So why is Britain now the bad guy?

Here is an example of one of many similar posts that have been appearing on here recently;

Originally posted by XXXXXXX(censored as not relevant to the point)
I cannot stop laughing at the fact that all these UK people are trying to tell us to surrender our guns.. England and its monarchs are responsible for misery all over the world as their military ravaged and pillaged distant lands all for the crown.

The Second Amendment exists solely because of England. And these tyrants descendants are at it again.

The people in the UK are like shills for the N.W.O. or something...

Why is there so much of this lately on ATS. The Hate Britain campaign where exaggerations and lies are OK to use in the absence of a valid point in a discussion? That seems to be being waged by members principally from America but with support from elsewhere too.?

This incidentally was posted in a thread where the British OP was writing about his support for the American position on the 2nd amendment and the vast majority of replies were in agreement, and so makes even less sense, but similar sentiments exist all over these forums. Some UK members expressing an opinion on gun control should be expected on a forum where all members are free to express views on all subjects, surely?
Threads on other subjects contain similar sentiments; Britain is not free while America is, British people live in terror and under oppression, British people are cowards, Britain has committed the worst war crimes in history etc etc. This is not offering a valid criticism of the excesses of the UK Government or the corruption that may well be rife, but an attack on the British identity, and thus on all of us. And it stinks because it assumes we are all compliant in our governments failings, while you seem to absolve yourselves of any responsibility of your own. If that is not how it is, then it is certainly how it is coming across to me.
It is pure, over the top, reactionary nonsense
So what is it all about?

Did people forget the Axis war crimes of the 20th century? Did they forget that the British Empire was not the first in history? Roman, Greek, French, Spanish German etc etc empires were not founded on a voting system like the Eurovision Song Contest you know.
Did our US friends forget that their own ancestors committed genocide to remove an indigenous population in order to establish their ‘homeland’? Or is that last one part of the clue? It has not gone unnoticed that criminal masterminds in US movies tend to feature British Actors, it is a running joke among leading thespians here that they will do some theatre, a little TV and off to Hollywood to play a criminal that gets his arse kicked by the All-American hero

Is it how you salve your national guilt? That you project your national failings onto your (in reality) closest and most trusted ally so you can pretend to be the planets heroes who never did anything wrong?

For lets be clear, no country gets a free pass. We oppressed the Boers, slaughtered the Zulus, conquered India and put down several uprisings etc, all bad karma. But we didn’t kill off the Native Americans until they are a tiny handful of survivors and round them up onto reservations, we did not persist with slavery until the 1860’s and enforce black/white segregation for a further century, we did not try to wipe out the Jewish and the disabled in gas chambers of put prisoners of war into enforced labour until they dropped dead of starvation or drop an Atom bomb on someones head. Lets be real, we ALL have stuff we need to acknowledge and be ashamed of. So quit kicking out at the nation whos people created the common law from which the constitution is derived, who gave the world great Literature, Music and other art forms, the great scientific discoveries and the industrialisation on which Americas economic greatness was built, invented the Railways that allowed the spread Westwards and amongst so many other things, created the internet that allows us all to whine like bitches at each other when we feel like it.

So what is the justification for singling out Britain for the treatment? Anyone who partakes in such comments is surely nothing but a hypocrite. While America has contributed much that is good to the world, as well as the evils of recent years that our government has seemed happy to play along with, it might be argued that Britain has historically done even more, and with its stance in WW2, has proven to ultimately be the most selfless nation in history. Standing alone in that crucial period that kept Nazism at bay and allowed the conditions to occur that meant America got the A bomb first instead of Germany. While that position is undoubtedly tarnished in the last two decades, I don’t feel it justifies the nonsense that gets posted on here.

I have seen similar venting about the USA too, probably for far longer as I recall, and all I can say is, well, now I am appreciating what that crap feels like. Doesn’t make it right though does it.

Thank you and rant over

xxx

Lets be honest, Brits are opinionated, to the point and not afraid to be rude. That is why there is so much hatred when such a topic as this becomes a heated debate. But I wouldn't change the way we are for anybody.

the brits can nag and talk all they want my guns are still going to be semi auto with 30 round clips.

Me too. Thats was bubbling up in me for the last few days and I didnt want to spoil someones thread, lol. I feel better now

Don't know about the hate on here but it does seem that the World only remembers the British Empire and nothing else in World History. I guess we are victims of our own success having the biggest Empire that ever existed and being so influential on the World.

Unfortunately I see it on UK Forums too from other ethnic groups who are born and raised in England. They still play the whole slave trade card to this day even though they were born 100 years or more later than it existed. Pure hatred towards the country they live in for it's history and yet no thoughts at all towards the Arabs for what they did.

Originally posted by NISMOALTI
the brits can nag and talk all they want my guns are still going to be semi auto with 30 round clips.

Surely the point is that we can ALL nag and talk, and debate the various issues, why do some people think they get to dictate the agenda and get all stroppy and insulting when its something that they don't like?

Reginald D Hunter (An American) once said something along the lines of 'Britain is all grown up and mature while America, being a young country, is still a child'.

It WAS for comic effect, but it certainly seems that way sometimes

Unfortunately, there is no shortage of Americans that have the urge to point the finger elsewhere. I live in the U.S. and can assure you that plenty of Americans hate each other just as much as the rest of the world. It's easy to see why the world thinks of us in such a negative way, but just remember that there are plenty of rational U.S. citizens.

