Put Him Out to Pasture

I am honestly baffled as to why we haveto have an in-depth public consultation to determine whether or not a statue of a perpetrator of genocide should be honoured outside our Public Library. “Holding Court” should absolutely be removed from the Main Street in Picton. It is revolting, he literally legislated genocide.

My understanding is that Public Art is intended as a celebration of shared values. What is this statue saying about our community and our values? That we celebrate genocide? I recently read a “letter to the editor” in a local newspaper which essentially denied that genocide could ever happen in Canada. In the past 5 years, TWO National Inquiries into the treatment of Indigenous people in Canada have issued Final Reports, and both reached the same conclusion: genocide. In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission termed it “cultural genocide”, but Canadians seemed to find that confusing. The subsequent National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls(2019) used language that all Canadians should be able to understand, simply: “genocide”. These National Inquiries were conducted by Canada's best and brightest; in other words, our most morally upstanding and educated citizens. Accepting the fact that genocide happened in Canada, and that genocide continues to this day, is sadly the work that every Canadian must do. I personally view all arguments in favour of keeping the statue of John A Macdonald on Main Street as defenses of genocide.

Now we are left with the dilemna of where on Earth should this statue go? I think an obvious choice would be a museum; however, it would seem that our local museums are not interested- perhaps because a five year old statue is not actually historical in itself, or the history behind this statue is inaccurate, or perhaps because the curators, as historians, are very aware of the genocidal legacy of Macdonald. I imagine that it is for all of these reasons. One national museum that our community could possibly give the statue to is the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg. In regards to genocide, this museum “recognizes the colonial experience in Canada, from first contact to the present, as genocide”. This museum has a permanent exhibition entitled Truth and Reconciliation, and they display a variety of items that different individuals and groups of people offer as gestures of Reconciliation. I think that “Holding Court”could be a very meaningful piece in such a setting. We could contextualize our changing/changed relationship with Macdonald as a community, and confirm our shared desire for true Reconciliation.

If it is indeed impossible to find a museum that is willing to display the monument, which may be the case, I have another idea. I imagine that we are not the only community that is wondering what to do with these public art projects that are now being rejected by the public. So if they can't find a home in a museum, I propose we put them out to pasture, right here in PEC. We could make a corral, where the statues could perhaps peacefully stand for their 20 000 year life expectancy. I imagine them surrounded by Indigenous plants, with walls or fencing to keep them from escaping and spreading their messages of white supremacy to a community that has chosen to be consciously Anti-Racist. I see the entrance being through a simple small building, like a farm shed, filled with historical context that would explain why these monuments are being interned in the Pasture of Political Shame. Well, maybe I would work on the name a little more.

If we can't find a museum or a pasture for this statue, I think it would be ok if a private citizen wished to take “Holding Court” to their private residence, where JAM could stand by the fire in the drawing room, gathering dust out of the public eye. If we could only find a community member in PEC who would be willing to take this genocidal legislator home (perhaps he could go home with a “Friend”)...

Also, I will add here a link to a petition that I wrote asking our Mayor and Council to remove the statue of John A Macdonald from Main Street. This petition was circulated locally (rather than nationally) and at last check had 882 signatures. Please feel free to show your support and add your signature. Let's make our public spaces feel safe for all.

https://www.change.org/thatjamstatue

Well, that's it, I've Had My Say!