They have removed another Statue, I say.

I saw that, says the Owner.

Do you think removing Statues can change the World? I ask.

Yes I do, says the Owner.

I do not see why, I say, other than momentarily for the brief celebratory moment when the Odious Figure topples to the ground.

It changes what the community chooses to Publicly Affirm, says the Owner, just as carrying a Black Lives Matter banner changes what we as individuals publicly affirm.

Would it not be easier to simply put up more Statues to reset the balance? I ask. There must be some spare plinths, I say. It would be an odd coincidence if there were exactly the same number of Plinths as statues, I say. It seems to me from our conversation yesterday that the dearth of statues of clothed Ladies and of Dogs of Any Kind mean that a statue of a Lady with a Dog who is not in any way enslaved as he has full freezer access rights would be perfect. I wonder who could be the Model?

It is not a matter of resetting the Balance, says the Owner. Statues in public places reflect not only the Values of those few who erected them but also the Values of those many who failed to take them down.

Nobody is entirely good, I say. Even Caspar, I say, who is composed Almost entirely of Friendship and Fluff, has been known to Wee on a Hosta.

Everyone does good and bad things, says the Owner. For a moment I think she is going to bring up the Missing Cheese, and my stomach rumbles. It is a Moral balance, says the Owner. Some Bad things are so great that they tip the scales too far.

I hope that is not a reference to cheese too. I am beginning to feel a degree of indigestion. But if we take down all our Statues, I say, we deny our History.

Reevaluating the Selected Few that our public spaces celebrate does not deny History, says the Owner, it rejects only some of the Values held in History. Can we really be both a Society that Memorialises a racist, and a society that claims that racism must be rejected in Every Way Available to Us and with Every Breath of our Bodies?

That is true, I say. What will they put in its place? I ask.

Perhaps another Statue, says the Owner, although having removed a Statue of the Wrong Person they will have to consider hard who is the right person. They will need to ask for the community view. Whilst some people will object to everything, it should be possible to agree on principles.

We must email at once, I say. I have numerous Dog-related suggestions.

Not Batdog again, says the Owner. And not Statue McStatueface again. It is Not Funny.

I am not suggesting Batdog again, I say. As it happens the Lord Mayor’s office have already emailed to say it would be Unfair to Unmask him. On the other hand I think Statue McStatueface is an Excellent idea. Statues in public places should not reflect not only the Values of those few with the power to erect them but also the Values of those they might otherwise ignore. Can we be the kind of Society that removes Statues of Racists from positions of Public Admiration, yet one that Denies a Moral Dog his right to Contribute his Witty Suggestions?

You are right, says the Owner. I cannot believe I am putting this in an email, says the Owner. Statue McStatueface, says the Owner, typing miserably.

I cannot believe she Fell for It, but there you go.

Categories: dignity dog dog philosophy statue Uncategorized

Hergest the Hound

I am a dog of many thoughts.