitors can gape and learn and understand and, yes, condemn. But to let a bunch of prostesters pull it down and carry it physically to the river and cast it into the waters seems to me to be an act of gross vandalism. And into a river for heaven's sake! Rivers get polluted enough without having some ancient statue hurled into the water. The police chief in Bristol told his officers not to intervene for fear of upsetting them and causing more riots. Oh dear, Mr Chief Constable, talk abut dereliction of duty. What sort of message does that send to potential violent protesters in the future. He should unquestionably resign or be resigned. As for banning repeat showings of the 2003-2008 British TV series Little Britain which, among other things, depicted characters from ethnic minorities, aren't we capable of making up our own minds about the quality of comedy programmes. OK, many of the sketches were in poor taste, even offensive, but comedy has a licence to offend provided it doesn't stir up racial hatred. I don't want to watch it, so I don't. That's my right, that's everyone's right. But once political correctness becomes the only judge of taste, we are all doomed to a George Orwell 1984 Big Brother world.