#Lord Cromer

[mounadiloun]

L'alliance inavouable entre le sionisme et le nazisme

Tony Greenstein est un ancien militant de l’aile gauche du Parti Travailliste de Grande Bretagne dont il a été exclu en 2018 notamment pour antisémitisme. Greenstein a pourtant été éduqué dans une famille juive orthodoxe; son père était même rabbin! Parmi les engagements de Tony Greenstein, celui pour la cause palestinienne en faveur de laquelle il fut un des fondateurs de Palestine Solidarity…

[herprivateswe]

H. M. the King, Admiral Sir David Beatty, Sir Charles. Cust, and Lord Cromer inspecting a mine sweeping trawler and her crew. Scapa, 24th June 1917.

[aimeedaisies]

Court Circular | 25th January 2024

St James’s Palace

The Princess Royal, Royal Patron, National Coastwatch Institution, this morning visited Cromer Station, Beach Road, East Runton, and, having been received by His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Norfolk (the Lady Dannatt), afterwards attended a Reception at Cliftonville Hotel, 29 Runton Road, Cromer.

Her Royal Highness, President, Royal Yachting Association, this afternoon opened Norfolk Schools Sailing Association’s new facilities at Filby Centre, Main Road, Filby, and was received by Mr Christopher Dicker (Deputy Lieutenant of Norfolk).

The Princess Royal, Patron, National Association of Official Prison Visitors, later visited HM Prison Norwich, Knox Road, Norwich, and was received by Mr Michael Gurney (Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Norfolk).

[105nt]

Norfolk Reeds: The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L Sayers

This is the tenth(?) Norfolk book I've read this year - I was hoping to fit in 9 before publication of the 10th - The Running Grave - on 26 September 2023, so I think this is a bonus.

Part of the celebrated Lord Peter Wimsey series, (of which I have read this and Clouds of Witness) and surely must be one of the best.

The mystery is hellish complicated and unfolds like a waterlily, repeatedly and beautifully, until the very last page.

I can't find words to describe the dramatic flooding episode, except that it reminded me of John Wyndham, and there's no higher praise than that in this house.

The final list of my Norfolk reads is:

Waterland/Graham Swift

David Copperfield/Charles Dickens

The Shrieking Pit/Arthur J Rees

The Crossing Places/Elly Griffiths

The House on the Brink/John Gordon

Salt/Jeremy Page

Death on Cromer Beach/Ross Greenwood

The Accidental/Ali Smith

The Elephants of Norwich/Edward Marston

The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L Sayers

[seungcheollies-cake]

I always look forward to your reviews for each new chapter of Away With the Wind! I’m so happy you’re enjoying it so far! ☺️

💚💚💚

I can't even explain how much I've been enjoying it 😩 I'm gonna gush and it's about to be an incoherent mess 😂

I love Seonghwa's development so much! Like, going from only caring if his dragon was fast and agile to missing Starshine and gushing about her to Lord Kim is adorable. And it's fascinating to know that he probably developed the disinterest because of his mother at first, even though he has the compassion of his father. But going so long under the thumb of someone like that can change a person. And then being around y/n (and Yunho!) and seeing them remind him to care and love his dragon, and that dragons are more than just tools, has helped remind him of the person he should be!

Speaking of his mother! This is my outrageous theory, but I think she killed her husband 😔 I think she wasn't thrilled about how compassionate he was, and realized that House Park couldn't thrive like that, and that's when the "sudden illness" happened. Literally, the only reason I think this is because of the "sudden illness" and her saying that she has only ever acted in the best interests of the House. And now I'm not gonna trust her anymore 😂

The Cromer Labs part is also so fascinating! I agree that I believe it's a cult 😌 Lady Lee showing up truly surprised me, and now I'm wondering how much of the Council and Assembly is a part of it and how it's going to play out!

