Some of Free Republics More Disgruntled

Free Republic ^ | Various

[insider_uk]

You mean your ROMAN ancestors, eh?

So you're not a Brit then?

Yet you chose to fly the Union Flag, on your home page?

[Cronos]

Duuh -- I was referring to your erroneous statement:

We did a good job spreading civilisation and prosperity without you.

To which I replied:
Oh really? Pray tell how? By pulling strings and looting nations that had highly developed city states when all good Britons were painting themselves blue and wearing animal skins?

Let's see, the places England colonised: India, China (well Hong Kong), Africa etc. For Africa, I'll grant you, the Brits did spread civilisation there as the native civilisations were way way primitive. However, CHina and India were civilised nations way before the Normans invaded, before the Saxons invaded, heck, even before the Celts moved in -- when they had their city states around 1700 B.C., all good Britons WERE wearing animal skins and living in caves.

[Cronos]

Yes, the Spaniards who attacked us and tried to take our freedom away.

No, the Spaniards who tried to force your lecherous Henry VIII to respect his marriage to their King's sister.

[Cronos]

Europeans who today pretend to be Americans.

Really? By that logic, I suppose modern day Europeans should really be classified as Central Asian-Iran-Indian ARyans who pose as Europeans, considering the the Aryans moved there from CentralAsia-Eastern Iran-Western India. Or perhaps that's still not far back enough and Euros are really Africans?

[Cronos]

I do love a conspiracy theorist, especially one who lives on the island he claims to hate so much (are you a muslim?)

Nope. This island needs to be reformed and the US is the country that can reform the UK and return it to God

[Cronos]

'Cause I'm based here for the moment.

[nopardons]

South Africa was civilized by the Boers.The Brits decided that they wanted what the Boers had and threw Afrikaner women,children,and old men in the first CONCENTRATION CAMPS,to get what they wanted.

[Cronos]

In short Lutonian, old boy, your country DID great things, but it wasn't the font of all civilisation bringing civilisation and culture to the savages. The folks on this BB are sick of you claiming to be the be-all and end-all. We'll acknowledge you as having done something great, but not as the supreme ones.

[tjwmason]

China and India were civilised nations way before the Normans invaded

Indeed, and if you knew the slightest thing about British Imperialism you would know that the high level of Indian civilisation greatly affected the manner in which we engaged with the Indians. To take over was never our original plan (indeed most of the British Empire happened by accident), we (being the inventors of modern globalised capitalism) just wanted to trade and make ourselves rich.

Later on, I will admit, we did such ghastly things as suppressing suttee - I do hope that you will forgive us.

[Cronos]

Note -- I'm not denying the Brits did great things -- the balance sheet is definitely on the positive side for their Empire, as opposed to the French or even worse, the Belgian Empires. However, to state that the English brought civilisation and culture to all of the lands they colonised is patently false. Taking THAT extreme pushes everyone else to the other extreme.

I don't think the Brits need to beg forgiveness for everything -- especially NOW, generations after the events took place! It's like telling modern day Germans to atone for the sins of their grandfathers (of course that's way more guilt) -- silly.

[Cronos]

Completely skipped over the ghastly thing bit. Hmmm... and besides suppressing suttee, the BRitish Empire did exacerbate the Bengal famine (just like it did for hte Irish potato famine), it did succeed in impoverishing the country by forcing it to buy produced goods from merry ole England (thereby lining the pockets of the mill-owners inBritain) -- a captive market. Yes, your ancestors did do that, plus created the first concentration camps as pointed out by nopardons. The Brits also created many of the world's problem areas like Kashmir, Pakistan, Saudi A (remember El Laurence -- LAwrence of Arabia?), Iraq (a state cobbled out of 3 distinct provinces of the Ottoman EMpire joined only so the brits could take the oil), THe Palestinian state (by refusing to let the Jews have Israel until the Jews kicked the Brits out), then Northern Ireland, sitting idly by while the Turks slaughtered a million Christian Armenians.

And going a bit further back, remember the Crimean war? When the Brits fought AGAINST Christian Russia, preventing Russia from liberating Constantinople and all of the Balkans from the Muslim Turk's grasp?

All in the past no doubt, but reminders that your Empire was not as "glorious" as you'd like to believe. BEtter than others, no doubt, but still with many, many flaws.

At one stage the Brits were dominant (the late 1800s) but they never changed the world for the better as America is doing now.

[jjbrouwer]

...they never changed the world for the better as America is doing now.

Hilarious!

Tell that to the people of mighty Granada or any of the other tiny nations bullied by America under the Reagan regime.

Then Clinton generously bombed the crap out of Serbia to "change the world for the better".

Dubya blew holes in some sand dunes to get himself reelected and is still "changing the world for the better", searching for those elusive/ non-existent weapons of mass destruction.

Meanwhile, in recent history, America has "changed the world for the better" by befriending lunatics like Noriega and Saddam - before turning against them when it suits them.

Ironically, though America has caused havoc all over the world, only about ten per cent of you even have passports!

[jjbrouwer]

In fairness, FR is not representative of America. While only ten per cent of Americans may have passports, I would "guesstimate" that about one per cent of Freepers have them.

The gap-tooth bible belt contingent probably think driving out of their trailer park is a foreign voyage.

[quidnunc]

jjbrouwer wrote: In fairness, FR is not representative of America. While only ten per cent of Americans may have passports, I would "guesstimate" that about one per cent of Freepers have them. The gap-tooth bible belt contingent probably think driving out of their trailer park is a foreign voyage.

What with the level of dental hygene endemic to Britain, you probably shouldn'y be throwing the term 'gap-toothed' about so lightly.

[jjbrouwer]

A popular myth.

Several American dentists have told me that US teeth are far worse. Cosmetically, they look whiter and more healthy but in reality they are an accident waiting to happen - because of the poor American diet and the Americans' love for candy and donuts.

[quidnunc]

jjbrouwer wrote: A popular myth.

No, I don't think so. jjbrouwer wrote: Several American dentists have told me that US teeth are far worse.

And just how would they know?

jjbrouwer wrote: Cosmetically, they look whiter and more healthy but in reality they are an accident waiting to happen - because of the poor American diet and the Americans' love for candy and donuts.

Once again, diet isn't something upon which Brits should be lecturing anybody — including New Guinea tribesmen.

Exhibit #1 is the fact that deep-fried Mars bars are considered a delicacy in the UK.

Dentists on your side of the poind are so scarce that some people in the British hinterlands don't have access to one.