This week's prestigious "Prat of The Week Award" goes to none other than the Prime Minister himself, Bliary Poppins.The astute amongst you will notice that the "Prat of The Week Award" is rarely made on a weekly basis, but it's my award and I do with it what I will!
However, I digress.
The reason that Bliary has been given this prestigious award, is for his slimy expression of "sorrow" for the slave trade. Far from feeling "sorrow", Bliary should be proudly reminding people that Britain was one of the first countries in the modern world to abolish slavery.
Britain abolished slavery in 1807. Indeed from the abolition of slavery until the early years of the 20th Century, the Royal Navy's West Africa Squadron sailed up and down the African coast, intercepting foreign ships carrying slaves.
Some of Britain's historical wealth has been built on the slave trade, that is for sure. However, most other countries have had their wealth built on the slave trade as well, at some stage or another, viz:
- The USA needed a civil war to end it, indeed the civil rights movement was still fighting for decent treatment of black people in the 1960's
- Nazi Germany used slave workers in its factories during the last war
- Blood diamonds from Africa are mined by children and other unfortunates at the point of a gun
- Japan in the last war used sex slaves from China
- Ancient Greece used slaves
- East European countries are exporting sex slaves, on a daily basis, to the West
- Ancient Rome used Greek slaves etc etc
Will they fark!
You should no more regret the actions and policies of past centuries than you should regret the invention of gunpowder, the bow and arrow or the atomic bomb. What is done is done, move forward and look to the future.
As said, Bliary richly deserves the Prat of The Week Award.
By the way, in case you were wondering, Prescott is in charge of planning next year's anniversary events to mark the abolition of slavery!
Odd, I though New Labour were trying to reintroduce slavery... the plan being that eventually we will all work for Gordon Brown
ReplyDeleteWell said, Ken. Many of us commented on this issue previously, but it worth reviewing briefly that slaverly in the US outlasted slavery in Britain, and slavery in Brazil outlasted slavery in the US and . . . all the way up to those societies which continue to practice slavery in the 21st century. Those morally outraged by slavery would do well to focus their attentions in this direction.
ReplyDeleteFred
since money is the reason at the heart of this, why not send the bill for the use of the Royal Navy? Slavery still exists in many of those parts of the world demanding compensation (for the loss of trade?)
ReplyDeleteWe still do have it in the form of "Wage Slavery". Worse still for most of us it's a form of bonded slavery as we are all in hock to the banks and credit card companies.
ReplyDeletePete
"This week's prestigious "Prat of The Week Award" goes to none other than the Prime Minister himself, Bliary Poppins."
ReplyDeletePrat of the week? Methinks you are undervaluing the service our beloved leader has given to this country: A more appropriate award would be 'Prat of the Year' or, maybe even,
'Plonker of the Century'.