Lastly I want to gush about Seonghwa and y/n's relationship 😩😩 I am a sucker for the slow realization of feelings 😩💚 and the flirting was adorable!! Pretty sure I was giggling and kicking my feet 😂 "Where's my thanks 😏" 💚💚 also [Lord Cash Money] absolutely killed me 😂😂

Ugh I just 😩💚 it's such a fun story so far and I am excited to see where it goes 💚

[corallapis]

Henry ‘Chips’ Channon: The Diaries (Vol. 1), 1918-38, entry for 4th June 1923

—

Monday 4th June

Dressed very humbly as an American, in black knee breeches, waistcoat and coat, I was presented this morning at a levee at St James’s Palace. I felt I looked an insignificant grey mouse next to my dazzling friends in levee dress or uniforms. The Life Guards are especially grand. It is a gorgeous male sight, a levee . . . much preening and red and plumes and pomp and tightly fitting tunics and splendid English faces. I was in a queue for over an hour and slowly we processed from room to room . . . Suddenly I heard Lord Cromer¹ call out ‘Mr Channon to be presented.’ I advanced a few paces with as much dignity as possible and in front of me on a dais surrounded by the Court and the corps diplomatique stood the King! He had something oriental about him, something almost of a Siamese potentate. I bowed very low, he dropped his head as if to grunt, I backed two paces and then turned and walked away. He was in a red uniform. I saw the Duke of York’s eyes twinkle . . . 

—

1. Rowland Thomas Baring, 2nd Earl of Cromer, had been Lord Chamberlain since 1922.

[canyouhearthevoices]

ATEEZ Theory TidBits Ep 10 - What did ZERO: FEVER Part 3 contribute to the storyline?

ATEEZ’s eighth album, third in the FEVER series.

In this post;

Materials included in the album

Additions to the storyline

Meaning of the album name

Track breakdown

Reactions from the fandom

Important motifs and storyline elements which were added

My perspective on the storytelling (from a screenwriting kid)

Quality of the album

Other important things to note

Conclusions

The album was the glorious return of the one and only, our Lord and Saviour Mingi. It was also the less-than-glorious return of the ATINYs-vote-for-the-title-track system, where, yet again, ATINYs voted incorrectly. But let’s put that aside. Because ‘Deja Vu’ and ‘Eternal Sunshine’ were both great, and used the inspiration from their respective films in a very interesting way in relation to the storyline. This was also when both the storyline and budget came back in full force. And, let me tell you, it showed.

Full discussion below the line.

Materials included in the album

Only the particularly important things, not the random, daily content that groups put out as part of their... existence. Everything ATEEZ does have some references or relevance to their storyline, but that doesn’t mean that all ATEEZ storyline content is created equal.

Album - physical, with three versions including Diary ver.

MVs - Eternal Sunshine, Deja Vu

Dance practice/choreo videos, or other performances, for ‘Eternal Sunshine,’ ‘Deja Vu’ and ‘Not Too Late.’

The regular contents; teasers, reaction videos, vlives and so on.

Logbook roughly 67-79. This also includes content from the ‘FEVER eXtended edition’ concert

Additions to the storyline

This was a funny one. Let’s start with the easy stuff. ‘Eternal Sunshine,’ as the name would suggest, describes how the members lose their memories, happiness, etc, after the Cromer is broken (in the final scene of ‘Deja Vu.’) It also had other themes, like looking at the relationships between the members, hope in hopeless times, and, strangely, the seasons. Although, then again, ATEEZ’s storyline is heavily connected to time, so the seasons showing the passing (or lack thereof) of time is not so surprising.

There’s also a random out-of-happy-character in the MV where Hongjoong gets dragged through the train carriage so that was a bit weird.

