#colonialism cw
This is probably going to make people unfollow but w/e.
I really want to do a couple stories, especially one about Alice as a queen and Arthur as her twin brother, Duke of Wessex.
Buuuuut…
I was going to send individual replies to the kind and sweet folks who replied to this post, and while I may still do so– and those of you who replied, if you want to DM me to chat I’m ALWAYS down–
I received another comment that was absolutely outraged at speaking ill of the dead and how the sun shone out Prince Philip’s ass. (Not really, but that’s the impression I got.)
(Shown above. Pardon the discoloration, I’ve got Flux going.)
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**CW/TW FOR RACISM, XENOPHOBIA, MENTIONS OF WAR, DEATH, FAMINE, R*PE, ETC** Click & read the links at your own risk!
However, as one of the oldest (now formerly) living vestiges of an empire whose systems, prejudices and corruptions are still alive and well–within Great Britain as well as globally–the late Duke of Edinburgh was a symbol of the bloated and overwrought stodgy system that waste(s/d) money like it’s going out of style. (Fun fact: While the British Empire’s territorial reach peaked in the 1920s [source] I have seen it argued that its actual economic/”strength” peak of influence seems to have been between 1870 and 1913.)
If I were to espouse on the legacy of the British Empire, we’d be here all day and I don’t have the time/energy for that. Nonetheless, I want to touch on things that are actively happening in Britain still: Passive historical revisionism (largely by omission) regarding the true scope and consequences of British imperialism, nationalism, and colonialism; and of course, the perpetuation (in no small part stemming from the cultural habit of understating things) of casual racism.
Sources & Discussions:One|Two|Three|Four // And literally every single British friend I’ve ever had.
As for the casual racism? How about the active, systemic racism? Really, must we go over the entire debacle with Meghan Markle a g a i n ? Just because racism doesn’t manifest quite the same on a cultural level as it does in the United States, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. The particular extra special insidious nature of British xenophobia is that, when it is not obvious, it is understated, toned down. The obvious shit in the US is already difficult enough to deal with because of centuries of gaslighting and ignorance, but Britain has its own brand of bigotries that often get ignored or brushed aside in the shadow of American drama. And it SHOULDN’T.
The best example of this is the referral to Prince Philip’s bullshit as “gaffes.”
Here’s the definition of “gaffe”:
(Asking a person of color if they’re still throwing spears isn’t a fucking gaffe, you absolute knobs.)
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Now let’s see some things Ol Phil has said…
Actually, fuck it, I’m tired. You get the whole shebang (if you’ll bother to read it) and I even did the legwork. Here’s some good reading I bothered to dig up regarding systemic abuse, racism, and other dumb bullshit surrounding the BRF, with a healthy dose of historical context.
Sources & Discussions:One|Two|Three|Four|Five |Six|Seven |Eight
Also here’s some interesting reads on things like the toxic masculinity of the Empire and its incompetency that stemmed from concepts of personal honor. And just general Empire history.
Sources & Discussions: One |Two|Three
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TL;DR: The BRF is an economic drain and an albatross on the future of the UK.
Don’t come at me saying I’m ~speaking ill of the dead~ and ~haven’t done my research~. Definitely don’t come at me like I’m ~hating~ on Brits either. I absolutely adore British history and I adore studying its culture, past and present (though I am hardly any kind of expert). It is because of that love that I have an obligation to observe not only the historical context, but also the less glamorous side of what that history and culture represent. Love may be blind, but in and of itself does not cause nor excuse blindness.
You, my dear Reader, are allowed to be proud of where you’re from–what really matters is what exactly you’re proud of, and how willing you are to try and understand what it all means.
If, after all of that, you still don’t want to follow this blog, I promise it’s very easy to click the button and go.
