In response to: Plan to ‘Decolonise’ Guildford Museum Stirs a Storm of Comment and Criticism

Forget colonialism, there seem to be shades of Stalinism in Cllr James Steel’s post, singling out the best quote from the June 6 demonstration as “There are 150,000 people living in Guildford borough, there are not 150,000 people here fighting this injustice”.

Perhaps the population of the borough should be abolished and a new population elected by Cllr Steel and like-minded friends?

If he had read the Dragon’s coverage of that event he would have known it grew out of postings on Snapchat and Instagram and that the accidental “organiser” had expected 30 people to turn up.

I do not use Snapchat or Instagram and believe in democracy through the ballot box whether or not my view, party or “side” wins, so perhaps my views are of no consequence to people like Cllr Steel, at least for another three years.

I will console myself with my good fortune not to have him as one of my ward councillors and leave it to the judgement of his colleagues on the Executive to decide if he is “fit for purpose”.

As someone with a lifelong private interest in world history and archaeology, I very much hope the items in the Museum/Archaeology Society collection, are accurately labelled.

I would hate for an Iron Age Celtic “gang chain” (the ways of keeping slaves of any skin colour together while moving them did not change for thousands of years, or across continents and oceans) or any other artefact to be misinterpreted and expunged from our history by ill-informed and self-appointed cultural censors.