‘Deja Vu’, on the other hand, was a little odd. It had the obvious sinister elements - Wooyoung with his flower, the red lighting, the possessed dance, Wooyoung killing San, Hongjoong being crazy, and so on and so on. It seemed like it was gearing up for some final confrontation. But it also had a futuristic theme in the MV. Where the hell did this come from? ATEEZ have never had futuristic concepts before. Sleek and stylish, yes. Fantastical and Gothic, yes. But never futuristic. Unless you want to get technical with me and talk about ‘The Awakening of Summer,’ but, not only was that a KINGDOM performance, but it was also a different ‘type’ of futuristic. ‘Awakening of Summer’ was grungy, the kind of thing you’d see where the rich elite get all of the tech and the street kids are running around trying to stop the government. If you’ll forgive my gamer self, it’s like a Lucio-Symmetra from Overwatch situation. Or a Piltover-Zaun from LOL situation. You know? It’s all about class disparities and that jazz. But the ‘deja Vu’ futuristic was near-future futuristic, where everyone gets the technology but it’s kind of... off. As would be expected from something inspired by the Matrix. 

Which is interesting, because ‘Guerrilla’ combined elements of both of these worlds... cue the mad theorising (FEVERteez had some kind of dream/out-of-body/alternate universe experience where they experienced both elements from the Guerrilla universe and the Treasure one, essentially Deja Vu was just possession/Cromer hy-jinks). 

Um, but anyway... Let’s just say there was a LOT in this album, and it brought up a lot of questions. As we would expect, it mirrored TREASURE EP 3 a lot - possession with ‘Deja Vu’ and crazy flying things that shouldn’t fly with ‘Eternal Sunshine.’ It has similar themes, lyricism, and cinematography. But, as I (and many others) always say, context is everything, and the very different context here makes everything ridiculously different in meaning.

Don’t ask me to explain the specifics - there was so much here that I still need to figure out, and jokes on you, I’m not even a smartiny (why are you reading my blog lol?). But I’ve outlined the general, sweeping statements above, and I (and we as a fandom) will get there eventually.

Track breakdown

Deja Vu - Creepy and sexy. Yunho was killing it.

Eternal Sunshine - The real title track with the flying vehicles and everything.

Feeling Like I Do - Sweet song #1. Actually not a filler like the previous album since it had meaning.

ROCKY - Bring back Rocky! America for the win! All or nothing! Fight to the death!

All About You - Sweet song #2, also not a filler.

Not Too Late - Time to give Hongjoong a hug.

Reactions from the fandom

Well, what do I need to say? Everything else aside, most of you were probably around for this one.

ATEEZ had gained a lot of fans during KINGDOM, and, with the combination of that, Mingi’s return, Season Songs, Immortal Songs, and all the other promoting ATEEZ had been doing... well, it all paid off, I guess. The comeback was very successful and people loved it. And, of course, it had its fair share of theorising, especially inspired by the title track connections to The Matrix and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Two films which are surprisingly popular among ATINYs. 

Important motifs and storyline elements which were added

Hongjoong’s armband from the FEVER Pt 2 teasers came back for some but not all of the performances + media associated with the comeback

The Cromer. BROKE!!!

Not too much else, it just reinforced previous motifs, like the passing of time, flying things, friendship, possession, oppression, fire vs water, cars, and the glass box from ‘Say My Name.’

My semi-professional perspective of the storytelling, production and production values, etc

Top-notch, especially for Eternal Sunshine. When we have the two title tracks, one of them is usually pretty obviously lower budget, and this time it was ‘Deja Vu.’ But, as we’ve established a billion times previously, KQ/ATEEZ’s low-budget stuff is still very high in production values, and makes the absolute most of what they have. Both of the MVs were great cinematic experiences, which told compelling (if not obviously related to the main storyline) stories. The storytelling could have been more coherent if they wanted it to clearly connect to the previous material, especially through visual connections, but there was still enough there to work with, so I’m not too mad.

I like it. And it was certainly a huge jump up from the previous album. Understandably, considering Mingi, KINGDOM, and all of that.

