周末乱读

今天看英国人辩论是否要为贩奴道歉（英国是第一个提出中止奴隶贸易的国家），虽然有相当多的人不认为道歉有用，还是看到了多数人理性，坦荡的想法（没那么多花花肠子），当然，诡辩的也不少（不少诡辩都是很有出发点的，不是技巧性那种）。

用好的搜索引擎（摆渡除外）搜: "should britain apologise" to india 就可以看到这些观点，很有意思

用辞比较不动脑子的是这段：
Why should Britain apologise for peacefully building a great empire and bringing culture and democracy to the far reaches of the earth. The British empire enriched the world and lifted many peoples out of a primitive tribal existence. We have nothing to apologise for. Our forefathers made Britain great. （立马就被人反驳了，列举出鸦片，印度饥荒，屠杀，白人优越论等）

比较右翼理性的是：
We should celebrate our role in the abolition of slavery in the context that we created the only Empire in the world which we developed into a Commonwealth of some 40 free and independent nations. All these share with us our language and democratic ideals. There may be imperfections, but we handed on justice, security, education medecine and economic development. Yes we did benefit ourselves but we spread Pax Brittanica. Without peace nothing could have been achieved

Apologising would effectively be accepting the blame for it, and frankly it isn't our current governments fault in the slightest. As said, deep regret has been expressed, and I don't see why more is necessary. I think we can all say that we're sorry that it happened, I doubt many people would argue that it was a terrible thing. But I'm not sorry that I had a part in it, because I didn't, and I don't think the government we have today had anything to do with it either. As q3 says, that makes it an empty apology, and apologising because it costs nothing and may get us something (the 'beneficial consquenses') makes it shallow and worthless.

比较公道的：Nobody is debating that slavery was a bad thing, this is true, and equally nobody is debating that the slave trade was not the fault of our current government, or Tony Blair. The apology was meant to be specifically for Britain’s history, not a personal apology, and I would argue that since Britain benefited massively from the inhumane treatment of its slaves, and the blood and sweat of thousands of Africans, it would not be an empty apology at all. There are no disadvantages to apologising, so even if it were “empty” it could only have good consequences, both symbolically and as a means to satisfying those who do (correctly or not) attach significance to it. It is very easy to see how Africans, and those who originate from ex-colonies of Britain, would like a formal apology from the British head of government (as well as the head of state for that matter- the Queen’s jewels, all the rubies and diamonds in her crown and other treasure owned by the royal line are almost exclusively plunder from India’s holy temples).

明目张胆为帝国主义摆功评好的长篇大论： http://www.britishempire.co.uk/article/trialstupid.htm

静坐战争是否应该道歉（看第一个人酸的）：

We went to war for Poland in 1939, we bankrupted a huge Empire fighting it, we had no way to stop the Nazi's in 1944 in Poland, and we certainly didn't have any way of stopping Russia taking over Poland after the war.Theo, UK

During the World War II living under the German terror unimaginable for the people from the west Poland being a western ally lost: 25% of its population 39% of doctors 33% of teachers 26% of lawyers 70% of industry 90% of cultural heritage (in Warsaw alone) We do not need apologies (perhaps for the Germans) but we ask you to remember about thatTom, Warsaw

Apologies are absurd once the leadership of the generation who offended, or not, are dead. Make no exceptions to that rule and you cannot go wrong.Andrew, London
众多左翼和积极的就不一一列举了.不过我也发现在wiki上，有意的忽略很严重，比如英文的关于印度殖民，澳洲动物灭绝，津巴布韦的文物被毁（欧洲人不相信黑人能盖出这么好的东西，所以不停地朝地下挖，想找到证据说明是示巴女王盖的），几乎都忽略了很多情况不提。

顺便看了英国对“蛮夷之地的治民”的拆迁（为了给美国腾地方盖军事基地，如果不是911这些被拆迁的人几乎就能回去了），很有意思。

看到的是，至少人家在法律体系内有正义可以去争取，而这些中文评论，与其用于微不足道的罪行（相比某政府而言），不如让评论者自省，什么时候我们能把这外衣穿上也成啊

〉 的确，查戈斯群岛的居民争取正义和自由的斗争源于一桩罪行，而这桩罪行让我们看到了大国怎样在道貌岸然的民主外衣下施展诡计，强国怎样为了自身的利益而欺凌他国，政府是怎样用谎言为自己的恶行辩护。