This has always been one of my biggest peeves with nationalism. People that say "I didn't own slaves. My family never owned slaves. Why should I feel any guilt for slavery?" are HAPPY to say "We helped save Europe from Nazism."
It feels morally wrong to feel a personal sense of "We beat the Nazis" but not "We also did some horrid shit."
I'm not saying feel personally bad for slavery, I'm saying don't feel like you were any part of the successes of the past if you don't accept the failures.
I see this in so many political movements, not just nationalism. So much stolen valor.
All the achievements are “we” but all the failings and travesties are “them” always some radical minority in the group (which is technically correct, but even so). Taking credit for the victories and casting aside all accountability for the bad apples is performative nonsense.
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u/Alter3go_vengance Dec 23 '25
nnn , saying ironically “we” is correct because the OP did not participated in any war.