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 threadBarney Dellar (he/him)Mar 20
@cstross @dave @quixoticgeek Ross Greer from the Greens got in loads of “trouble” a few years back for saying what a monster Churchill was.
Show threadCharlie StrossMar 20
@BarneyDellar @dave @quixoticgeek The myth of the "just war" of WW2 (because look, Hitler!) took root really deeply in the UK. If you're going to surrender an empire it helps to have a just-so story to take the sting away. Too bad a lot of the formative mythology of modern England is 100% pure bullshit and lies.
Show threadQuixoticgeek
@cstross @BarneyDellar @dave this thread is a strong argument for having an otter and a squirrel on the UK bank notes.
Mar 20 at 1:39pmWeb
Show threadCharlie StrossMar 20
@quixoticgeek @BarneyDellar @dave I dunno, I think we missed a trick in not replacing Churchill with a tapeworm, or maybe scrofula or herpes.