Losing One's Marbles

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A short piece in today's i reports that Stephen Fry, a long-time campaigner for the return of the "Elgin" marbles to their rightful owners, the Greeks, more than two centuries after their plunder from Athens by Lord Elgin, can be more than adequately enjoyed through modern technology, such as VR. I totally agree with him: this issue has been a long-standing blight on our relationship with Greece and should be resolved forthwith, alongside as much of the other global cultural appropriation the aristocracy and their support network have garnered over the centuries as is possible.

The notion that the British Empire should be the owner, curator and custodian of so much of the world's culture, taken at will from its origins, exemplifies the hubris and self-entitlement of a culture and a class that knew no boundaries to its influence. This attitude, regrettably, still remains in the privileged pockets of our society that we have stupidly allowed to remain, despite all the social and political changes and advances in our society since World War II. It really is time for the old guard to be shown the door.

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