Moronic students defend right to brand Winston Churchill a racist during cafe protest
STUDENTS who stormed a Winston Churchill-themed café in North London have insisted they were right to protest about what they termed the wartime leader’s “racist” opinions.
But the cafe’s founder has hit back, pointing out Churchill was named top of the list when the BBC chose the 100 greatest Britons in 2002.
The group – mostly students from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) – descended on the Blighty café in Finsbury Park on January 27 to protest its tributes to Churchill, which include a life-sized model of the former prime minister.
More – Dear Snowflakes, stop wasting everybody’s time
More – Millennials represent the true age of equality – they are all useless
More – Is this the most stupid generation in history?
They made their feelings known, chanting “Churchill was a racist” and disrupting diners trying to enjoy a quiet meal in a demonstration which was later defended by the university’s student union.
One of the protesters, Shukri Habib Ali, defended the group’s actions, claiming: “It was deeply disrespectful to glorify Winston Churchill, without mentioning those who truly suffered at the hands of colonial rule.
.
“If I could ask the café owner to do one thing, it would be to read more into the darker side of Churchill’s legacy, and its effects on colonised people.”
A statement issued later by the SOAS students’ union read: “On Saturday members of the Students’ Union led a protest against a cafe called ‘Blighty’, which celebrates British colonialism.
.
“The protest involved reading out sections of Heathcote William’s poem ‘Great Britain’s Greatest Beast’ followed by chanting ‘Churchill was a racist’.
“The cafe exercises a concerted historical amnesia of British colonialism, which is offensive to those who continue to experience institutional racism.
“The protest was targeted at the owner – calling for them to change the decorations and imagery of the cafes – and to the customer – to boycott until the owner takes these actions.
“The SOAS Students’ Union continues to fight against colonialism and all manifestations of it. Our educational priorities this year included ‘Close the Attainment Gap’ and ‘Decolonise the Education and the Institution’.
“The Students’ Union seeks to address and interrogate colonial legacies and how these manifest within our institution.
“We echo the protesters in their statement on Saturday: ‘you will never make colonialism palatable’.”
However, Blighty café founder Chris Evans hit back in a lengthy statement published on Facebook.
He wrote: “Our full English might be called ‘The Winston’ – but does that overshadow everything else that we do? Churchill was, after all, named top when the BBC choose the 100 greatest Britons.
“He may not be an uncontroversial figure, I’m sure his wrongs are numerous, but we cannot erase him from our history.
“Yes, we are proud of our Britishness, and Britain’s icons, warts and all.”
–
You can follow Albert on Twitter and Facebook. Or join the free mailing list (top right)
Feel free to comment on story below