Quality of the album

See above! Nice :)

Other important things to note

N/A

Conclusions

I actually am in love with this album. It was relatively similar to the previous one in structure and song type, but it was a billion times better - let’s just say that it had similar ideas but far better execution. The filler songs had meaning, all of the songs were brilliant, it had the two title tracks and more (and more interesting) storyline, and, of course, Mr. Mingi was back! Definitely not my favourite ATEEZ album, but it added a LOT of context to FEVER after Parts 1 and 2. 9/10 because Eternal Sunshine should have been the title track...

[drjpresents]

Lovely coastal hike today and a few catch ups with dear friends from over the years. A day which crystallised my time loving here all those years ago - Warm friendships, fresh air and beautiful views along with being verbally abused by a teenager in the street (sadly some things don’t change) but at least this time, I’m not the broken person I was when I lived here and to God be the glory, I’m healed of the wounds that I bore when it was home and know that hurtful words (which indeed were all lies) have no power over me, a son of the Most High and co-heir of the Lord Jesus Christ. 👊🏾♥️ (at Cromer) https://www.instagram.com/p/CoQgDy3IuHT/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[gcintheme-blog]

Imperialist “Feminism” Has a Long History

Imperialist of the Day: Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer (sometimes known as Lord Cromer) who acted on behalf of the British colonialist administration in Egypt from 1878 to 1907.

According to his Wikipedia page, “Baring held a ‘traditional Orientalist’ perspective in relation to the East, Egypt in particular, believing Westerners to be inherently superior in every way when compared to Egyptians. According to Baring, the ‘Orient’ and its inhabitants were meant to be subdued and disciplined by the West, resulting in the West’s show of strength through subjugation of the East.”

Baring claimed to be a proponent of Egyptian women’s liberation, arguing against the veil and segregation by gender. Yet, at the same time, he deliberately limited employment opportunities for Egyptians (and specifically Egyptian women) and argued that non-European people have inferior minds and bodies.

At home in England, Baring was a founder and first president of the Men’s League for Opposing Woman Suffrage, which fought against women’s right to vote in the United Kingdom.

Baring is one of many men throughout history who have disguised themselves as women’s liberators in order to push an imperialist agenda. It is clear from his policies in Egypt and in England he did not actually favor women’s rights, and believed women (and especially women of color) to be inferior.

There are certainly struggles yet to win regarding women’s liberation in the Middle East and North Africa, and it is not incorrect to observe that women in Egypt face problems specific to their country and culture. But, we must keep a sharp eye out for imperialism undercover as women’s liberation. Historically, colonialism and imperialism has contributed to women’s oppression through war and violence, capitalism and economic subjugation, and the promotion of extremist ideologies in order to counter secular nationalism which opposes foreign meddling.

We don’t have to rely on foreign men for critiques of women’s conditions in post-colonial societies when there are plenty of Egyptian feminists like Latifa Al Zayyat (d. 1996), Nawal Al Saadawi [here is a great interview with her in English, Arabic, and German] and Huda Shaarawi (d. 1947) who was fighting for Egypt’s liberation FROM Baring’s oppressive administration. These are the voices we should listen to regarding Egyptian women’s liberation.

[inqilabi]

arabs facing european colonialism such as? if it weren't for ottoman colonialism i would have thought it came from their anti blackness and ethnocentrism tbh, I'd never guess European imperialism, since they rarely seem like its real targets

Sounds like you need to read more

[jomiddlemarch]

Freddie and Bel for neighbors/bookshop? :)

“I thought these would help,” the slender, dark-haired man said, a stack of books in his arms offered like the first overture in a pirate’s parley. He was wearing a painfully worn tweed jacket, spotted tie and were his trousers held up by a length of rope? There was something familiar about him, though Bel couldn’t place him, which was nearly a felony offense for a journalist. She glanced at the books, a half dozen with titles referencing the Khediv Tewfiq, the Denshawi incident, Lord Cromer, and the Milner Commission and Heyer’s Sprig Muslin. “They don’t have Sylvester in stock, more’s the pity.”

“I beg your pardon, do I know you?” Bel asked.

