"A common lie is that our emergence out of the general state of history – one of poverty and hardship – was on the back of slavery. This is a simple argument to swat away like some fattened, filthy fly. Each civilisation before us engaged in the trading of humans, and yet every one of them failed to modernise. As such, our own historical success cannot be based upon that same practice."
Absolutely well said. And the crazed notion that those descended from the London poor and the other poor of Victorian England should pay reparations to the descendants of Nigerian and other African princes can be seen for the perverse absurdity that it is.
Was it a good book? Worth reading? I have occasionally eyed it up in old bookshops.
Those poverty-stricken ancestors wouldn't recognise their descendants! My waitress niece of 30 lost her job due to the lockdowns. Did she starve? Was she evicted from her home? Of course not. Does she have a "mental health issue" which requires her to be handled gently in conversation and now to take anti-depressants? Of course. Does she have any clue about the past? Of course not - she wants to be a cool black dude not a descendant of racist slavers (even though her ancestors were poor working class people who never went to the seaside let alone to the colonies!).
Yes, I enjoyed it a lot actually. Some bits drag a bit, but as a whole it is a fantastic insight into the life of people in Victorian England. It seems another planet almost. I like learning of the slang that was current: some of it has fallen by the wayside, some of it remains in use. I just wish I had a time machine so could go to the pubs, drink some porter, see it all first hand. And to think it was all within the relatively recent past: some of those in the book could, at a push, have still been alive when my grandparents were born. It doesn't seem that long ago... although we are taught nowadays that last year is already ancient history.
Sorry to hear about your niece. I am of roughly the same age; there are many in my age group who have taken onboard the self-defeating victim narrative. It simultaneously absolves you of your failures (you can't try X Y or Z, you're too depressed) and elevates you, given that victims are a cherished class.
Of course I do not know her, so apologies if speaking out of turn. More of a general comment.
I am old and my parents were old when they got me and my paternal grandparents were old when they had my father. So my grandmother was a Victorian - she remembered Queen Victoria's funeral (her family travelled to London from south Wales for the event). She saw an awful lot of changes in her lifetime - radio, TV, cars, aeroplanes, antibiotics. She always wore a hat outdoors, even in the garden, and wore knee-length bloomers! One of the fascinating things about her was that she, and her friends, all had odd names for odd illnesses that don't seem to exist any more. They had odd cures as well that they either made themselves or got from the local herbalist.
"A common lie is that our emergence out of the general state of history – one of poverty and hardship – was on the back of slavery. This is a simple argument to swat away like some fattened, filthy fly. Each civilisation before us engaged in the trading of humans, and yet every one of them failed to modernise. As such, our own historical success cannot be based upon that same practice."
Absolutely well said. And the crazed notion that those descended from the London poor and the other poor of Victorian England should pay reparations to the descendants of Nigerian and other African princes can be seen for the perverse absurdity that it is.
Didn't you know that immigrants built our country? Sheesh, the ingratitude!
Just one more way of stealing from the poor to give to the rich. Ever see a pattern here?
💯
Was it a good book? Worth reading? I have occasionally eyed it up in old bookshops.
Those poverty-stricken ancestors wouldn't recognise their descendants! My waitress niece of 30 lost her job due to the lockdowns. Did she starve? Was she evicted from her home? Of course not. Does she have a "mental health issue" which requires her to be handled gently in conversation and now to take anti-depressants? Of course. Does she have any clue about the past? Of course not - she wants to be a cool black dude not a descendant of racist slavers (even though her ancestors were poor working class people who never went to the seaside let alone to the colonies!).
Yes, I enjoyed it a lot actually. Some bits drag a bit, but as a whole it is a fantastic insight into the life of people in Victorian England. It seems another planet almost. I like learning of the slang that was current: some of it has fallen by the wayside, some of it remains in use. I just wish I had a time machine so could go to the pubs, drink some porter, see it all first hand. And to think it was all within the relatively recent past: some of those in the book could, at a push, have still been alive when my grandparents were born. It doesn't seem that long ago... although we are taught nowadays that last year is already ancient history.
Sorry to hear about your niece. I am of roughly the same age; there are many in my age group who have taken onboard the self-defeating victim narrative. It simultaneously absolves you of your failures (you can't try X Y or Z, you're too depressed) and elevates you, given that victims are a cherished class.
Of course I do not know her, so apologies if speaking out of turn. More of a general comment.
I am old and my parents were old when they got me and my paternal grandparents were old when they had my father. So my grandmother was a Victorian - she remembered Queen Victoria's funeral (her family travelled to London from south Wales for the event). She saw an awful lot of changes in her lifetime - radio, TV, cars, aeroplanes, antibiotics. She always wore a hat outdoors, even in the garden, and wore knee-length bloomers! One of the fascinating things about her was that she, and her friends, all had odd names for odd illnesses that don't seem to exist any more. They had odd cures as well that they either made themselves or got from the local herbalist.