The British Empire Shame Thread

[Picaro]

Posted elsewhere, but this OP being a similar sort of pissy sniveling ...

Pre-colonial era was no democratic paradise, our histories are records of brutal tyranny

In Summary

• As we begin to debate who is a hero, we must also acknowledge our true history. A skewed history gives wrong heroes and wrong values.

At this year’s Mashujaa Day celebrations, President Uhuru Kenyatta cast as heroes those who resisted brutal colonial occupation and others who fought for Independence. He also mentioned Wangari Maathai and Professor Ali Mazrui as heroes. He conveniently forgot to say that the latter two did not just achieve international stature, they had also fought hard against the Kanu regime.

Uhuru’s narrative was a rehearsal of the official view of African history crafted by nationalism. According to this rendition, the pre-colonial era was a democratic paradise where various African communities lived harmoniously with each other, a state of affairs that was disrupted by an oppressive colonial occupation. After the defeat of colonialism, the story goes, Africa reclaimed its democratic traditions.

This idealistic retelling of African history is now official, documented in school history books and rehearsed during the marking of national days. The truth, however, is a lot more inconvenient for both our cultural nationalists and those who hold power, for the common denominator in all three historical eras — pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial — is brutal tyranny.

I would think the PC types would be praising the British for their respect for the local cultural norms and maintaining Kenya's age old traditions.

 

[Steven_R]

Not to mention the British doing stuff like stopping Indian widows from becoming kindling on their husband's funeral pyre. Or ending the African slave trade.

 

[Mindful]

Here is something a bit more recent. Thatcher allowed this paedo to keep his title. A real pillar of the establishment, both of them.

Margaret Thatcher warned of paedophile scandal, secret documents reveal

Oh my, the darling of the Right, Thatcher .. Disgusting.

Thatcher was quite welcoming of paedos. She was amoral I think the word is.

The full extent of the shocking links between three senior Labour figures and a vile group that tried to legalise sex with children can be exposed today.

The trio held key roles in a human rights organisation that supported the notorious Paedophile Information Exchange.

Labour’s deputy leader Harriet Harman, her husband, home affairs spokesman Jack Dromey, and former health secretary Patricia Hewitt were all leading officials in the National Council for Civil Liberties.

Astonishingly this Left-wing group granted ‘affiliate’ status to PIE and built close links with it.

The group of predatory paedophiles was calling for the age of consent to be cut to just four.

http://www.dailystormer.com/uk-3-senior-labour-politicians-linked-to-vile-pedophile-gang/

Your comment is nonsense of course.

Greg

It's noticeable who started this thread.

And it's attracted some of the "usual suspects"

 

[Challenger]

Not to mention the British doing stuff like stopping Indian widows from becoming kindling on their husband's funeral pyre. Or ending the African slave trade.

Also supressing the Thugee cult, allegedly "the most destructive terrorist group in history". Thuggee - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I suspect that for every "evil" act committed by the British Empire, you could find at least one "good" or "beneficial" act to compensate. Ultimately, the Empire was what it was, like all empires, neither glorious nor abominable.

 

[Mindful]

Not to mention the British doing stuff like stopping Indian widows from becoming kindling on their husband's funeral pyre. Or ending the African slave trade.

Also supressing the Thugee cult, allegedly "the most destructive terrorist group in history". Thuggee - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I suspect that for every "evil" act committed by the British Empire, you could find at least one "good" or "beneficial" act to compensate. Ultimately, the Empire was what it was, like all empires, neither glorious nor abominable.

What have the British done to you?

 

[Tommy Tainant]

Not to mention the British doing stuff like stopping Indian widows from becoming kindling on their husband's funeral pyre. Or ending the African slave trade.

Also supressing the Thugee cult, allegedly "the most destructive terrorist group in history". Thuggee - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I suspect that for every "evil" act committed by the British Empire, you could find at least one "good" or "beneficial" act to compensate. Ultimately, the Empire was what it was, like all empires, neither glorious nor abominable.

Any beneficial acts were incidental rather than part of any particular strategy. The aim of the Empire was to exploit the resources of the world for the benefit of the British ruling class.
These places would have been better off left alone than subjected to the exploitation of the British Empire.

 

[Mindful]

Not to mention the British doing stuff like stopping Indian widows from becoming kindling on their husband's funeral pyre. Or ending the African slave trade.

Also supressing the Thugee cult, allegedly "the most destructive terrorist group in history". Thuggee - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I suspect that for every "evil" act committed by the British Empire, you could find at least one "good" or "beneficial" act to compensate. Ultimately, the Empire was what it was, like all empires, neither glorious nor abominable.

Any beneficial acts were incidental rather than part of any particular strategy. The aim of the Empire was to exploit the resources of the world for the benefit of the British ruling class.
These places would have been better off left alone than subjected to the exploitation of the British Empire.

You can't put today's context onto the past.

 

[Steven_R]

Not to mention the British doing stuff like stopping Indian widows from becoming kindling on their husband's funeral pyre. Or ending the African slave trade.

Also supressing the Thugee cult, allegedly "the most destructive terrorist group in history". Thuggee - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I suspect that for every "evil" act committed by the British Empire, you could find at least one "good" or "beneficial" act to compensate. Ultimately, the Empire was what it was, like all empires, neither glorious nor abominable.

Any beneficial acts were incidental rather than part of any particular strategy. The aim of the Empire was to exploit the resources of the world for the benefit of the British ruling class.
These places would have been better off left alone than subjected to the exploitation of the British Empire.