“In a manner of speaking,” he replied. “I’ve got the flat below yours, I’ve seen you coming and going and I’ve heard quite a bit, not eavesdropping mind, it’s just the walls and floors are relatively flimsy. My name’s Freddie Lyon and you’re Miss Rowley, I think—”

“Bel. Isobel really, but I’m called Bel,” she said.

“It suits you,” he replied, without saying why. “As I said, I thought these might help you with whatever you’re working on, an article or a book—”

“You can hear the typewriter through the floor,” she said.

“And you’ve got quite a repertoire of obscenities. I appreciated the Spanish the other day, it warmed up an otherwise filthy night, I quite felt I was in Seville, just without the carrillada de cerdo and Rioja,” he said. She would have blushed but he seemed genuinely delighted by her cursing and unperturbed by the noise she made into the wee, small hours.

“It’s a series for a news programme,” she said.

“Ah, that makes sense. Suez,” he said.

“Why the Heyer?” she asked.

“Sometimes, one needs a diversion. And I didn’t think you’d care for Christie, she can get a bit dusty and muddled and there are far too many references to fish-paste sandwiches,” Freddie said. “If one needs a formula, it might as well feature champagne and rogues. The real world has plenty of bitter.”

[starkiddreamcasting]

Starkid Finding Neverland

The Starkid dreamcast for Finding Neverland has arrived! This was a show that wasn’t really on my radar until very recently, but I made the connection that AJ and Barrie and the rest of the dreamcast came very quickly to me.

1. AJ Holmes as J.M Barrie 2. Britney Coleman as Slyvia Llewelyn Davis 3. Dylan Saunders as Charles Frohman/Captain Hook 4. Kim Whalen as Mary Barrie 5. Jamie Burns as Mrs. du Maurier 6. Kendall Nicole as Peter Llewelyn Davis 7. Nick Lang as Michael Llewelyn Davis 8. Lauren Lopez as Jack Llewelyn Davis 9. Richard Campbell as George Llewelyn Davis 10. Joey Richter as Mr. Cromer/Ensemble 11. Mariah Rose Faith as Ensemble 12. Jaime Lyn Beatty as Miss Jones/Ensemble/Slyvia Llewelyn Davis (u/s)/Mrs. du Maurier (u/s) 13. Brian Rosenthal as Elliot/Ensemble 14. James Tolbert as Ensemble 15. Meredith Stepien as Miss Bassett/Ensemble/Mrs. du Maurier (u/s) 16. Curt Mega as Albert/Ensemble/J.M Barrie (u/s) 17. Robert Manion as Ensemble 18. Corey Dorris as Mr. Henshaw/Ensemble/Charles Frohman (u/s)/Captain Hook (u/s) 19. Joe Walker as Lord Canaan/Ensemble 20. Brian Holden as Ensemble 21. Jeff Blim as Mr. Turpin/Ensemble/Charles Frohman (u/s)/Captain Hook (u/s) 22. Rachael Soglin as Emily/Wendy/Ensemble 23. Bryce Charles as Ensemble/Mary Barrie (u/s) 24. Jon Matteson as Ensemble 25. Alex Paul as Peter Pan/Ensemble 26. Tiffany Williams as Swing 27. Ali Gordon as Swing/Slyvia Llewelyn Davis (u/s)/Mary Barrie (u/s) 28. Tyler Brunsman as Swing/J.M Barrie (u/s) 29. Nick Gage as Swing 30. Angela Giarratana as Peter Llewelyn Davis (u/s)/Michael Llewelyn Davis (u/s)/Jack Llewelyn Davis (u/s)/George Llewelyn Davis (u/s)

Make sure to leave any show suggestions or any questions on my casting choices so I can explain them.

