The official British commemoration of the dead of World War One is about preparing new generations to go out and kill “again, and again, and again, and again"
Could there be a more fitting place for remembering the imperialist slaughter of WWI than the Tower of London. It was built in 1078 by William the Conqueror to rule over the latest subjects added to his kingdom. Then used for centuries afterwards to imprison, torture and execute those who rebelled against the royal parasites. What better way to commemorate the millions of the royals subjects who fell fighting the subjects of their cousins in WWI than to symbolically dumb their bodies in the moat of the oldest symbol of their rule.
The official British commemoration of the dead of World War One is about preparing new generations to go out and kill “again, and again, and again, and again"
Could there be a more fitting place for remembering the imperialist slaughter of WWI than the Tower of London. It was built in 1078 by William the Conqueror to rule over the latest subjects added to his kingdom. Then used for centuries afterwards to imprison, torture and execute those who rebelled against the royal parasites. What better way to commemorate the millions of the royals subjects who fell fighting the subjects of their cousins in WWI than to symbolically dumb their bodies in the moat of the oldest symbol of their rule.
In 1916 the anti-colonial campaigner Rodger Casement was imprisoned in the Tower prior to his trial and execution for his part in preparing the 1916 anti-colonial revolt in Ireland. In the period between his arrest and execution the Battle of the Somme was fought. Tens of thousands of men from Ireland were slaughtered, one million on both sides of the conflict were killed or injured in that battle. Part of Casement’s life work had been to expose the horrific colonialism of the King of Belgium in the Congo. It is now thought around 10 million Congolese died over a couple of decades in that period.
Of course Mrs Windsor’s subjects may fail to understand that the commemoration is celebrating continued imperialist power and class rule over them and the people of the world. Today of course as the mini me partner of the US state, whose military has 662 bases around the globe. The British Legion, headed up by whoever occupies the throne, that runs the commemorations was founded by the same general Haig who ran the slaughter at the Somme.
Mrs Windsor thus mocks her subjects by using a popular anti-war song about the pointless of the slaughter and the betrayed promise that it would end all wars to promote your continued rule? Which is just what the British Legion has done, it has been using the ‘Green Fields of France’ but removed the key verse about how Willie McBride’s death was in vain (below).
Ah young Willie McBride, I can’t help wonder why,
Do those that lie here know why did they die?
And did they believe when they answered the cause,
Did they really believe that this war would end wars?
Well the sorrow, the suffering, the glory, the pain,
The killing and dying, were all done in vain.
For Willie McBride, it all happened again,
And again, and again, and again, and again.
The version that the British queen will hear today will not have that verse. The original composer of the lyrics, Eric Bogle told the British Independent that “I wrote the song intending for the four verses of the original song to gradually build up to what I hoped would be a climactic and strong anti-war statement. Missing out two and a half verses from the original four verses very much negates that intention.”
WORDS Andrew Flood (Follow Andrew on Twitter )