It would have been so much better to allow slavery to continue to exist, widows to be burned to death, no medicine, civil engineering, literacy, or international trade to be introduced to the whole world. Africa was such a paradise before the Europeans showed up.

 

[Challenger]

Not to mention the British doing stuff like stopping Indian widows from becoming kindling on their husband's funeral pyre. Or ending the African slave trade.

Also supressing the Thugee cult, allegedly "the most destructive terrorist group in history". Thuggee - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I suspect that for every "evil" act committed by the British Empire, you could find at least one "good" or "beneficial" act to compensate. Ultimately, the Empire was what it was, like all empires, neither glorious nor abominable.

Any beneficial acts were incidental rather than part of any particular strategy. The aim of the Empire was to exploit the resources of the world for the benefit of the British ruling class.
These places would have been better off left alone than subjected to the exploitation of the British Empire.

So the exploitative activities of the Belgians in the Congo, Belgian Congo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, the Germans in SW Africa Herero and Namaqua Genocide - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia would have been preferable? There was a "Scramble for Africa" If Britain hadn't "exploited" those resources other Europeans would have. We may have to be ashamed of some of the things we did, but I venture to suggest we were more "humane" exploiters than some others. Not sure why you want to single out the British Empire for opprobrium?

 

[defcon4]

Not to mention the British doing stuff like stopping Indian widows from becoming kindling on their husband's funeral pyre. Or ending the African slave trade.

Also supressing the Thugee cult, allegedly "the most destructive terrorist group in history". Thuggee - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I suspect that for every "evil" act committed by the British Empire, you could find at least one "good" or "beneficial" act to compensate. Ultimately, the Empire was what it was, like all empires, neither glorious nor abominable.

What have the British done to you?

They bought some weekend houses in Wales...

 

[Mindful]

Not to mention the British doing stuff like stopping Indian widows from becoming kindling on their husband's funeral pyre. Or ending the African slave trade.

Also supressing the Thugee cult, allegedly "the most destructive terrorist group in history". Thuggee - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I suspect that for every "evil" act committed by the British Empire, you could find at least one "good" or "beneficial" act to compensate. Ultimately, the Empire was what it was, like all empires, neither glorious nor abominable.

What have the British done to you?

They bought some weekend houses in Wales...

Oh yes. Forgot about that.

 

[Challenger]

Not to mention the British doing stuff like stopping Indian widows from becoming kindling on their husband's funeral pyre. Or ending the African slave trade.

Also supressing the Thugee cult, allegedly "the most destructive terrorist group in history". Thuggee - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I suspect that for every "evil" act committed by the British Empire, you could find at least one "good" or "beneficial" act to compensate. Ultimately, the Empire was what it was, like all empires, neither glorious nor abominable.

What have the British done to you?

They bought some weekend houses in Wales...

...and the Welsh set fire to them.

 

[Mindful]

Not to mention the British doing stuff like stopping Indian widows from becoming kindling on their husband's funeral pyre. Or ending the African slave trade.

Also supressing the Thugee cult, allegedly "the most destructive terrorist group in history". Thuggee - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I suspect that for every "evil" act committed by the British Empire, you could find at least one "good" or "beneficial" act to compensate. Ultimately, the Empire was what it was, like all empires, neither glorious nor abominable.

What have the British done to you?

They bought some weekend houses in Wales...

...and the Welsh set fire to them.

That's common knowledge.

 

[Picaro]

Not to mention the British doing stuff like stopping Indian widows from becoming kindling on their husband's funeral pyre. Or ending the African slave trade.

Also supressing the Thugee cult, allegedly "the most destructive terrorist group in history". Thuggee - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I suspect that for every "evil" act committed by the British Empire, you could find at least one "good" or "beneficial" act to compensate. Ultimately, the Empire was what it was, like all empires, neither glorious nor abominable.

We can also note the impressive numbers of former colonies who have freely chosen to remain in the Commonwealth, and send their scholars to English university.

 

[Picaro]

And it's attracted some of the "usual suspects"

That is one of my favorite movies. I watch it at least twice a year even now.

The Usual Suspects (1995) - IMDb

30 Unusual facts about The Usual Suspects

 

[Tilly]

Not to mention the British doing stuff like stopping Indian widows from becoming kindling on their husband's funeral pyre. Or ending the African slave trade.

Also supressing the Thugee cult, allegedly "the most destructive terrorist group in history". Thuggee - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I suspect that for every "evil" act committed by the British Empire, you could find at least one "good" or "beneficial" act to compensate. Ultimately, the Empire was what it was, like all empires, neither glorious nor abominable.

What have the British done to you?

They bought some weekend houses in Wales...

Good point. Quite a shameful recent episode illustrating the hatred of the Welsh for the English (aka according to Tammy - the 'oppressors' *snicker*) and quite cowardly too.

 

[bodecea]

Jallianwala Bagh massacre

Is that a rocket ship or a huge phallic symbol?

Yes...laugh at it.

 

[Dhara]

I believe black bird pie is a fine example of British abuses...

Tripe is right up there for me.

 

[Tilly]

I believe black bird pie is a fine example of British abuses...

Tripe is right up there for me.

You think we eat tripe and blackbirds

 

[Dhara]

I believe black bird pie is a fine example of British abuses...

Tripe is right up there for me.

You think we eat tripe and blackbirds

My granny sure did. Tripe but not blackbirds.