unfeasibly large amounts of food I watched the furor breaking out in Virginia. As I touched upon in my last post regarding the future of wargaming, a countries history no matter how unpalatable is in the process of being socially engineered by various special interest groups in order to suit their purposes.
I don't seek to condone the death of the girl protester and the needless deaths of the two state troopers but watching the images of protesters tearing down the memorial to the Confederate fallen it frankly sickened me, simply because these so called liberals are acting as badly as the dangerous clowns in the KKK. Both are contemptible in their behaviour and frankly deserve to be placed in a room together to sort out their stupidity without affecting the lives of the majority of ordinary people who just want to get on with life.
Trump has been pilloried for comparing the two sides, and it was interpreted as a clumsy attempt to justify the behaviour of the KKK. I dont think Trump is clever enough to attempt that and in fact naively tried to articulate what a lot of onlookers were thinking, namely that one side was as bad as the other.
So where does it end? Clearly the 'liberals' will prevail becaue they usually shout the loudest and the Liberal Elite have more power, so the Confederate memorials will disappear one by one. Perhaps that is for the best, but why stop there. Because after such rage, a new target will be looked for. I fully expect to see college students holding a book burning ceremony of all books charting the history of the conflict and God help any author who has written a balanced book about the rebellion.
The revisionists will have a field day as they re write the conflict to suit their political narratives.
So what has this to do with wargaming? Well as I have stated before we are an easy target for such protests. Lets be right the title War and Gaming stick in the craw of inadequates looking for offence and given the effect of Social medja [sic] I fully expect some shit to come our way eventually.
Ultra modern gaming is a case in point, fighting a game involving the Taliban or even Isis is just too good a target for some of the worthies on the Internet, and don't mention the Indian Mutiny, or the first war of Indian Liberation as I have seen it called recently?
Given how this country follows the USA in everything, I can see our precious Snowflakes lassoing the statue of Churchill, or Queen Victoria and attempt to pull them down. I mean one was a Warmonger and the other was the Oppressor of the Indian sub continent.
There is no defence to ignorance, so baton down the hatches and carry a very big stick, just in case.
Oh and I had a wonderful time in the USA, by the way.
Those that forget history are doomed to repeat it . However if I was a black American would I not feel a tad annoyed having to walk past statues to a cause that tried to continue enslavement ? . The statues are themselves a piece of history - put them in a 'Statue Museum' ? , Tony
ReplyDeleteI think it was during the first term as Prime Minister that Tony Blair demanded that the Foreign Office take down various paintings of past British historical events and personalities. The inference being our Imperial history was a bad thing to document.I suppose thats why we saw the toe curling apology to the Irish Government for the Potato Famine? Man has committed terrible offences in the past, and you are correct ignoring them always leads to history repeating itself. As for the statues in the USA, personally the erection of various figures from Black American Civil Rights struggles could have perhaps settled the upset being generated by certain groups. Pissing off one group at the expense of another is never going to solve anything. Especially in a country where most people have access to a firearm.
Deletegood point Robbie, especially the gun thing.
DeleteInteresting viewpoint Robbie. However, we should remember that the statue removed was of a Confederate General who fought for a cause that supported and encouraged the oppression and enslavement of a large group of people. Move forward a hundred years and you will find there are no statues for Rommel. Why? because he fought for a side that no one in their right mind would support (and yes I am aware that Rommel was not necessarily a Nazi but he did fight on their side). As such I can understand why such statues would be removed. Like you I am concerned about the sanitising of history, but that has been going on for centuries (read your Shakespear to see how much political influence there is in his plays). Should I see a bunch of protestors outside a show I'll buy them a nice cup of tea and ask them in to see what really happens - dialogue and communication rather than placards and protests.
ReplyDeletePaul,
DeleteYou know I like to throw some discussion point into my blog, simply to get wargamers thinking.Clearly such posts would never appear in the safe Wargaming magazines. The problems in the South will now be further inflamed as each side digs in claiming their heritage is under attack by the otherside. Its a mess really, not helped by the inevitable media.I always think of the furore created when the country wanted to erect a statue to Air Marshal Downing? As for dialogue, yeah its good to talk. If someone is listening of course.
Statues are not history, they merely express how we want to commemorate and honour our history. Of course there are always societal issues at stake, and the way we look at historical personalities now is different from how those personalities were perceived 100 years ago or 100 years into the future. I think it's very natural that any country debates those issues. What seemed a right cause yesterday might not be the right cause tomorrow, due to new insights we get from studying and looking critically at our history.
ReplyDeleteRemoving statues is not erasing history. Statues are not our history. But they do say something about how we want to remember that history.
Phil,
DeleteYou are right, statues are merely an object meant to commemorate a moment.Unfortunately like so many things they become a symbol used by groups to show how they are being victimised or oppressed.For me, a couple of dozen bronzes of Martin Luther King across from the original statues might have offset some of the rage. Its too late now of course. The problem will come when the KKK et al decide the removal is an 'attack' on their 'culture.'There are an awful lot of trigger happy people in the South very keen to refight the rebellion.
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ReplyDeleteRobbie,
ReplyDeleteAs usual some thought provoking issues and in general I go along with Paul's view and that what was commemorated 100 years ago may not be such a good idea now. A book Aly Morrison recommended to me and one I commend to you is Confederates in the Attic, a very intriguing and interesting book which highlights a lot of the underlying issues that still exist in the Southern States and their views on Northerners even before you add the mix of colour, creed or religion.
As to sanitising history that has gone on since time began, the victor writes history, years later it's re written. Then years later still modern day values are applied by people who have never experienced or lived through war and it's either trivialised or forgotten and then it is all repeated by the ignorant Andy the old grognards like us will say well if you looked at your history you'd know that!
Bloody hell Robbie you were in the Police long enough to know how many times senior officers just repeated the mistakes of yesterday but put new labels on it.
Afternoon Graham,
DeleteIm afraid its not just our old profession that repeats the same mistakes. Teaching and the Health Service are constantly being 'reformed' by people whose only intention is to further their own careers. They cause a bit of caos and then bullshit themselves into a new job where they cause some more chaos. Sadly they are never culpable for the mess they leave behind. Which is a bit off the subject. Actually Graham Ive done some further reading regarding the Statues in the South, which tends me to rethink a lot of what I was saying. Robert E Lee was set against the said statue in question, and called for it not be erected, sadly he was ignored. I think if Lincoln had lived, and had been able to carry through his reconciliation programme, history may have been kinder. Sadly the gun won that argument.Still like I say its good to think and chat.
Good point Graham about modern day values. Who would have a single thought today that Victorian Britain was not wrong in going to war with China to enforce the importantion of opium from the poppet fields of Bengal. But then it was different and we can't fairly judge people by what to them was 'normal' and justified.
ReplyDeleteI read today that many of these statues have been removed by towns and cities across the southern states at the request of the citizens, so perhaps outsiders should just mind their own business.
ReplyDeleteRobbie, trust your well mate. These statues are not war memorials or neutral reminders of historical events. They were put up decades later in an attempt to rewrite history so as to promote an extremist political view point (the KKK) and part of the oppression of a large minority in the South. The Confederacy was defeated and that was a good thing for both the USA and the world. That some groups still have a problem with that fact is an issue for modern American politics and race relations. Removing statues or indeed putting them up, is not re writing history, its politics.
ReplyDeleteHope to see you at Border Reviever.