Inspired by a brief tangent in the Israel/Palestine thread:

How do people feel about national guilt. My tediously even-handed opinion is:

On the one hand- the apology obsession irritates me. "Oh, we can't get closure until Japan/the police/my brother/America/Britain apologises". Alternatively, you could grow up take responsibility for own emotions and start looking forward

On the other hand, to just wring your hands and say "well we ain't paying/positively discriminating/doing shit because it had nothing to do with us guv, it was my grandad" is to ignore the fact that in some cases, your cushy existence and present situation is largely thanks to x group of people and their shitty situation is partly thanks to your grandad's oppression/colonialisation/warmongering, so you are kind of settling the score a little.

You see, all those words and no solid position, just a bunch of grey-area observation that leaves us in the same position.

What do you mix of reasonable (read:useless) people, idiotic reactionary semi-trolls and studenty unrealistic naifs think?

(we have nothing to say Si, as you've been utterly non-specific and not said anything to polarise opinion)

Jesus, is it only Tuesday?