Shit People Say When They Don't Know American History
2/25 '22
1. The French always surrender.
No, moron, without the French we wouldn't have a "United States of America", we'd be a British colony. God Save the Queen.
2. America was "great" and now it isn't.
Pick a year and I will tell you at least one horrible thing Americans did to each other or the American government did to its citizens. As Howard Brenton said, "Ever since the first man sat on the first chair, he has been hitting the second man on the head with it." Brenton himself was not American, and I don't know if he was "great", but he wrote some plays I like.
Or, to quote a famous American writer, "It's man devouring man, my dear, and who are we to deny it in here?"
(Stephen Sondheim)
3. The Founding Fathers were all "great" men. Owning slaves was a common practice in their time and we shouldn't hold them accountable.
Seriously???
Yes, owning slaves was a common practice in their time, that is true.
People are complicated, but dehumanizing other humans is not complicated or nuanced, it's just wrong.
Did they know it was wrong at the time? There are MOUNTAINS of evidence that yes, they did, including Jefferson's original draft of the Declaration of Independence, not to mention his mixed-race children, some of whom he sent to France to be educated. Jefferson is by far not the only example, he's just an easy one to cite.
They knew it was wrong and they did it anyway.
Also, the gentlemen in the North may not have owned slaves, but many of them profited from the slave trade (who do you think owned the ships?).
Where it gets "nuanced" is whether we judge someone only by their worst acts. That's more of a philosophical conversation - can someone who was a slave-owner be "great" or perhaps have "done great things"? *
4. Forcing Americans to get vaccinated is either a) a violation of our freedom, b) socialism, c) fascism, d) all of the above.
First of all, socialism and fascism are two incompatible philosophies of government, so pick one.
Second of all, we have a United States of America and the freedoms herein due to the efforts of the French (see point 1) and a guy named George Washington who led our continental army. Also to a portly bookseller named Henry Knox who was a total nerd about cannons, but I digress.
Here's the comment I want to leave on every stupid website with stupid people whining about vaccine mandates:
THE FIRST MANDATORY INOCULATION IN THIS LAND** WAS MANDATED BY GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON.
(Inoculation = same purpose as vaccine, more primitive mechanism)
Who mandated the smallpox inoculation for the entire continental army?
George Washington. The Father Of Our Country. The General who won the War of American Independence.
So if you think vaccine mandates are anti-American, please stop typing right now and read some American history. Ideally from a book, but the History Channel's website is okay too. Also, look up why Mitch McConnell limps and why no one you know has polio.
History Bitch, signing out.
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* I'd discuss over drinks in person, but only if I respect you.
** Not in "The USA" because the USA did not yet exist, and if the continental army had all come down with smallpox, even with all of the aid of the non-surrendering French, we'd all be British citizens, God Save The Queen!
