My stance on the Elgin Marbles debate flipped once I considered the custodial ethics involved.

Returning them isn't just about law, but moral restitution.

2 comments

2 Comments

Yeah, the ethical custodianship point is what changed my mind too. It becomes less about dusty laws and more about basic respect for a culture's heritage. Holding onto them now just feels like perpetuating an old wrong.

emeryj668h ago

Totally. My friend's grandpa had this ceremonial knife he brought back from the Pacific theater, just sat in a drawer for decades. When he finally tracked down the family it came from and mailed it back, he said it was like a physical weight left his house. It wasn't about legality at all, just this gut feeling he'd been keeping a piece of someone else's story hostage. Changed how I see all those museum display cases, honestly.