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"Why can't Britain handle the truth about Winston Churchill?"

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Ghost of a Duke

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'Great and good are rarely the same man.'

Winston Churchill

D

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Earl of Trumps
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@Duchess64 -
The reality is that most white Brits prefer to cling to a fundamentally dishonest view of British history.


Does the Duchess cling to the corrupt view of Chinese history, about Mao ?

D

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T

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I've always thought that the decision made by the British public in the 1945 general election was one of the most astonishing acts of political maturity ever collectively performed by a democratic electorate.

I wish they'd put Clement Attlee on our £5 note!

Philokalia

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I think people acknowledge his racist views and still think he's great.

One can acknowledge that the Founding Fathers owned slaves, and still hit the like button.

Only a fool would seek to tear down the great men of history because they did not match up well with the political atmosphere of his time - and what a bizarre time we live in.

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shavixmir
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The post that was quoted here has been removed
Oh please!

You really mean “the English” in this respect.
Go to Glasgow and ask anyone over 60 what they think of Winston Churchill and you’ll get a whole other story than what you’re suggesting is the British mentality towards him.

He sent guns to St. George’s square and it is not forgotten. My mum’s dentures still fly from her face when she recalls her father on the subject.

Churchill is a very interesting character. A brilliant example of the right person at the right time (WW2 war leader) and the wrong person at the wrong time (just ask any New Zealander over 60 what they think of him).

A complete racist, a complete imperialist, very witty, suffered depressions, blunt, strategically quite sound, tactfully incompetent, a brilliant eye for spin and yet a total disregard for image.

Yet. The English who love him (and for his role leading up to and during WW2 quite correctly) they still didn’t vote for him in the elections just after the war.

It’s alright, in hindsight, to judge racism, but you also have to put it in context. Most of his class were racist in that period (arguably still are). But was it racism? Do you think he thought any differently about Irish Catholics, the poor in the North of England or white Nazis?

Looking back, from the British perspective, the most memorable thing about Churchill is his wartime efforts. And in that it’s easy to see why he’s a beloved character.

And all his shortcomings don’t detract from that “single” achievement.

And sadly, but probably luckily, most great men and women are also quite flawed. Otherwise they’d be boring.

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shavixmir
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The post that was quoted here has been removed
Non-English Brits?
You mean rich landowners and industrialists.
The normal population were stuck in sweat shops and coal mines.

Let’s compare Churchill to his conservative peers then. See if he was really that more racist.

His racism stemmed from his belief that the ruling British class was the best in the world. And it didn’t matter if you were black, Jew, Moslim or Catholic Glaswegian... you weren’t of his class, you were inferior.

And that mentality still exists in the British ruling class to this day. They’re just more subtle (usually) on how they project it.

And it’s a flaw to presume it’s targetted racism. It’s just if you aren’t one of them, you’re worthless. Colour and ethnicity has nothing to do with it.

Boris Johnson has said racist things about black people. He’s made equally derogatory remarks about white people from Liverpool.
Why? Because he doesn’t care.
You don’t care about swatting a mosquitto either.
And that’s how they see the world.

Wake up.

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divegeester
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STARMERGEDDON

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Ghost of a Duke

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@shavixmir said
Oh please!

You really mean “the English” in this respect.
Go to Glasgow and ask anyone over 60 what they think of Winston Churchill and you’ll get a whole other story than what you’re suggesting is the British mentality towards him.

He sent guns to St. George’s square and it is not forgotten. My mum’s dentures still fly from her face when she recalls her father on th ...[text shortened]... y, but probably luckily, most great men and women are also quite flawed. Otherwise they’d be boring.
A fair summary.

vivify
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The post that was quoted here has been removed
Most Scots don't see themselves as "British" and actually object to the term.

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