Quote:
Originally Posted by M.R.
Hahaha, yes very brave people - fighting against natives on the level of stone age, even Zulus made them trouble... Commiting horrible crimes against those people, stealing their land, destroying their culture etc - this is really something nationalist can be proud of.
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Yeah yeah... If Slovenia had done the same, you'd feel the same as me.
Atrocities happened, sure, but weren't the rule! Far from it. Britons travelled to unknown lands, struggled in often small numbers in unfamiliar environments against opponents who knew the land intimately. And they did very well on the whole. Blaming it all on technological superiority is simplistic, there was a very strong mental edge that we had, from our confidence in ourselves. Read some Joseph Conrad (your Slavonic cousin) and you'll get an idea of what I mean.
And tell me this, what do you want me to feel about it all? Do you want grovelling and begging for forgiveness? Apologies, and guilt? That would only lead to the death of my nation.
EDIT: This was moved from a thread on a separate matter, so don't interpret the thread title here as my own question! I was just responding that a Briton now can have some legitimate pride in the Imperial achievements of the last few centuries, and needn't feel guilty about it all. He shouldn't ignore the naughty things that went on, but neither should he allow them to be discussed to the point that it seems that was ALL that happened Back In The Day.