(no subject)

[rhivolution]

Right, not to start a flame war, but I've left the usually interesting dw_britglish because I don't really want to hang out with a bunch of imperialist apologists. (of both the British and US American varieties, by the by.)

If I ever needed an illustration of how little the impact of the British Empire on former colonies is currently understood by white people, I just got it. You can be interested in British culture without supporting all historical (and, frankly, current) decisions that hurt people or white-washing over the bad parts.

Yes, I am white and from the US, but, to take a turn of phrase from my relatives, that ain't no reason to be fuckin' IGNORANT.

That is all, carry on.

(PS: This isn't just Britain, either. Anyone who knows me knows I will gladly air US dirty laundry. It just didn't come up.)

ETA: The pertinent post has been deleted. [snort]

Comments

[futuransky]

S is flabbergasted and horrified when I tell her how little I learned in school about British colonialism. Ie, almost nothing. "But what did they tell you were the causes of the First World War?" she exclaims... Surely not the ridiculous Archduke Ferdinand thing... Yeah.

[littlebutfierce]

But I learned the Archduke Ferdinand in my (admittedly crappy, low-performing, but still) school too!

[rhivolution]

Me too. Though it was more 'that was the impetus, there were loads of other things that played into it'.

[futuransky]

Right, it was a complicated set of things... but colonialism (and, indeed, the existence of a world outside Europe and the US) were not especially emphasized at my school. We did learn a lot about the history of the Scottish labour movement though...

[futuransky]

S went to an amazing school in Brazil where she was taught history by Marxist dissident intellectuals and I don't think she quite understands how poorly most people get taught to think about global forces... Or possibly she understands it about the US but expects more from Europe.

[torachan]

LOL Yeah, I specifically remember it because the way my teacher had us take notes, there was always a section for "the spark that started the war" and for WWI it was Archduke Ferdinand...