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New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag

smithsonianmag.com

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Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag

#271

Post by ninjagoo »

gopperl wrote: post #252
ninjagoo wrote: post #244

It's an interesting piece. Makes one think about all those folks that have a lot of pride and vanity for a place that they had no control over being born in. The luck of the draw. And very likely had very little to do with the current state of the place. Pride at age 21? Meaningless vanity, like being proud of being born with a silver spoon. Pride at age 80? Sure, if it was a life well-lived.

[flagged]

  > There's no luck involved in the fact that you were born to your parents, as they were to theirs.
Are you claiming to have controlled where and to whom you were born?

You did not choose your parents, country, ancestry, class, era, genes, language, or inherited institutions. You may be inseparable from those facts, but you did not earn them.

  > There's no luck involved in the fact that you were born to your parents
  > we were so fortunate to inherit from them.
These two statements appear to be contradictory.

  > It is right to be proud of the achievements of your ancestors
And what was your contribution to those achievements to justify this pride?

You have to be careful to not fall into the trap of borrowed glory: treating an ancestor’s achievement as your own personal merit, or using ancestry to rank yourself above others.

  > toiled and strived to deliver the place that we were so fortunate to inherit
  > our responsibility to defend and improve that place for the coming generations of our people.
Are you implying that the place belongs more fully to descendants of earlier inhabitants than to newer members of the community?

So then Native Americans have a stronger claim than European descendants? Or is that a standard to only be applied moving forward?

That's also like the caste system in India: only children of brahmins can be brahmins, children of shudras can only be shudras. One is superior to another by inheritance, not merit.

That's ugly and abhorrent.

  > It is right to be proud of the achievements of your ancestors
Are you then also ashamed of their crimes?

Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag

#272

Post by analog8374 »

danparsonson wrote: post #195
analog8374 wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He's suggesting that there are several flavors of blindness going around so if we're going to point fingers then we might start with ourselves.

...which is a blatant false equivalence, to be clear.

I think it's a pretty good equivalence, actually. And pretty good advice. Passionate certainty should raise a red flag.

Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag

#273

Post by xyzelement »

ninjagoo wrote: post #242
xyzelement wrote: post #60

It took me a minute to figure out why I think it's lame. I suspect that Banksy and his fans are sure that it's "the other" Britons that are blinded, it's not a self-reflection prompt for them. Maybe I am wrong. Maybe a more powerful piece of art would have that self reflection effect across the board. As is it feels about as nuanced as "fuck trump" and similar. If you already agree you already agree, if not then you…

> It took me a minute to figure out why I think it's lame. > Maybe a more powerful piece of art would have that self reflection effect across the board. As is it feels about as nuanced as "fuck trump" and similar. If you already agree you already agree, if not then you just think it's stupid. So close. Based on your own statement, it appears that you disagree with the proposed thesis by this piece of art. > So ultima…

"calls me out"?

Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag

#274

Post by filoleg »

EGreg wrote: post #119
morkalork wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's always been about as subtle as a sledge hammer

He started with literally graffiti. So sure - not subtle!!

Not gonna lie, I am not sure how the choice of medium here (graffiti) has anything to do with how subtle (or not) the message of an art piece is.

Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag

#275

Post by qingcharles »

wartywhoa23 wrote: post #39

Banksy's "anonymity" is a total farce at this point, thoroughly supported by those in power.

Good. I'm glad most of the media have come to a gentlemen's agreement to not blast his name everywhere. Adds a little more fun to the world. Even this statute is staying for now, the local council, bless them, have decided to leave it in place for the near future.

Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag

#276

Post by danparsonson »

analog8374 wrote: post #272
danparsonson wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

...which is a blatant false equivalence, to be clear.

I think it's a pretty good equivalence, actually. And pretty good advice. Passionate certainty should raise a red flag.

The equivalence between supporting the rights of oppressed minorities, and inciting violence towards foreigners, is a good one?

Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag

#277

Post by morkalork »

filoleg wrote: post #274
EGreg wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He started with literally graffiti. So sure - not subtle!!

Not gonna lie, I am not sure how the choice of medium here (graffiti) has anything to do with how subtle (or not) the message of an art piece is.

There's a well known theory on this exact concept! The Medium is the Message. Or, the very act of defacing a public building is meant to sledge-hammer the artist's work into the viewer's consciousness. Compared to say, some quiet exhibit most people would never encounter.

Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag

#278

Post by nullc »

CapitalistCartr wrote: post #236

I have a hardhat, high viz vest, lanyard, and $600 toolbelt because I'm an industrial electrician, but they get me into a lot . My face becomes invisible; I become "The Electrician".

The free coffee is a nice bonus.

Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag

#279

Post by socalgal2 »

TehCorwiz wrote: post #49
periodjet wrote: post #33

Banksy is the patron saint of the “I’m 13 and this is deep” mentality.

"Blinded by nationalism" I don't know, seems like a clear concise message that has relevance in today's world.

How do you know it's "blinded by nationalism"? There are plenty of non-national flags which are just as blinding

Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag

#280

Post by ytoawwhra92 »

qingcharles wrote: post #275
wartywhoa23 wrote: post #39

Banksy's "anonymity" is a total farce at this point, thoroughly supported by those in power.

Good. I'm glad most of the media have come to a gentlemen's agreement to not blast his name everywhere. Adds a little more fun to the world. Even this statute is staying for now, the local council, bless them, have decided to leave it in place for the near future.

Reuters published a lengthy "unmasking" in March of this year and nobody really cared.

I think his name not being blasted everywhere has more to do with it being thoroughly uninteresting than any gentlemen's agreement.

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