Sins from the past

[davebirch]

Just noticed this article on the ABC website, it's about past injustices by the Dutch on the Indonesian people in 1940.
It also draws a comparison to the British invasion of Australia (that's what Aboriginal people call the 1776 arrival of Cook), and what could happen.

Andi was 10 when his father was murdered in front of him. Now the Netherlands has to pay

The Dutch Government has been ordered to pay $17,000 to a victim of brutal violence it perpetrated in the 1940s. Could the UK do the same?

www.abc.net.au

Here's another view:

Early Indigenous accounts of Captain Cook paint a different picture to history

The accounts given by Indigenous witnesses are hardly ever a straightforward recounting of what Cook did. And they rarely tally with what is recorded in the voyage accounts.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Drog]

Just noticed this article on the ABC website, it's about past injustices by the Dutch on the Indonesian people in 1940.
It also draws a comparison to the British invasion of Australia (that's what Aboriginal people call the 1776 arrival of Cook), and what could happen.

Andi was 10 when his father was murdered in front of him. Now the Netherlands has to pay

The Dutch Government has been ordered to pay $17,000 to a victim of brutal violence it perpetrated in the 1940s. Could the UK do the same?

www.abc.net.au

Here's another view:

Early Indigenous accounts of Captain Cook paint a different picture to history

The accounts given by Indigenous witnesses are hardly ever a straightforward recounting of what Cook did. And they rarely tally with what is recorded in the voyage accounts.

www.abc.net.au

A. I wonder where that will end? Personally I'm looking fwd to getting a few Bob off the Italian govt, the Norwegian / Danish and Swedish govts and a lump off the French too! All paling into insignificance by the wedge we'd get off off the Germans!


B. dave in retort to your opinion made many moons ago on t'other side about current attempts by boat people to migrate unlawfully into Oz, I once suggested to you that what was sauce for the goose was sauce for the gander and you'd better give it all back to the Abo's. I recall you disagreed with me, and to put it mildly with a passion! One thing we can all agree about such events in history is that they were all done for profit in one form or another.

 

[davebirch]

Drog, Can't remember that far back.....

I suppose what I'm saying is, This Indonesian chap has first hand knowledge of what happened and the Dutch court believed him.
It would be far more difficult for an Aboriginal Australian to get such a verdict, given the amount of time that has passed. However, the Aboriginals are known to pass their history down orally, but convincing someone that, that version is correct, would take a mighty leap into the unknown. Oral is a lot harder to prove than written, for some reason.

 

[Drog]

I read somewhere that the gospels weren't written for about a century after Christs death on the cross. Handed down over the generations by word of mouth amongst poorly educated and illiterate folk and it's no wonder all those 'miracles' came into being is it?

 

[Drog]

Poor old bugger. Shingles is one of the most painful of complaints. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...ml?ito=push-notification&ci=26216&si=12752557

I wonder if he now realises how much he's wasted his life wearing out his knees praying to a mythical being.

 

[Drog]

MSN

www.msn.com

“Some objects in National Trust collections depict black people in ways that stereotype them or that objectify black bodies,” the Trust said. “Some cause offence and distress. Objects such as the West Indian slave collar owned by Charles Paget Wade are stark and distressing reminders of the violent oppression faced by black enslaved people. Slavery is a subject that needs handling with the utmost care and sensitivity. We aim to work with and learn from partners and communities so we can redisplay and interpret these items well, outside their previous contexts of decorative art or triumphal display.”

If any of these black lives matter types need stark distressing reminders then perhaps they should visit Auschwitz, Birkenau and the numerous other concentration camps. There is much more than an odd slave collar or two to be seen there. Maybe a tour of the Military cemeteries in France and Belgium might contextualise their issues. Googling the crimes against humanity of Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot would be of benefit to their attitudes too!
A study of history reveals that slavery and oppression was never confined simply to black people. Indeed many black tribes in Africa enslaved other black tribes down the centuries. White slavers frequently paid black people to provide them with their merchandise. Do any of these current rebels without a cause ever pause to ponder that?

Without our colonial past there wouldn't be much in this nation worth looking at would there? Britain historically was a poor nation and vulnerable to all invaders. We only became wealthy in comparison to the leading nations of the time Italy, France and Spain since we learned how to rule the waves, made discoveries all around the world and learned how to pirate Spanish vessels. The industrial revolution which followed gave us amongst other things advanced weaponry which cemented our place at the top of the world rankings for a couple of centuries. Without our 400 years of history since Elizabeth 1 this nation would be much poorer and much less interesting. English wouldn't be the world's second language and nowadays little inflatable boats carrying emigrants would likely be being turned away by French authorities! Oh and Aussies would probably all speak Japanese.