The Atrocities of Your National Heritage... This is a Fun Thread! :D

[DirtyJunkieScum]

I don't know where exactly my friends grew up, but I know it wasn't in Belfast. They are in their early twenties and grew up in Ireland(don't remember the city). I bring up Bobby Sands because it wasn't that they loved the IRA as much as they some respect for Sands going on a hunger strike.

I should have specified "grown up in Northern Ireland". Luckily at that age they would have missed the worst of it. Still must have been pretty shit though. Going on hunger strike for something you believe in I can respect. Running guns for murderers I can't.

 

[ejb626]

Canadian: We burned down the white house bitches!

*Ultimate bro-fist*

Why do so many Canadians think this? You didn't burn down the white house a bunch of British soldiers who sailed in from Bermuda did. You still repelled our invasion attempt though, so you can be proud of that. Seriously though the War of 1812 was one of our biggest blunders.

OT: As, an American I'd like to apologize for that chemical factory in Sudan which our then-president blew up to distract the media from his sex scandal.

Canada wasn't even its own nation at the time, just a separated group of US immigrants, British colonialists and loyalists, French settlers and Natives living in the same general area, so we basically claim who we can as ours.

Yeah, I know, I guess since the army of the British Empire was your army at the time,technically you burned the White House down.

 

[Drops a Sweet Katana]

Canadian... hmmm, let's see:
-Bieber

-Nickelback

-Celine Dione, at the very least that song she did for Titanic that sticks in your memory like a limpet mine or so form of mutant slime mould.

-Freddy Got Fingered (There need to be laws against that shit. *shudders*)

-Quebec

-War of 1812, ever so casually burning the White House down. Not sure if anyone died, but still slightly dickish. I mean come on! You couldn't have just raised a flag or shat on the lawn? You had to burn the fucker down? Honestly!

 

[BlackStar42]

Sweden, hmm, what the fuck did we do? You Americans created the stupid Fahrenheit scale to confuse the rest of the world, so Celcius isn't a bad thing.

We were one of the most progressive countries in Scientific racism i the 1920's, so there's that I guess. Though our whole government is in denial about it, so so much for that.

Damn it, why couldn't we have killed some jews or something in the 30's? We're so goddamn boring.

Well, there's always the Vikings. And surströmming. *shudders*

 

[Xifel]

from 1920-1970 we sterilized people for things ranging from murder to skipping class a few times too many. Wouldn't want to have those bad eggs breed, eh?

Yep that is heritage, I recognised our glorius history just by that description.

Don't forget about the lobotomies we performed until 1979 to teenages that were feeling down.

And of course we gave free passage for Nazi troop transports during the invasion and occupation of Norway.

And we probably did some horrible thing during our time as an Empire, but that is a given, right?

 

[miketehmage]

Do I answer as a Scotsman or as a Brit?

I actually can't think of any atrocities committed by the scottish, we usually just kinda chill, and then freak out if someone tries to take our land.

If I'm answering as a Brit though, well yeah, there was that empire thing that was going on for a while.

 

[IamQ]

from 1920-1970 we sterilized people for things ranging from murder to skipping class a few times too many. Wouldn't want to have those bad eggs breed, eh?

Yep that is heritage, I recognised our glorius history just by that description.

Don't forget about the lobotomies we performed until 1979 to teenages that were feeling down.

And of course we gave free passage for Nazi troop transports during the invasion and occupation of Norway.

And we probably did some horrible thing during our time as an Empire, but that is a given, right?

Yeah, and to add on our nice and happy history, we not only let the Nazis through our country, buy we also sold loads of ammunition and weapons to them. Our blossoming economy between 1950-1980 was only because of the blood money we had earned.

 

[Xifel]

Bah, only one of the two Superman creators were Canadian! Besides, the Jews claimed responsibility for creating Superman long ago!

Do you mean that Jesus person?

 

[Hazy992]

I never said that they were perfect or without error, just that I support the idea for a united Ireland.

