Well, as a current Englishwoman, I can say that this is thoroughly ghastly!
No, really - I went and looked at the rest of it, just to see how awful it is, and believe me, it’s stomach churning, even by those times!
Please let me apologise on behalf of my ancestors (who, to be fair, were poor miners, tenant farmers, some shop/building owners, and generally working or lower middle class, with one or two noted exceptions in the upper middle classes). I’m so sorry that this sort of jingoistic rubbish was ever believed, and I’m so glad to have grown up in a time where I could mix with people from all over the world on an equal footing.
I’ve learned so much from folks from other countries and other backgrounds to my own, that I feel that I would be far poorer if I thought the way that this benighted author clearly did!
Kathlyn, thank you for taking the time to share your reactions to the book / post. One of my goals in the Forgotten Files was to introduce readers to a small slices of history. And also provide context and links back to sources so that interested readers could explore more. That’s exactly what you did. While it’s easy to excuse past behavior by framing it in the historical context of the times, some behavior transcends the times and deserves enduring criticism.
Well, as a current Englishwoman, I can say that this is thoroughly ghastly!
No, really - I went and looked at the rest of it, just to see how awful it is, and believe me, it’s stomach churning, even by those times!
Please let me apologise on behalf of my ancestors (who, to be fair, were poor miners, tenant farmers, some shop/building owners, and generally working or lower middle class, with one or two noted exceptions in the upper middle classes). I’m so sorry that this sort of jingoistic rubbish was ever believed, and I’m so glad to have grown up in a time where I could mix with people from all over the world on an equal footing.
I’ve learned so much from folks from other countries and other backgrounds to my own, that I feel that I would be far poorer if I thought the way that this benighted author clearly did!
Kathlyn, thank you for taking the time to share your reactions to the book / post. One of my goals in the Forgotten Files was to introduce readers to a small slices of history. And also provide context and links back to sources so that interested readers could explore more. That’s exactly what you did. While it’s easy to excuse past behavior by framing it in the historical context of the times, some behavior transcends the times and deserves enduring criticism.