Winston Churchill
We all know Winston Churchill for his efforts in fighting the Nazis during World War II. But as it turns out, he was a white supremacist who had way more in common with his enemies than history wants to let on.
According to Richard Toye's book Churchill's Empire, young Churchill took part in what he called "a lot of jolly little wars against barbarous peoples" in Africa, and believed they were violent against the British not because the Brits were invading their land, but because they had a "strong aboriginal propensity to kill." Later, when he joined Parliament, Churchill advocated more war against minorities, claiming that "the Aryan stock is bound to triumph." Of the Kurds, who tried to gain independence from Britain, he said "I am strongly in favor of using poisoned gas against uncivilized tribes … [it] would spread a lively terror." Jolly little wars, a lively terror — who knew Churchill spoke exactly like a 1980s cartoon villain?
Then there was Gandhi's quest to free India from British rule. Churchill didn't like that, calling for Gandhi's murder (by elephant!) shortly after he rose to prominence in the late 1920s. It wasn't just Gandhi, though — Churchill openly admitted, "I hate Indians. They are a beastly people with a beastly religion." He didn't mellow out as he got older — in 1943, in between rousing speeches about never surrendering, he refused to help India survive a severe famine that ultimately killed around 3 million people. Churchill blamed the Indians, saying it was all their fault for "breeding like rabbits." No wonder President Obama didn't want that man's bust in the White House.
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