I hope you realise that this is actually contrary to the wishes of the people of Northern Ireland [http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/2010/Political_Attitudes/NIRELND2.html#religion].

With that in mind I must ask why you seem to feel this is necessary when most people in Northern Ireland don't want it?

 

[Ryotknife]

As an american, im sorry for unleashing the equivalent of 10 simultanous Black Plagues on the native americans. We did not know how diseases worked back then. our bad.

We have a pretty good handle on it now, so there is a plus. so enjoy your thousands of casinos that dot the country and make yourselves rich.....or at least makes the chief rich.

 

[Xifel]

from 1920-1970 we sterilized people for things ranging from murder to skipping class a few times too many. Wouldn't want to have those bad eggs breed, eh?

Yep that is heritage, I recognised our glorius history just by that description.

Don't forget about the lobotomies we performed until 1979 to teenages that were feeling down.

And of course we gave free passage for Nazi troop transports during the invasion and occupation of Norway.

And we probably did some horrible thing during our time as an Empire, but that is a given, right?

Yeah, and to add on our nice and happy history, we not only let the Nazis through our country, buy we also sold loads of ammunition and weapons to them. Our blossoming economy between 1950-1980 was only because of the blood money we had earned.

Well, we could say like all our countrymen: "But of course we had to help them, we wouldn't had a chance. Our country is what it is because we stayed out of the war!"

But Norway or Denmark didn't stand a chance, but at least they had some balls to resist. Fiercely. And the Finns resisted the Soviet, and handed their asses to them, but they are Finnish so that doesn't count...

 

[Helmholtz Watson]

Germany.
Need I say more? Starting two world wars is probably bad enough. Although we are much more guilty for the second one than the first.

I think it could be argued that Serbia started the first world war.

As I said before, while I would agree that the current splinter groups are violent people who should be arrested, I don't feel the same way about the IRA of the past.

I like that the IRA sought to help contribute to the creation of a united Ireland.

Tell me, how is the IRA of the troubles any different from the IRA of today. You've yet to say anything to back this up.

Like I said, the only IRA I think you could ever justifiably support is the pre-partition IRA, which I believe turned peaceful decades before the troubles.

Because I can see no reason how the current splinter groups could justify killing some young cop who wasn't causing anybody harm [http://www.nypost.com/p/news/international/ira_splinter_group_we_killed_officer_v9CQ8IBcx8nOvARrv5AszO]. I can understand people reacting with anger in these situations [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rXCb_EgETE][footnote] I'm not saying the people in this video are part of the IRA[/footnote], but I can't understand why splinter groups would kill some innocent cop who was minding his own business.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birmingham_pub_bombings

The IRA in the troubles did many similar things but on much larger scale. I could find you many more links.

"The explosions killed 21 people and injured 182."

The IRA of the troubles and of today are no different, only the scales and public support have changed.

The article seems to have IRA members says that they didn't do it, and a single member saying they did.

snip

I never said that they were perfect or without error, just that I support the idea for a united Ireland.

Clearly they didn't do it.

I went to the moon. Because I said it it's true.

Here are a few more stats.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provisional_Irish_Republican_Army#Casualties

Two very detailed studies of deaths in the Troubles, the CAIN project at the University of Ulster, and Lost Lives,[103] differ slightly on the numbers killed by the Provisional IRA, but a rough synthesis gives a figure of 1,800 deaths. Of these, roughly 1,100 were members of the security forces: British Army, Royal Ulster Constabulary and Ulster Defence Regiment; between 600 and 650 were civilians and the remainder were either loyalist or republican paramilitaries (including over 100 IRA members accidentally killed by their own bombs or shot after being exposed as security force agents).

Yet you still support them? 600 civilians killed in the name of "freedom" as well as over 1000 police/army forces.

You hated the current day splinter groups for killing a police man in cold blood but you support a group whose total figure was over 1000 times larger for the same thing.

I will remind you that this is just the PIRA and there were quite a few other groups working at that time.

I'm not defending nor do I like the PIRA. They would fall under the splinter groups I was talking about.

