Dave RobinsonMar 20
In 1919 someone famous said this:

“I cannot understand this squeamishness about the use of gas. I am strongly in favour of using poisoned gas against uncivilised tribes”

He was the government minister for war, and he was talking about the Middle East (Kurds and Afghans).

It was Winston Churchill. Not much has changed. The disregard for human life continues.

#IranWar
Show threadCharlie StrossMar 20

@dave @quixoticgeek

Yeah, what many anglophones today don't seem to realize is that Winston was a monstrous asshole.

For perspective, consider that it took fricken' HITLER to make him look good.

(In his defense: he was born in 1874 and as an officer in the British Army rode in cavalry charges against Pashtuns in what is now Pakistan: classic Victorian imperial soldiering. By the 20th century he was already a living fossil.)

Show threadcatchMar 20
@cstross @dave @quixoticgeek
Don't think you needed to be born in the 20th century to know that concentration camps and fascism are bad. He approved of concentration camps during the boer war. Then put ones in place in Kenya and Malaya in the 1950s. And wrote back to his sister how much he loved Mussolini in the '20s.
Show threadCharlie StrossMar 20
@catch56 @dave @quixoticgeek Yup! Like I said, it took Hitler to make him look good. An absolute monster in any other context.
Show threadDave Robinson
@cstross @catch56 @quixoticgeek
And he was an alcoholic too. Probably not advisable to have an alcoholic running the country.
Mar 20 at 1:16pmWeb