1.I pondered hard about releasing this thread. It will be received hostilely by some of the more intolerant of our activists. Yet we cannot be intimidated from deliberating on issues for we will simply enable the repeat of the historical tragedies of Stalinism & authoritarianism.

2. There is a serious need for collective deliberation on statues and monuments.Across the world there is a wide scale destruction of statues. Progressives have either backed this destruction or are too afraid to speak. But is this a legitimate response in this historical moment?

3. There is legitimacy to the anger abt statues.Too many historical figures who plundered & murdered black and indigenous peoples are now honored & given respectability because of the endowments they bequeathed from their looting. This is an insult to their victims & descendants.

4. But statues & monuments are not merely to celebrate historical figures.They could also be constructed to record historical events and ensure that we tell the stories of our past.Should we then not reimagine statues & memorials to tell the story from the perspective of victims.

5. I also am concerned about judging indivs out of their historical context. Granted, some acts are so vile that they must be condemned across the historical divide. But others may be unacceptable today, yet were typical in another moment. Is it fair to judge such indivs harshly?

6. This is as true of progressive historical figures as of others. How many progressive thinkers & anti-colonial fighters harbored patriarchal views? Are we going to destroy monuments of them in this popular rage or will we understand them as products of their historical moment?

7. There is no question that we need a deliberation on statues & monuments. We have to determine which are brought down, those to be reimagined & others that are to be left as is.This must be a deliberative exercise in society, not simply the random acts in populist mobilization.

8. Building inclusive societies is the result of thoughtful & collective deliberation. It cannot be from the actions of the loudest & the most muscular. Otherwise we risk authoritarianism or a conservative backlash. 68 was followed by Reagan & Thatcher. Don’t let it happen again.