EDIT:

I never said that they were perfect or without error, just that I support the idea for a united Ireland.

I hope you realise that this is actually contrary to the wishes of the people of Northern Ireland [http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/2010/Political_Attitudes/NIRELND2.html#religion].

With that in mind I must ask why you seem to feel this is necessary when most people in Northern Ireland don't want it?

And a great number of people in the southern states wanted to succeed from the Union, but it doesn't mean that the Union let them become their own country.

 

[IamQ]

from 1920-1970 we sterilized people for things ranging from murder to skipping class a few times too many. Wouldn't want to have those bad eggs breed, eh?

Yep that is heritage, I recognised our glorius history just by that description.

Don't forget about the lobotomies we performed until 1979 to teenages that were feeling down.

And of course we gave free passage for Nazi troop transports during the invasion and occupation of Norway.

And we probably did some horrible thing during our time as an Empire, but that is a given, right?

Yeah, and to add on our nice and happy history, we not only let the Nazis through our country, buy we also sold loads of ammunition and weapons to them. Our blossoming economy between 1950-1980 was only because of the blood money we had earned.

Well, we could say like all our countrymen: "But of course we had to help them, we wouldn't had a chance. Our country is what it is because we stayed out of the war!"

But Norway or Denmark didn't stand a chance, but at least they had some balls to resist. Fiercely. And the Finns resisted the Soviet, and handed their asses to them, but they are Finnish so that doesn't count...

Well the Finns only managed to fight of the Soviets because of our resources and volunteers that we gave them unofficially.

So we sort of participated in the war, we just didn't want anyone to know until at least 50 years afterwards.

 

[DirtyJunkieScum]

I'm not defending nor do I like the PIRA. They would fall under the splinter groups I was talking about.

PIRA is the IRA (from the late 60's onwards). You are probably thinking of RIRA.

 

[One Shot wonder]

On the Behalf of the United Kingdom of England, Scotland and Wales, and Northern Ireland I hereby apologise for (in no particular order):
- Conquering between 1/4 and 1/3 of you
- Taking the profits of your economies
- Atrocities commissioned in the name of holding said conquests/profits
- Delaying WWII til 1939 when Germany was ready, rather than stopping them (much more easily) in 1933 when Hitler wanted the sudetenland.
- Creating the United states of America with an insufficient convict/relegious nutjob ratio. (For proof, see Australia. More convicts = Better country in the end, kind of).
- One Direction
- Piers Morgan

I do not apologise for:
- Preventing the IRA folding Northern Ireland into the Republic during the 'troubles'.
- The Falklands war (Therein containing the sinking of the Cruiser "General Belgrano")
- Putting a 'u' in colour, armour etc. Go take it up with France circa 1100 when it was still subject to change.

As compensation I offer:
- Parliamentary Democracy
- The industrial Revolution
- The writings on liberty of John Locke and J.S. Mill (the former being borrowed in parts word-for-word in the US constitution).
- Railways
- Radar
- The jet engine
- 50% of penicillin (other 50% payable to Australia).
- Prodding the Nazi war machine in the back with spitfires (and D Day) to distract some attention from the soviets.
- Iron Maiden
- Eddie Izzard
- Lemmy (Motorhead)

 

[Helmholtz Watson]

I don't know where exactly my friends grew up, but I know it wasn't in Belfast. They are in their early twenties and grew up in Ireland(don't remember the city). I bring up Bobby Sands because it wasn't that they loved the IRA as much as they some respect for Sands going on a hunger strike.

I should have specified "grown up in Northern Ireland". Luckily at that age they would have missed the worst of it. Still must have been pretty shit though. Going on hunger strike for something you believe in I can respect. Running guns for murderers I can't.

While I don't doubt that some of them were murders[footnote]when I say murders I mean people who kill innocent civilians[/footnote], I think your painting the entire IRA with a broad stroke.
Also to give a example from history, the bombing of Dresden was a terrible thing the Allies did, but that doesn't mean that everything the Allies stood for was wrong. The same can be said about Bobby Sands.