ORIGINAL: Capitaine
ORIGINAL: warspite1
And 57% of the audience (presumably mostly British) voted that he was indeed worthy of the epithet great.
I can't believe you cite this as evidence that Britain isn't reflexively biased against Napoleon. The 57% FOR Napoleon being "great" isn't an approval or admiration poll. It's raw greatness. That means 43% of the British audience didn't even consider him a "great man", whether friend or foe. That proves my point. As does the second debater whose main line of attack on Napoleon was character assassination -- the time honored method of British argument.
In fact, only in Britain would the premise of the debate even be entertained -- Whether Napoleon was even a great man. Just a pathetic exercise only a fan of the Peninsular War could appreciate.
warspite1
So let me make sure I have this straight. Despite every post confirming otherwise, TulliusDetritus (what I’ve said is in black and white, how can you simply ignore that???) continues to accuse me of stating the very opposite of what I’ve posted. And now this……
I can't believe you cite this as evidence that Britain isn't reflexively biased against Napoleon. The 57% FOR Napoleon being "great" isn't an approval or admiration poll. It's raw greatness. That means 43% of the British audience didn't even consider him a "great man", whether friend or foe. That proves my point. As does the second debater whose main line of attack on Napoleon was character assassination -- the time honored method of British argument.
In fact, only in Britain would the premise of the debate even be entertained -- Whether Napoleon was even a great man. Just a pathetic exercise only a fan of the Peninsular War could appreciate.
So what have I said to bring this on?
I first mentioned Napoleon in post 119. I simply referred to a debate that I watched and that I found interesting. I did not pass any judgement or make any comment on the contents, just hoped that my fellow forumites might find this of interest.
In response to this Capitaine posted:
I discount *everything* said or written by the British. Their visceral hatred of the man prevents all objectivity. I don't know who did Warspite's video, or what it claims, but if it's British or "modern" I have no interest in revisiting the topic with them.
I then answered that the video, did not support capitaine's view (that ‘the British’ are visceral in their hatred of Napoleon) i.e. here was a well known, historian who happens to be British defending Napoleon – and indeed going further by stating he should be classed in the Great category.
I further posted that 57% of a, presumably, largely British audience agreed with him.
And that is what I said.
So, if you took the time to read what you wrote and what I responded with, I was simply making the point that ‘the British’, whoever this uniform-unthinking, yet like-minded mass you like to talk about is are not, to a man, anti-Napoleon, they are not, to a man, filled with hatred, visceral or otherwise when hearing his very name.
But you, like TulliusDetritus, do not appear happy with what I’ve said, you have to falsify it and make it into something its not. What I said suddenly turned into “cit(ing) this as evidence that Britain* isn't reflexively biased against Napoleon". You continue with "The 57% FOR Napoleon being "great" isn't an approval or admiration poll".
* I ask again who is this mass of people who all think and act the same way????
But please tell me where I attempted to cite any ‘evidence’ that ‘the British’ (whoever they are) are not “reflexively biased against Napoleon” or that I advertised the 57% as an approval or admiration poll??
I have attempted nothing of the sort, I simply sought to prove your unwillingness to listen to anything and everything by a Briton (because you know ‘the British’ all hate Napoleon) to be wrong.
As for the rest of it. You have your opinion, you are passionate about Napoleon, which I respect, and you are fully entitled to that opinion. I would simply ask that you respect mine (not that I’ve even given an opinion here) and not put words in my mouth.
