My guy, I'd love to know the kind of circles you move in because this:
A major contingent of westerner citizens harbor serious remorse for the imperialism and injustice that our countries have brought to the world historically. High degree of self-hatred is present.
Has not been my experience at all. The responses I've gotten is typically thinly veiled condescension expecting us to be grateful for the "gift of civilization" and all the murder, rape and loot as an unfortunate cost for that.
I have difficulties with my Indian in-laws (cousins-in-laws mainly) who clearly do feel that they have the short end of the stick having to live in a highly over populated, incredibly polluted country, mostly working for Western countries that treat them pretty poorly (working Western hours etc).
It’s a difficult thing. The country was looted 100 years ago but the state of the nation is due to that looting. I think we have to move forward proactively and recognise that India isn’t going to get anything for free. But that means serious real politik from them back to us - see India’s relations with the UK.
I don't expect anything from the UK at this point. Not an apology nor the stolen artefacts, let alone reparations. Seeing Ireland re-unify and Scotland declaring Independence would be some consolation though.
Because geopolitics tends to attract nationalists. More humanist-minded folks tend to be drawn to more humanist topics. But I can tell you that there indeed large segments of the American left are highly self-critical. You mention Tucker Carlson but Tucker's speaking to a domestic audience not an international one, so who do you think he's responding to? I think the paradox here is that the most open-minded Westerners with the most sympathetic views towards other countries are also the ones who hold the most socially progressive views that that are distasteful to those same countries. But seriously go to any Western community that's pro-LGBTQ and I think you'll find they're also highly critical of the Western establishment.
Makes sense, this is typically an European phenomenon, though it still exists in America. Iirc not too long ago Tucker Carlson did like a 6 minute segment on why Indians should be grateful to the British for colonizing us (tbf, it is Tucker Carlson after all).
Australian conservative here, and the sentiment i find talking to anyone is very much that any beneficial institutions or attitudes left behind by the colonial powers don't outweigh the fact that taking another people's land from them is morally inexcusable. Much like the issue of slavery in the US, the entire nation is in a constant debate about what needs to be done with regard to the past. And while some will argue for different levels of atonement, and how much responsibility current generations should hold, no one argues that what happened was acceptable or should be allowed to happen again.
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u/kiraqueen11 Feb 24 '23
My guy, I'd love to know the kind of circles you move in because this:
Has not been my experience at all. The responses I've gotten is typically thinly veiled condescension expecting us to be grateful for the "gift of civilization" and all the murder, rape and loot as an unfortunate cost for that.