Friday, July 22, 2011

Horrifying-est quote I have come across recently

My latest read has been The Chequebook and the cruise missle: Conversations with Arundhati Roy by David Barsamian, and I came across an awful quote by one of the so called greatest men of the twentieth century.

But first, let me just talk about who Arundhati Roy is...She is best known for being a booker prize winning author of "The God of Small Things". But more than that she seems to be a tireless activist of causes that are most ignored by elite Indians. She has been jailed albeit for a day on charges of contempt of the Supreme Court of India, and also (this is hilarious) for corrupting the morals of society with her book. Trust me the book does nothing of that sort pfft to you stupid backward men of India. Anyway to me she comes across as a tremendously passionate and articulate woman.

Now this book ie The Chequebook and the cruise missle, for those of you who have lost track of what I began this post with (yes my rambling seems to have no respect for readers who have to keep up with my thoughts). Okay so I came across a quote from Mr Winston Churchill in 1937 in this book which has been basically paraphrased as follows, he was talking about the Palestinian struggle "I do not believe that the dog in the manger has the right to the manger, simply because he has lain there for so long. I do not believe that the Red Indian has been wronged in America, or the Black man has been wronged in Australia, simply because they have been displaced by a higher, stronger race."

Churchil quoted in the Editorial, "Scrurrying Toward Bethlehem," New Left Review 10, 2nd series (July/ August 2001), pg. 9, n. 5.

So yes, I went and checked the actual quote, no offence meant to anyone but I just couldn't believe my eyes. I mean to have millions of school children taught that this was one of the greatest leaders ever and for this kind of quote to lurk around in written history and still be teaching kids that this was a great man seems extremely horrifying to me. So phew, I basically wanted to rant and rant about this, living in Australia and having had the opportunity to watch documentaries and read about what happened to aboriginals here it is a shame that people could ever think like this and unfortunately there are still people that do.

So boo to your Mr Winston Churchill...I for one think you are a complete moron.

Oh yes the the above mentioned book is the one in the picture and the ridiculously bejewelled hand is me :D

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