[shewhotellsstories]

“The white supremacy of many of the giants of the suffragette movement is becoming well known. When Elizabeth Cady Stanton gave her famous speech at the first Women’s Rights Convention at Seneca Falls in 1848, she demonstrated exactly what she meant by “all men and women are created equal” when she blasted Man for withholding from Woman “her rights which are given to the most ignorant and degraded men—both natives and foreigners.” Stanton was an abolitionist and worked alongside the great Frederick Douglass, but that didn’t stop her from referring to black men as “Sambo,” a derogatory term for someone of mixed Native American and African descent that comes from the Spanish Zambo. 

Furious that the Fifteenth Amendment would ratify black men’s enfranchisement before that of white women, she embarked on a Lord Cromer–like tirade in the pages of the newsletter she edited alongside Susan B. Anthony, asking, “What will we and our daughters suffer if these degraded black men are allowed to have the rights that would make them even worse than our Saxon fathers?”

-Ruby Hamad, White Tears/Brown Scars

[scotianostra]

Dorothy Lee Campbell the Scottish female amateur golfer was born on March 24th 1883.

Wiki tells me she was born in Berwick, other sources agree and differ, one giving the birthplace as Troon, such is the job of trying to sort out the real history, even though it was the 19th century, relatively modern times compared to a lot of subjects I post about! 

One source actually gives an address, so I think I'll go with that she was born at 1 Carlton Terrace in an affluent area of Edinburgh on She was originally named 'Gladys' but this was altered to Dorothy two months after the birth. Her parents were William Campbell and Emily Mary Tipper. Her father was a partner in the family business Thomas B. Campbell & Co. metal merchants and lead pipe manufacturers at 61 Constitution Street, Leith. The family owned a property overlooking the 18th tee of North Berwick Golf Club and were involved in the sport, Dorothy herself is said to have first swung a club at the age of just 18 months.

Dorothy was a pupil of Ben Sayers and learned to play the game over the West Links, at a time when an hour's lesson cost 3/6d and a day's golf on the links was a shilling. Dorothy Campbell played golf on the children's course with the Duke of Montrose's daughters, Lady Victoria and Lady Isabel Kerr and young Cameron of Lochiel. Dorothy said it was Lord Denman (later Governor-General of Australia) who encouraged her to use a full swing at age 12 she joined the North Berwick Ladies Golf Club and had no difficulty holding her own against adult members. She was a pupil of golf professional Ben Sayers one of the most successful early professional golfers.

I'll pick up the story in her own words....

"When I was 12 years old I joined the North Berwick Ladies Golf Club and won my first prize at the September competition on the ladies links, but it was not until eight years later that I entered for any big event. This was 1903 when the first Scottish championship was held at St Andrews and as I only possessed four clubs at the time, and had no experience of match play, no one was more surprised than myself when I reached the semi-final at which stage I was beaten by Miss Glover. The next year I entered for the open championship at Troon and although my people were extremely doubtful of my doing any good in such a large field, I did my best and to this end purchased a driver and niblick to add to my other clubs. I was given a place in the international team."

In 1905, she entered the Ladies' British Amateur Championship at Cromer, and again she reached the semi-finals. Two weeks later Campbell entered the Scottish Ladies' Championship over her home course in front of a crowd estimated at 4,000. The tournament was in its third year and had previously been held at St Andrews and Prestwick, but this was the first event to be organised by the Scottish Ladies' Golfing Association, formed the previous year. Dorothy made it to the final and faced the holder Miss Molly Graham from Nairn in the final. The game was all square after 18 holes and Campbell snatched victory on the nineteenth green.During her illustrious career she was three times Scottish Ladies Champion, three times US. Women's Amateur, Canadian Women's Amateur three times, Campbell was the first woman to win the national championship of five countries, USA, Great Britain, Scotland, Canada and Bermuda.

On March 20th, 1945, Dorothy Campbell fell off a railway platform into the path of an oncoming train,she was was four days short of her 62nd birthday when she died and remains the finest amateur golfers, male or female, ever to emerge from North Berwick.

