this post was submitted on 02 Jan 2024
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You're deliberately misinterpreting my statement as "history is never written by the victors", which isn't what I said. I have another comment with a number of examples that disprove the quote that everyone treats as gospel.
I don't know what your second example is referring to.
And Harry Potter being written by someone who happens to be from a former colonial power is the biggest reach I believe I've seen in my entire life. So good job with that.
Seriously, how is that an example of history being written by the victors? Childrens books are written by the victors, maybe. It's a book about magic school kids, not a writing of history. And it was published by a publishing company, not by the government of colonial-era Britain.
History is not written by the victors. It is written by those who are most able to write history. More often than not this is the victors, but it is far, far from the rule.
Quotes from Chairman Mao, the very apotheosis of a victor writing history.
HP is a fantastic glamorization of elementary students growing up during the domestic fascist turn in the wake of WW2. It isn't simply a story about wizard kids, but an allegory describing liberals coming of age during the 60s and 70s. The heroes and villains and side-characters are all fictional re-imaginings of period figures. Had the English come out on the wrong side of the World Wars, you'd likely be reading a similar set of books translated off the German, telling a similar coming-of-age story about growing up in post-war globally dominant Germany as a young wizard coming of age with evil (((monsters))) hiding in the school basement that only a clever and talented Draco Malfoy could grow up to defeat.
The folks most able to write history are the ones in the position to conduct research, formulate a narrative, and distribute it most aggressively. Those people are inevitably working on behalf of the most wealthy and influential business and political interests in the region. Aka "the victors".
Ok. I'll again refer you to where I literally never said victors never write history. Cool, Mao did. Where did I say otherwise? Point this out to me.
Harry Potter isn't an example of the victors writing history. I don't know what you're smoking to have a take like that. It's a kid's book about child wizards standing against dark wizards who want ethnic purity (i.e. a superior race of wizards untainted by non-magic blood).
It's not a historical record or analysis. It's a kid's book series.
What "victors" wrote it? Where's the writing of history? I see you've backed down from your "and it was published by the Colonial-era British government!" take, so at least we're making some progress.
Yes! Good boy! You're getting it!! Well done ❤️❤️❤️❤️!
It's just like I said all along - history is written by those most able to record it!
You got so close, only to throw out your previous sentences and go back to this baseless take that has loads of counter-examples, some of which I've already stated.
The victors are usually in a better position to write about events, but it's not a rule. Jesus, how is this hard to understand? The world isn't black and white where everything is absolute.
Most of the writings about Genghis Khan and other Mongolian emperors during their golden era comes from Chinese historians. Tell me, were China the victors in their encounters with the Mongols? Because by your logic, they must have been.
You don't have to die on this hill, dude.
Just pointing out that it's far from the universal law people are blue-in-the-face defending it to be.
I count two smurfs.