Simon Schama's Program

Watching tonight's program, I realised that the Nazi's did not have any original ideas. All their ideas were used in the USA a hundred years before.

They called the British "Imperialists", B***** cheek. We learnt over a thousand years ago that killing foreigner's is not the answer (massacre of St Brices Day). Anyway, all the population of the UK are descended from immigrants, even the Celts were immigrants.

 

Is this the program about the American future, from the point of view of its history? I've only seen one episode, for one reason or another, but its very good.

Yes, the Nazis got a few ideas from history (including concentration camps - the Brits used them during the Boer War I'm afraid)

What did the USA use a hundred years before?

 

According to the program, ethnic cleansing of the Chinese who built the railroads for them. Very reminiscent of the treatment of the Jews in 1938 (or the Highland clearances in the 17th century).

Both sides of my family came from Scandinavian stock. My father's family from Viking stock from the North and my mother's family from Norman stock (originally Norsemen who settled in Normandy).

 

So nothing is new.
I've not seen the programmes but things like this have been going on for centuries.

Muticultural Britain will show the way.

I know that cause Tony Blair said so, so it must be true, mustn't it?

Even the Aborigines in Austrailia are immigrants I think, it all depends on how far you want to go back.
Me, I go back about 50yrs, things were changing much slower then.

 

It is curious how the Americans (for whom I have a great regard and respect) have always seen the British as Imperialists. Even to the extent of some Americans supporting Irish "freedom fighters". However the Americans themselves are the greatest Imperialists of the lot. The British (and other European Imperialist countries) have had problems with their colonies wanting and receiving independance. But this has only come about because there was sufficient native population left to seek independance.

By contrast the Americans invaded the North American continent, and have killed (by the sword or by disease) virtually every native. They have never given the country back to the indigenous population, and because there are so few natives left, they now regard the USA as their own. Consequently the American Empire is now the largest in existance by a long chalk.

Perhaps the British were just too soft to be good imperialists. They should have slaughteed the entire native populations afterwhich there would have been no problems with seekers of independence! :D

Edit - I just had to add a :D incase anyone thought to take me too seriously :D
And Flinty I do take your point that the original invaders of North America were the Europeans, who were to turn into the Americans. Though watching the program tonight I was reminder that it was the American government that anexed half of Mexico. Viz California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas etc.

 

I don't think anyone meant that the Nazis weren't that bad, just that what they did (and what humans have done to each other throughout history:() is nothing new. I agree, its only because it was so well documented by the concentration camp liberators and so on that we are aware of it, and that there are still a good amount of survivors to keep the memory of what happened alive.

Now, holocaust deniers really make my blood boil

 

It was mainly Europeans who colonised what we now call the North American continent. People like us. Or the French, or Dutch, or Germans, or Italians, or Scandanavians.

The Spanish and the Portuguese took South America.

 

Unfortunately no nation has the monopoly on genocide

 

Shiney, I do agree with you about the Nazis. I don't think that anyone would disagree with you there.

My point was that not even the Americans have as much of a monopoly of the high ground as they might like to think they have.