I feel bad for being born in Britain. Should I ?

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MatchboxVagabond
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27 Oct 2024, 4:38 pm

King Kat 1 wrote:
The USA has its own nasty history as well. All I can say is, one does not get to decide where they are born.

Most, if not all, countries have a nasty history if you go back far enough.



RetroGamer87
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27 Oct 2024, 6:33 pm

chris1989 wrote:
I am well aware of being born in a country which had the biggest empire in the world and enslaved peoples of other countries but there seems to be a part of me that should feel ''bad'' for the fact that I was born in a country that became rich and powerful from imperialism and colonialism having hearing a lot in the news, in documentaries, social media and so on and calls for reparations for the slave trade but there the seems to be just as many arguments from lots of people including the royal family who time and again don't apologise but continue to explain that yes it was absolutely appalling but the past was the past and that it was the ''norm'' in those days and we shouldn't put today's modern standards on the standards of the past.


Do you think that Britain has benefited financially from exploiting other countries in the past?

If yes, do you think that Britain still retains some wealth or assets that it acquired or paid for by exploiting other countries in the past?

If yes, do you think that you have benefited personally from these wealth or assets?

[Bonus question]
Do you think that Britain tried to take credit for building up wealth that wasn't built up purely through their own efforts?


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techstepgenr8tion
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27 Oct 2024, 11:02 pm

I know this opinion isn't popular these days but - don't think like that, it doesn't help anything.

If you're morally bothered by something you're seeing in the world:

1) Try to understand root fundamentals of the problem - at a 'first principles' level. You'll have an idea of readiness based on how many areas lacking clarity you're able to figure out, vet your answers to, etc..

2) Figure out what you have to offer to either solving the problem directly or helping those solve the problem who you think, after your thorough research, have both the right mindset and a deep / solid knowledge base of the problems.

3) You don't always have to give money or time (that's good if it's possible), sometimes it's just spreading interviews or discussions with politicians, academics, or independent polymaths, or pretty much anyone who hit you has having a uniquely square view of the topics. You can look as well at your research of the topics and becoming incredibly well informed about outcomes (key) and which ideas - implemented in the real world - would survive game theory well enough to still make those solutions function (easiest way to do that is self-interest being built in, like play-to-earn, but it's not always easy to figure out how to do that).

4) If it's deceptive or weaponized enough of a topic, or heavily politicized in general, it'll probably have a reality distortion field - research the major researchers first to figure out who they are and what their angles are before diving too far into their work so you can see the yellow and red flags / cards.


What I mean by the above - I think being solutions focused is perfectly fine as an alternative to self-flaggelation. I get that a lot of people would disagree for their own reasons but, at least in my own life I've had enough problems that self-flaggelating over my own race has never made sense, especially if I know that my bandwidth for that is small enough that it'll negatively impact how I can show up for other people in the world. At the end of the day I can't find a reason why self-flaggelation is of practical use to anyone aside from society's permanent fifth column which knows no race, no gender, no religion, no borders, and similarly know no shame, no guilt, and no pangs over moral issues (good ol dark tetrad trying to keep people immiserated, fighting, and easy to divide and conquer).


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ToughDiamond
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28 Oct 2024, 10:35 am

Glad to see that everybody here thinks the OP should NOT feel guilty for what the British empire did. I'm with you 100% on that.

I've occasionally read claims by some folks (not here on WP) that "we" have a lot to be ashamed of about "our" atrocities during the empire days. I always wonder, who do they mean by "we"? I guess it boils down to that patriotic sense of belonging and identity with Britain that some people who were born in the UK have. Maybe it's a neurotypical thing. Me, I just see the UK leaders as "them," and I don't feel in the least responsible for what they do or did, because that's completely outside my control. All I can do is vote, and as I live in a safe Labour constituency, even that makes no practical difference. And I can't turn back the clock.



enz
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29 Oct 2024, 5:04 pm

"if you profited from labor shouldn't you reimburse?"

royal family "f**k you that's not how slavery works"

its really hard for some people to admit there wrong

*edited for clarification



Last edited by enz on 29 Oct 2024, 6:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.

techstepgenr8tion
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29 Oct 2024, 6:40 pm

enz wrote:
"if you profited from labor shouldn't you reimburse?"

"f**k you that's not how slavery works"

its really hard for some people to admit there wrong

We talking Libya and surrounding areas, Mexican border-crossing abductees, or something else?


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enz
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29 Oct 2024, 6:52 pm

techstepgenr8tion wrote:
enz wrote:
"if you profited from labor shouldn't you reimburse?"

"f**k you that's not how slavery works"

its really hard for some people to admit there wrong

We talking Libya and surrounding areas, Mexican border-crossing abductees, or something else?


thanks, edited