Astronaut under fire for quoting Churchill
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
One of the unwritten rules of social media is avoid inspirational quotes.
American astronaut Scott Kelly put that to the test on Sunday when his use of Winston Churchill quotes landed him in hot water with people who oppose the wartime British prime minister's views on empire and race.
But when Kelly tried to apologise for the tweet and offered to educate himself, Churchill fans attacked him for discrediting the politician's record.
Kelly, whose sister-in-law is former Democrat Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, used the famous remark by the former British prime minister to comment on deep divisions in American politics.
The wartime leader wrote "In victory, magnanimity" in his book about World War Two to refer to the need for winners of a conflict to show grace. Kelly added: "I guess those days are over".
But Churchill is also known for quotes like "I do not admit that a wrong has been done to these people by the fact that a stronger race, a higher-grade race, a more worldly wise race to put it that way, has come in and taken their place", in reference to indigenous populations of North America and Australia.
Kelly's Twitter followers also linked Churchill to a famine in Bengal, India, that killed at least three million people in 1953.
Kelly quickly apologised for the offence caused, writing that he would educate himself on Churchill's "atrocities and racist views".
He added that his point was that Americans should not let politics divide the nation.
But he was swiftly attacked by Churchill fans for calling the leader racist.
They suggested those views were standard in the mid-20th Century.
"Please read a good biography of Churchill before making pronouncements on his 'atrocities' and 'racist views'. He committed no atrocities and his views on race 100-years ago cannot be judged by today's standards - generational chauvinism," wrote Twitter user Paul Reid.
"We can't judge historical figures based on modern sensitivities; no one would come out unscathed. Adjusting history to our modern perception is unfair to the times & circumstances that preceded us," commented another.
In just two tweets, Kelly wrote another social media rule - never quote Winston Churchill.
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It's amazing how people judge yesterday with today's mores. Pretty mucha fool's errand doing it, but everyone seems to be so busy expressing themselves, that they don't take time to think at all. A result of the internet of all things and social media where partial anonymity allows people to feel like they can say whatever they want with no repercussions?
Exactly. You're talking about people who are cowardly on 100 fronts. They can say things on social media they would be terrified to say in person.
I guess it's because they've run out of current people to criticize. And I'll bet they don't look into mirrors very much - afraid they will be looking at a hypocrite.
Describes Trump to a tee.
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Back to the article. Churchill was a product of the "white man's burden" social philosophy of Victorian England which believed that it fell on the British Empire to shepard the struggling nations of the dark skinned people's of the earth by occupying them. There is no doubt that this philosophy is racist, but I would tend to agree that it is a little unfair to take Winston Churchill's life out of the context of his times.
It is a little ironic that world war two largely began, at least in the Pacific phase, because of Japan's desire to be more like Churchill's Britain and gain colonies in SE Asia.
This is an article about Scott Kelly and the reaction of people to his quoting of a famous person in the history of the world. Your first sentence is off topic, the rest is a welcomed input.
More than a little.
Progressive America 2018.
The man who did more to save civilization from the Nazis than anyone else is an unperson.
I could have sworn it was FDR who had more to do with the wars outcome.
Yes, FDR did do all that, but Churchill was standing pretty much all alone until the US got involved. Germany had already taken France and was working their way up the coast towards Britain before Japan attacked and Germany declared war on the US
Lot of good the Lend lease act would have done if England had surrendered after Dunkirk, as they came incredibly close to doing. It was Churchill who fought off the Foreign Secretary's movement for peace, and it was Churchill's leadership that kept Britain in the war until 1941.
prior to Lend lease we were selling GB everything they needed for gold bullion but they were running out of gold.
and in Great Britain, they revere Spam...wonderful, life sustaining, Hormel Spam...
Yes, the US was selling food to GB and draining GB of gold prior to lend lease.
But the point is that Churchill kept them in the War after Dunkirk. It wasn't Spam that quelled the Cabinet's move for peace.
The man won a war. A Great War, a Bloody War where liberty and freedom were at stake. I think that's all that needs to be said
Someone always seems to be able to find fault with something.
"This is the great fault of wine; it first trips up the feet: it is a cunning wrestler."
Plautus
My favorite Churchill quote (also applicable for national leaders today; just change the names as needed).
When asked about advocating sending military assistance to the Stalinist USSR in 1941:
"If Hitler should invade Hell, I would, at the very least, find a few kind words to say about the Devil, in the House of Commons."
There's always somebody on the internet who is ready to get "really mad" over something ordinary. These people should be ignored. For me, the worst part of this story is that he apologized. Such people are not worthy of it.
For me, the worst part of this story is that he apologized.
I can't even imagine the mindset that would cause an educated man to apologize for quoting Churchill. It's craven, because he has to know how ridiculous it is.
His next sign should be "GET OVER IT!"