Oh! What a lovely war – as long as it’s the ‘right’ one for public support
This week: On a lack of parity for Ukraine and Gaza sympathy
RECENTLY an American friend said something that rings very true. He suggested that “sometimes it feels as if Ukraine has shifted just a couple of miles south of Manchester”. Many of the British public have adopted this war as if one of their own. Ukraine’s fight against an evil empire echoes their sense of themselves: a plucky little nation that stood alone against the Blitz of World War Two.
Historically, it is easier to accept the victims of someone else’s colonies. Through my involvement in various groups in London, I’ve learned quite a bit about many British people’s attitudes to war.
At the heart of that is a psychological aversion to facing what was done in the name of ‘Empire’.
Everything’s reduced to a tale of two World Wars, and one World Cup, against the same enemy.
And if Empire is considered, Britain’s sense of itself is that of Obi-wan Kenobi in ‘Star Wars’, rather than Darth Vader.
Of course, there is a recognition that parts were dark, but the greater good, and all that...
In the public psyche, British militarism is a heroic story of defence – like one of those World Cup tournaments that England almost won, where the national spirit’s summed up by a clumsy but lovable Harry Maguire, the England and Manchester United defender.
Britain hasn’t been invaded since 1066. However, that obsession with ‘defence’ creates a national paranoia.
That’s why people with no previous interest in Ukraine suddenly turned their Facebook profiles blue and yellow when Putin entered the picture.
A voice in their head was yelling out, “We will fight and we will be right.”
Except – they weren’t fighting. The Ukrainian war, on one level, is a proxy war against Russia, with two sides to the story.
And despite what I’ve said, I’m obviously on the same side. I support the Ukrainian people over the Russian invaders.
Going back as far as King Solomon, it’s obvious you don’t cut a baby in half to show love.
But the British support for Ukraine is weird, when we consider how there’s never been the same interest in Gaza, at present, or in Ireland in the past.
Probably that’s because these two places are all too real, too close.
Britain’s colonies present it with a reality that it’s not ready to confront. They’re real mirrors in a hall of mirrors.
They’re an existential challenge to Britain’s selfstyled sense of always being the good guys.
Supporting Ukraine with words and weapons assures many British people of that goodness. It’s a battle for the historical values they treasure – those of fair play, decency, freedom, democracy, justice and morality.
But to those who were colonised by Britain, such values seem ironic.
Of course, they do exist. At a personal level, most British people are incredibly decent and kind, with a very strong sense of fair play.
As Exhibit A in the case of proving that, I’d present your average English and Irish family wills.
One’s often a product of favouritism straight out a colonial playbook, leaving feuds that last generations.
Most English, on the other hand, seem to leave this world with their affairs and possessions in order.
They do things in an equitable and forthright manner that’s very much at odds with their political history.
Like the other Western European powers, Britain left behind an unresolved mess in almost every country that it colonised for a prolonged period.
That’s as true of Ireland as it is of India, Palestine or even Australia, where indigenous people still speak of ‘colonial terrorism’.
It’s easier for the British public to focus on places such as Ukraine. Even though they were major players in the Crimean War of the 1850s, this isn’t one of the hundred or so countries ‘they’ colonised.
In the British psyche, all these acts were part of national defence. But whenever the question is asked about ‘defending what’, they’re not sure. There’s almost no reflection on history beyond World War Two myths.
Little is even known in Britain of life across the Irish Sea. That was summed up by Patrick Kielty at the end of the documentary series, ‘Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland’.
There, he talked about doing a TV show in England on the night of The Good Friday Agreement. That was such a monumental night for all of us who lived through it.
However, for the English people in that TV studio, it meant almost nothing. Patrick Kielty went to his hotel room and cried alone.
But such a shameless, self-blameless lack of knowledge is bizarre. It’s also ironic, because while Britain sees itself as Ukraine, the reality is that, historically, it’s got far more in common with Russia.
What’s happening in Ukraine is a lot closer to here too than the couple of thousand miles it’d take to drive as the crow flies from Belfast to Kyiv.
Both Northern Ireland and the Donbas are imperial hangovers.
Just as most Protestants in Northern Ireland feel culturally British, as well as Irish in their own way, the people of Donbas identify with a sense of Ukraine being historically Russian, culturally and territorially.
Unfortunately, as with so many national disputes, the Ukrainian majority weren’t able to construct a state where those people felt protected on an equal basis. That’s partly what caused the conflict.
Russia claim they stepped in to protect the eastern Ukrainians who were under siege. I think most people can comprehend that if they’re given both sides of the story rather than very simplistic versions.
Ukraine has been portrayed as a simple case of ‘good versus bad’, whilst Gaza is ‘complex’.
And it’s scary, too, how easily the government has manufactured consent for arming Ukrainians so they can fight what seems an endless war, rather than pushing for peace.
For those shocked by double standards around the evils of Russian and Israeli aggression, it’s hard to understand the British public. But if we step into their shoes, we might get some sense of why this exists.
For their entire lives, British people have been told that their army has always been an apolitical force for good.
As I said, that’s how History is reduced to two World Wars, one World Cup, and seeing themselves as Harry Maguire.
They have also been conditioned to treat personal values and systemic values as two different things.
Again, as I also said above, at a personal level, the British people have incredibly kind, genuine and decent hearts.
Yet when it comes to systems and institutions such as the military, the Monarchy, and Empire, the British public goes deaf and blind to the suffering of other races. War’s just an ‘away game’ on inferior pitches.
That’s why in the words of another friend, a Chinese woman, who said this week: “English people seem to have cold hearts when it comes to Gaza.”
Not all, but too many – and especially in political circles.
Paul Breen is @Charltonmen on Twitter/x.