tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post5643883995715209279..comments2024-01-24T11:41:28.022+00:00Comments on A Cuban In London: Sunday Mornings: Coffee, Reflections and MusicA Cuban In Londonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-27492413795984535722010-07-14T15:47:32.938+01:002010-07-14T15:47:32.938+01:00Many thanks for your kind comments.
Greetings fro...Many thanks for your kind comments.<br /><br />Greetings from London.A Cuban In Londonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-28214648067060959442010-07-14T15:35:10.077+01:002010-07-14T15:35:10.077+01:00Oh my god, I'm so glad I was able to catch up ...Oh my god, I'm so glad I was able to catch up with this post. You make many great points about history and about the approach to history that some people want to change.<br /><br />I have no faith whatsoever in the new government and their desire to change our schools approach to teaching history. I was taught in the British schooling system and it was a great way to learn, with emphasis and understanding other cultures and many different periods of history. We didn't focus on just WWII or the holocaust but a whole range of periods. And no one said that the British Empire was a good thing. That would have disgusted me.<br /><br />No tyrant is a good tyrant whether they use their fists or their tongues.<br /><br />JaiJai Joshihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04858987106548357551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-37601377387200255132010-07-13T00:25:39.470+01:002010-07-13T00:25:39.470+01:00A very appropriate analogy, Cuban! Like you mentio...A very appropriate analogy, Cuban! Like you mention, I find it ludicrous when the 'rulers' (not the ruled) categorize themselves benevolent. <br /><br />Coming from India (even though India's Freedom Movement is a second-hand, if not a third, experience for me), we do see some benefits from Enlgish rule, like the extensive railway network and a more unified India. <br /><br />But, one can see its effects on the psyche and nature of the whole nation (which are unnatural to the underlying culture) even today... So, I guess this is one of those topics that can be debated till the cows come home and then some.Hema Penmetsahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08448481721288158816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-2106728772630467872010-07-12T17:08:12.134+01:002010-07-12T17:08:12.134+01:00My experience of history teachers is that they wil...My experience of history teachers is that they will teach history in their own way...no matter what the syllabus dictates. And half the students (or more) won't be listening anyway...and lots of students (like me) have to drop history to take other subjects. But I understand your concerns too.<br />xRachel Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11803852725693518924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-57976459856869108742010-07-12T12:09:37.901+01:002010-07-12T12:09:37.901+01:00Cuban, this was a particularly interesting post an...Cuban, this was a particularly interesting post and analogy. I agree that the damage inflicted by ideological bullying is probably under-rated - certainly it is less evidently painful and therefore more easily ignored. <br /><br />I recently got 'King Leopold's Ghost' for my Belgian companion to read - as you may guess (or know!) it is the story of Belgium's 'involvment' in the Congo. I suspect he is learning some things for the first time. <br /><br />What you describe as a potential curriculum for British students is disturbing - one would hope that the critical thinkers and unbiased historians will be able to keep their fingers in the dike holding back the teaching of revisionist history. The world was quick to criticize the Japanese (among others) for doing something similar, but obviously the same persepctive isn't available when applied to home turf. Oh dear, I'm really mixing my metaphors or something. <br /><br />Well worth the read. Thank you for your intelligent, instructive pieces, Cuban.Deborahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10892637441668897411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-81146383633732943392010-07-12T11:01:00.890+01:002010-07-12T11:01:00.890+01:00Many thanks for your comments.
First of all, cong...Many thanks for your comments.<br /><br />First of all, congratulations to all Spaniards and fans of the Spanish football for their victory in the World Cup. Personally, I was looking forward to a Brazil vs Argentina final, but I'm just as happy that the Spaniards won.<br /><br />On the subject of my column, thanks, too, for your kind comments. This is a delicate subject and not always I am in a good-natured, sensitive mood to talk about it. That's why sometimes I leave a room if I am at a dinner party or a small gathering when the conversation turns to this topic. I guess that we, in the ex-colonies, or some would say in the neo-colonies (after all, in Cuba we had the Spaniards, the US, and the Castro-USSR monopoly) have a different perspective as to whether empire was ever a force for good.<br /><br />Many thanks for your feedback. Have a good week.<br /><br />Greetings from London.A Cuban In Londonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-33185067510552365152010-07-12T03:01:21.304+01:002010-07-12T03:01:21.304+01:00Good Sunday to you too, Cuban. I'm afraid nat...Good Sunday to you too, Cuban. I'm afraid nations will continue to tell stories that make them look good, especially if few people object. Books for public schools are trying to please a common ethos, usually embodied by the well-to-do and the majority. These folks have a stake in maintaining a certain point of view under the guise of nationalism and patriotism. Citizens, everywhere, need to write letters to editors, show up and question boards and commissioners who run our schools, and strengthen their resolve to stand up for the truth in reporting.<br /><br />Just like the family and friends of the abused woman, they will try to convince all of us of the "right" way to view history.Rosaria Williamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03133147851332084180noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-55596036642778048642010-07-11T23:36:24.691+01:002010-07-11T23:36:24.691+01:00Hola Cubano!
Es un gran placer ver und blog con p...Hola Cubano!<br /><br />Es un gran placer ver und blog con profundidad.<br /><br />*<br /><br />It is a great joy to find a blog with depth.<br /><br />Keep up the coffee, the reflections and the music.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-10132225323904965142010-07-11T11:11:33.850+01:002010-07-11T11:11:33.850+01:00Hi Cuban
I'm back from my visit to Ireland and...Hi Cuban<br />I'm back from my visit to Ireland and England. Your post here seems apposite to me. I'm inclined to agree with you about the hideous effects of subtle violence, even if it's only verbal. <br /><br />The British don't have such a terrific record vis a vis their treatment of Australia either,particularly of its indigenous peoples. <br /><br />And so, like you, I abhor the notion of doctoring history to make the victors the heroes. <br /><br />What struck me travelling through the bottom half of England was its 'faded grandeur'. Ireland for all its difficulties - admittedly again we travelled only in the south, seemed a happier, more generous place to live. <br /><br />All these things are conjectural. It depends on who you are and where you are. There are folks here in Australia who suffer horribly just as I imagine the beggars I saw in the streets of Dublin suffer too. <br /><br />The inequality of the world continues, but like you I think we ought not paint too rosy and false a picture about the atrocities that precede us.<br /><br />Despite my reservations about all forms of nationalism, and the history of brutality of the Dutch inflicted on their colonies, a little part of me, given my own Dutch ancestry, hopes the Dutch team wins the soccer, but I'll be happy enough too for Spain to win the Guernsey. <br /><br />Soccer tends to be a peripheral sport here in Australia. It's football that counts to many, though not so much to me. <br /><br />I watched the soccer in England and Ireland for the first time in my life. Funny that.<br /><br />Thanks Cuban.Elisabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04015624747225433940noreply@blogger.com