Lets not forget the you are all subjects blah blah blah....Nope citizens.
You gave up your freedom by giving up your guns.....Nope can get a gun If I want one.(legally)
Some forget what we have done for the world...The list is too big.

reply to post by mindflush


There are, and even better, there are more and more every day as my cousin is a Teacher over there

Originally posted by NISMOALTI
the brits can nag and talk all they want my guns are still going to be semi auto with 30 round clips.

we,r hated cause to us this statement is pure madness.

where as to americans having an arsenal of weapons is normal......for what reason i,ll never understand but may as well talk to a brick wall as why they shouldn,t

reply to post by boymonkey74


All that was what was behind my rant, when I went onto the third page in Word I decided to stop

reply to post by waynos


The fact that most of us ignore such posts doesn't mean they represent the majority opinion. I've read many of those threads, though I often didn't participate. As a rule I don't bother to enter a thread only to chastise someone for being awful. And that is pretty awful.

There are all kinds here on ATS. Many are young, or badly socialized, or cannot argue without calling names. It gets worse the more heated the arguments and the more strongly people feel toward the subject. And thus, I think, less likely that the better-behaved will punish the ill-behaved.

By the way, I did notice that some of the Brits gave as well as they got. I wouldn't be too discouraged; there are enough of us who have better manners and a much deeper appreciation of history and kinship....

reply to post by waynos


It is quite simple.

You are arguing with people that don't understand their own history and need to put their ideas down in the hopes of getting as many stars as possible so they can feel great!

If you question them, you are labelled Anti-American, which is as overused and irrelevant as the "race card". It is the sure sign of either a poor argument or lack of knowledge on their part.

*DISCLAIMER*
I am not referring to every American, that would be as ridiculous as me having to make this disclaimer so people will concentrate on the message instead of accusing me of lumping all Americans together.

reply to post by Ex_CT2


Please be assured that I know its only the knuckledraggers (that word upset someone the other day, so I thought I'd use it again) and not Americans in general. Some of the greatest and most informative conversations I've enjoyed anywhere have been with American members on this board. Sometimes when I myself make a comment referring to "American's" I am embarrassed and regret it afterwards because its a generalistation, and I hate it when others do that.

Originally posted by waynos
reply to post by Ex_CT2

 

Please be assured that I know its only the knuckledraggers (that word upset someone the other day, so I thought I'd use it again) and not Americans in general. Some of the greatest and most informative conversations I've enjoyed anywhere have been with American members on this board. Sometimes when I myself make a comment referring to "American's" I am embarrassed and regret it afterwards because its a generalistation, and I hate it when others do that.

There are generalizations and there are generalizations. My dad tried to make me understand that, for instance, there's a difference between "racial" generalizations and "cultural" generalizations. I think there are fair generalizations about most cultures--otherwise you wouldn't be able to distinguish between, say, the Chinese and the Japanese. You might also be able to make generalizations about Chicagoans and San Franciscans. And, by extension, Americans and Brits.

On the other hand, some generalizations are mistaken, harmful, and cruel. We all know which ones they are--and yet some people want to use them anyway. Draw your own conclusions....

Just to try and make us feel better about ourselves (reflected glory and all that balls)

Ten BRITISH inventions that changed the world (note number

listverse.com... 10)

and here is a more comprehensive list. feel free to spot the mistakes, as even at first glance I think the Fokker E.1 predates the Vicker sFB.5, so its just for fun.

en.wikipedia.org...

Originally posted by michael1983l
Lets be honest, Brits are opinionated, to the point and not afraid to be rude. That is why there is so much hatred when such a topic as this becomes a heated debate. But I wouldn't change the way we are for anybody.

Actually - I wouldn't say that all Brits are that way at all. Goodness knows people from all over world can be like that.

I've said this before, and I'll say it again. I've read about the UK, seen shows and movies about the UK, even visited it a few times. As a person I certainly have the right to say whatever I want. But, I'll never have the experience of the UK and the perspective of the UK as a person who was born there, lived there, grew up there.

So, while I could say whatever I want, if I get too rude, too opinionated or go off on sounding like I know it everything about how the UK should do everything - then sooner or later someone from the UK is going to say to me, "Shut yer hole ya bloody yank!!".. or words to that effect. Ya know what? they would actually have a very good reason for doing so.

What were are seeing here on the boards is basically that same kind of scenario playing out..

Because the whole reason the revolutionary war was fought and America was founded was because a few brave men decided to rise up against the tyranny of Great Britain. Could you understand a bit why we would be mad that the British now are trying to impose their will on us again and surrender the one thing that allowed America to be created?

The thing I find hilarious, especially with being a Brit in all of this, is how some American's (obviously not all as a great deal are genuinely great people) cry and moan about freedom when it comes to expression and gun ownership, but when an opinion against gun's in particular is shared all a sudden that opinion is meaningless and unimportant and when it comes to Brits all of a sudden, because we don't live there, we should have absolutely no opinion on the matter whatsoever.

It's truly amazing logic - "You're allowed to say whatever you want, it's all about being free.. but if you say something that I disagree with you better shut up." I've seen it countless times now. It really is amazing. And hey, even if we do not live there, sorry, but we're more than entitled to an opinion still. It's not exclusive to those who share a home there and an outside perspective shouldn't be censored because it's not something you agree with. We have just as much right to an opinion on an issue such as this as everyone else is.

reply to post by WP4YT


"The British" aren't doing that at all. Some people on the Internet from several countries and Piers Morgan are. Why can't you get your head around that? Many British posters have voiced the opposite opinion, why doesn't that count for anything?

And again with the emotive 'British Tyranny ' nonsense. It was oppression actually