Has everything the West done bad ?

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chris1989
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30 Dec 2021, 11:35 am

I think in the Western world we are all brought up to believe that everything we do is great and good. But I know we have flaws where we in colonial times exploited other countries for their resources. It does annoy me today when some people argue that the British were worse than the Nazis and try to compare us to them.
I don't agree that everything was good about the British Empire and yes there were atrocities like Amritsar and concentration camps in South Africa but I do disagree that it never carried out the kind of despicable acts that the Nazis carried out, we never set up camps for the sole purpose of exterminating them because we hated them. I'm not all for all the wokery that is going on right now but I do understand that our history has parts which I don't like and am not proud of but we can't try to make out as though they were all bad with every single thing we did and compare the standards and values of the 18th century to the 21st century. In South Africa and the Congo there are still remnants of their colonial pasts still standing and have not been torn down by the people who were oppressed and exploited because they understand its a part of their history to learn from.



Fnord
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30 Dec 2021, 11:42 am

Is everything the West has done bad?

I suppose it depends on your religion, your politics, and your overall philosophy.

There are some people who seem to perceive all of Western Culture as evil, and worthy only of being blotted out.

Others have more realistic perceptions, and see both good and evil in every culture.



funeralxempire
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30 Dec 2021, 12:10 pm

I'm not even sure 'the west' is a valid concept.

The British Empire invented concentration camps, among the evils it committed.

The major colonial powers all inflicted unspeakable horrors on the peoples they conquered and nothing about that process is worthy of celebration.


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Fnord
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30 Dec 2021, 12:17 pm

I imagine "The West" to include the EU, the UK, and the USA.



funeralxempire
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30 Dec 2021, 12:21 pm

Fnord wrote:
I imagine "The West" to include the EU, the UK, and the USA.


Sometimes Russia and the rest of Eastern Europe is in, sometimes they're not; the Middle East is the cradle of western civilization and yet not part of the west; etc.


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Fnord
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30 Dec 2021, 12:25 pm

funeralxempire wrote:
Fnord wrote:
I imagine "The West" to include the EU, the UK, and the USA.
Sometimes Russia and the rest of Eastern Europe is in, sometimes they're not; the Middle East is the cradle of western civilization and yet not part of the west; etc.
Then "The West" is just a convenient scapegoat for everyone else's self-generated troubles.



funeralxempire
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30 Dec 2021, 12:40 pm

Fnord wrote:
funeralxempire wrote:
Fnord wrote:
I imagine "The West" to include the EU, the UK, and the USA.
Sometimes Russia and the rest of Eastern Europe is in, sometimes they're not; the Middle East is the cradle of western civilization and yet not part of the west; etc.
Then "The West" is just a convenient scapegoat for everyone else's self-generated troubles.


It isn't just used as a scapegoat, it's just as useful for deluded self-congratulations by self-proclaimed western chauvinists.


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lostonearth35
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30 Dec 2021, 1:44 pm

Humans from all parts of the world have done unspeakably bad things and still are and it's infuriating. Western countries (the US mostly) are just easy targets.



chris1989
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05 Jan 2022, 12:32 pm

Recently their has been a petition to remove Tony Blair's knighthood because obviously his legacy is controversial considering the Iraq War and so on. I do hear time and again that he should be put on trial in the Hague for war crimes. I do think Saddam should have been toppled from power after he invaded Kuwait and not 12 years later although the Iraqi people are better off without Saddam now. I seem to think that we are brought up to think western leaders are immune from any prosecution for war crimes and that it only applies to leaders and tyrants from Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia etc.



theprisoner
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05 Jan 2022, 12:42 pm

It's not so much 'the West,' but our innate animal nature. The West has just been more efficient historically in human management and exerting it's influence over other spheres of the globe.


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AprilR
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05 Jan 2022, 12:57 pm

^ I agree with this, western countries are just able to exert their power and influence more so their acts have more dire consequences



Fnord
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05 Jan 2022, 1:19 pm

funeralxempire wrote:
Fnord wrote:
funeralxempire wrote:
Fnord wrote:
I imagine "The West" to include the EU, the UK, and the USA.
Sometimes Russia and the rest of Eastern Europe is in, sometimes they're not; the Middle East is the cradle of western civilization and yet not part of the west; etc.
Then "The West" is  just  a convenient scapegoat for everyone else's self-generated troubles.
It isn't just used as a scapegoat, it's just as useful for deluded self-congratulations by self-proclaimed western chauvinists.
I can go along with that.