[bahbecerra]

Aquí una bonita foto veraniega con vista al Puente de Bristol. (También una invernal con nuestra amiga @maristroke ). Su nombre formal “Clifton Suspension Bridge”. El énfasis en puente de suspensión no es menor, al ser del s.XIX esta característica era una peculiaridad. Fue diseñado por Isambard Kingdom Brunel a sus 24 años en el año de 1831 (inició). Él no vio su obra culminada. Es interesante que Brunei sabía de lo complejo y retador de su obra. Consistía en unir 214 metros, más o menos lo que mide la Torre Mayor en CDMX. Y por esto buscaba que los pilotes tuvieran una estética egipcia, en referencia a las monumentales obras de ese pueblo. Interesante también que terminó su construcción en 1864 y en 1879 el imperio británica iniciaba su empresa para tener el control semicolonial de Egipto, civilización admirada arquitectónicamente pero no por eso digna de soberanía a ojos de las políticas imperiales. Lord Cromer fue el encargado de la colonización llamo a la acción protectorado y el pretexto era controlar las finanzas del país para asegurarse el pago de las deudas. Esta historía nos demuestra que en geopolítica la admiración cultural no basta para que los actos intervencionistas se eviten. Y que los pretextos para controlar a los países siempre han estado y seguirán. Incluso Cromer dijo en 1908: Egipto casi forma parte de Europa. Chistoso que en una ciudad de suroeste de su país quisieran emular la cultura egipcia y los discursos imperialistas aplauden el convertirlos a lo “Europeo” a lo “Civilizatorio”?? #Bristol #ImperioBritánico #Egipto #Imperialismo #Colionalismo #Historia #Brunel #SuspensionBridge #Clifton (at Clifton Suspension Bridge) https://www.instagram.com/p/CDy842PhQ91/?igshid=1jvad2zaqhiwf

[theabigailthorn]

Yeah, no. The British Empire didn’t commit any atrocities lmao; we just destroyed our opponents as anyone did. Heck, we even brought democracy and human rights to shitholes in Africa and places like that. Fuck off with saying that bullshit mate; unfollowed.

Lots to unpack here:

First, I’m curious about the use of ‘we’ there? The Empire doesn’t exist anymore so I’m curious about why you identify with it? Of course on a material level we do today still benefit from the exploitation and theft that the Empire facilitated, but “we” can do better than “they,” in fact that’s kindof the point of learning about these things.

Second, the Empire did indeed commit atrocities including but not limited to inventing concentration camps during the Boer War, the partition of India, the Bengal Famine, the concentration camps in Kenya, the concentration camps in Malaysia, the invasion of Australia, the Amritsar Massacre, facilitating the Irish potato famine, the summary execution of the leaders of the Easter Rising, and so on, and on, and on... Many of these crimes we have yet to pay reparations for (and I say ‘we’ there because although we didn’t do the crime it is our duty to undo the unjust looting from which we still benefit), and all of them give the lie to the idea that the Empire spread human rights.

Third, ‘committing atrocities’ and ‘destroying your opponents’ are not mutually exclusive. This is especially true when people go charging round the world picking fights and making people opponents needlessly! Even if it were the case that the British Empire was just “destroying its opponents,” that wouldn’t mean those opponents were justly chosen and also wouldn’t excuse the means by which the destruction was wrought.

As for bringing democracy: far from that being the case the Empire actively suppressed it with military force. Imperial thinkers and statesmen like John Stuart Mill argued simultaneously for the greatness of British democracy and the fundamental backwardness of Indians that made them incapable of running their own country; Lord Cromer described Britain as a great democracy in 1908 (even though half the population couldn’t vote at that time) in contrast to Egypt and Egyptians, which he saw as being intellectually incapable of any kind of government except the military dictatorship of which he was the unelected head. Those who claim the Empire spread democracy ignore the fact that there cannot be democracy as long as the country is under military occupation!

Lastly, I’m not sure how you ended up following me or what made you think I’d be down with Empire-apologia in the first place but you’re right that if that’s your game there won’t be much on this blog for you!