8 ms·

> "When I was younger, I looked at my great grandad's prisoner-of-war diaries and I just love everything about the period." Everything ?? Yikes! It's curiou

> "When I was younger, I looked at my great grandad's prisoner-of-war diaries and I just love everything about the period." *Everything* ?? Yikes! It's curious to me that he's not being raised by his parents. Something tragic must have happened here. Is is running away from his trauma? (Edited quite a bit: others have brought up the point about getting this conclusion from reading a WW2 POW's diary. I wrote too soon -- the bit about not being raised by parents seems much more salient to me.)

nomel 3y ago
Come now. A war isn't the only thing that defines a people and the ways of life in an era. And, you can find incredible stories of character from POW, in the way they hold onto their dignity, help each other, etc. Those that you can still respect in their worst of times, when they show their true character, can easily be role models/sources inspiration.
- malcolmgreaves 3y ago
  Sure! Tragedies are also a time where we sometimes see the a response that shows the absolute best of humanity. I apologize, because I have since edited my comment. I was writing a bit too fast. My perspective is that this child read a POW diary from WW2, then let's assume that he saw some great examples of humanity, and then decided that "I'll live like it's the 40s!" It's strange to me to have this reaction. He claims to be a history buff. Where's the realization that the 40s were an absolutely terrible time if you weren't a straight white Christian man? Did he love that part about it? If he's not thinking of that, then he's really deluding himself with rose colored glasses. This entire story reeks of untreated childhood trauma to me. Why is he digging into the past so much? His parents are out of the picture. Thank goodness his grandmother is there to raise him. But we know that growing up without parents is its own specific kind of trauma. (Not that growing up with parents avoids all trauma!) To me, this is a story about an extremely lonely and isolated child.
  - dudul 3y ago
    > straight white Christian man Do we always need to go there? Most people conscripted to go die like dogs on the front were straight white men. Of course the guy is living a romanticized version of the 40s, just like people who role play Vikings at the Renaissance faire, so what? He admits himself that he doesn't ration his food and I'm sure he doesn't lynch his black neighbors either.
    - malcolmgreaves 3y ago
      Why are you triggered by a very reasonable reminder of the truth? You really need to ask yourself why you _all_ you feel is annoyed about something that's still a massive problem for people today. If you see a comment that doesn't concern you, why do you feel the need to make it your business?
      - merrykalikimaka 3y ago
        I don’t agree with you either, yet your view is pushed all the time by the slightly provacatively called blue-haired liberals. Life in the 40s and before that were really hard on everyone. There’s literally no need to start talking about straight white males specifically. It says a lot you completely dismissed his point about straight white males being sent to die in wars and tell him it doesn’t concern him and not to make it his business.
        malcolmgreaves 3y ago
        > Life in the 40s and before that were really hard on everyone. Fact: it was much harder in Western societies if you were not white, straight, male, and Christian. This isn't a point for debate. It's not an opinion. You can either accept the fact, as uncomfortable as it is, and move on. Or you can be willfully ignorant to avoid feeling uncomfortable. > It says a lot you completely dismissed his point about straight white males being sent to die in wars Logically, this is irrelevant to me pointing out facts about how Western society operated during that time period. If you want to be educated, you should read more history books to realize that not every solider was straight and white. > I don’t agree with you either, yet your view is pushed all the time by the slightly provacatively (sic) called blue-haired liberals. Thanks for the laugh tonight! I didn't realize you believe that the only people who have enough fortitude to accept uncomfortable facts have blue hair! What a great joke.

> "When I was younger, I looked at my great grandad's prisoner-of-war diaries and I just love everything about the period." *Everything* ?? Yikes! It's curiou

nomel 3y ago

Come now. A war isn't the only thing that defines a people and the ways of life in an era. And, you can find incredible stories of character from POW, in the way they hold onto their dignity, help each other, etc. Those that you can still respect in their worst of times, when they show their true character, can easily be role models/sources inspiration.

malcolmgreaves 3y ago
Sure! Tragedies are also a time where we sometimes see the a response that shows the absolute best of humanity. I apologize, because I have since edited my comment. I was writing a bit too fast. My perspective is that this child read a POW diary from WW2, then let's assume that he saw some great examples of humanity, and then decided that "I'll live like it's the 40s!" It's strange to me to have this reaction. He claims to be a history buff. Where's the realization that the 40s were an absolutely terrible time if you weren't a straight white Christian man? Did he love that part about it? If he's not thinking of that, then he's really deluding himself with rose colored glasses. This entire story reeks of untreated childhood trauma to me. Why is he digging into the past so much? His parents are out of the picture. Thank goodness his grandmother is there to raise him. But we know that growing up without parents is its own specific kind of trauma. (Not that growing up with parents avoids all trauma!) To me, this is a story about an extremely lonely and isolated child.
- dudul 3y ago
  > straight white Christian man Do we always need to go there? Most people conscripted to go die like dogs on the front were straight white men. Of course the guy is living a romanticized version of the 40s, just like people who role play Vikings at the Renaissance faire, so what? He admits himself that he doesn't ration his food and I'm sure he doesn't lynch his black neighbors either.
  - malcolmgreaves 3y ago
    Why are you triggered by a very reasonable reminder of the truth? You really need to ask yourself why you _all_ you feel is annoyed about something that's still a massive problem for people today. If you see a comment that doesn't concern you, why do you feel the need to make it your business?
    - merrykalikimaka 3y ago
      I don’t agree with you either, yet your view is pushed all the time by the slightly provacatively called blue-haired liberals. Life in the 40s and before that were really hard on everyone. There’s literally no need to start talking about straight white males specifically. It says a lot you completely dismissed his point about straight white males being sent to die in wars and tell him it doesn’t concern him and not to make it his business.
      - malcolmgreaves 3y ago
        > Life in the 40s and before that were really hard on everyone. Fact: it was much harder in Western societies if you were not white, straight, male, and Christian. This isn't a point for debate. It's not an opinion. You can either accept the fact, as uncomfortable as it is, and move on. Or you can be willfully ignorant to avoid feeling uncomfortable. > It says a lot you completely dismissed his point about straight white males being sent to die in wars Logically, this is irrelevant to me pointing out facts about how Western society operated during that time period. If you want to be educated, you should read more history books to realize that not every solider was straight and white. > I don’t agree with you either, yet your view is pushed all the time by the slightly provacatively (sic) called blue-haired liberals. Thanks for the laugh tonight! I didn't realize you believe that the only people who have enough fortitude to accept uncomfortable facts have blue hair! What a great joke.