@PicturesOfABetterTomorrow Well, no so much of an apologist. But, as a historian and journalist you have to understand I have an obligation... a professional obligation if you will... to account for the time and place of events and I don't have the casual luxury that people-on-the-street (like yourself) to simply let feelings fly like a feather in the wind. By this, I mean you are not bound by the implications of the times as historians are. Do you understand?
@PicturesOfABetterTomorrow Well, that's not fair. Of course, I don't enjoy death, destruction, and environmental recklessness. But, unlike you I am not lazy to simply apply 21st century sensibilities on prior generations. You see, I have empathy and a keen understanding of history and historical milestones. If this activity took place today, of course, I would use my platform to call it out. But, to indict past actions in a prior generation is outrageous. I have saliently made this point to you before regarding European expansion, the British Empire, and now on this topic.
@MarkPaul It is accurate. You justify and support this sort of thing on a regular basis. Heck your entire reason for posting on this thread was to excuse it.
We know you think white supremacy and empire are good things.
@PicturesOfABetterTomorrow As a historian my place is not really to judge what is right or wrong, good or bad. Instead, my interest and job is to bring the information to you in ways you can understand it so you can draw your own conclusions.
@MarkPaul This an action by a reasonably modern army, sanctioned by a democratically elected government using weaponised famine to subdue an indigenous population. The same armed forces and government that would twice use nuclear weapons against a civilian population.
@AMelancholyHaunting You see, this is my point. You are choosing to bypass the times that the decision was made in. You obviously enjoy being an armchair quarterback, but for those of us who are decision-makers in real-world situations, we don't have the advantages and entitlements that your armchair attitude and behaviour affords you.
@PicturesOfABetterTomorrow Look, as a centrist, my orientation is look at literally everything from all sides. Complimented with my training, that does give me an advantage of understanding more than my own siloed worldview. That's not a limiation, it's an advantage and one you should be applauding instead of criticizing.
@AMelancholyHaunting Actually, it's the reverse. Instead of resorting to emotional outbursts, I have to put in the hard work of considering what was going on at the time the decision was made. And, I do a good job of that, I think. I'm literally a forensic investigator in that regard. I really don't understand your objections.
@PicturesOfABetterTomorrow I'm not excusing atrocities. I am basically trying to understand them from the context of historical events rather than simply emote 21st century platitudes. I thought I explained this to you once before.
@MarkPaul You’re none of these things. You’re not a historian or an investigator. You’re a person with a wifi connection and a high idea of what you’d like to be. You read plenty but digest little.
@PicturesOfABetterTomorrow Well, I have established a historical marker for context. And, that's a pretty important step to provide some guidance to a discussion like this.
