Sympathy for the Devil, part 3: The Man Who Wrecked History

Started by The Good Reverend Roger, December 08, 2010, 05:25:34 PM

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The Good Reverend Roger

Looking back over the last century or so, I was more than a little amazed to find myself forming the opinion that there is in fact one man responsible for the train wreck that lasted from 1914 til the present.

That man was Gavrilo Princip, the Serbian who - with the help of his scabby little co-conspirators - killed Archduke Ferdinand over some stupid nationalist nonsense, and started the non-stop arms races and bloodbaths that have characterized the years since.

I realize, of course, that the political situation was a powder keg just waiting for a spark...But so was the cold war, and as I look around, there don't seem to be many radioactive craters.  Therefore, it is possible to squeak through these "powder keg" eras without the "inevitable" spark.  In a thousand alternate realities, World War I probably would have happened anyway, had Princip's mother thrown him down the well as an infant, but this wasn't by any means certain.

Therefore, I'm putting the blame on him and his pals.

Can you even imagine what the world would have been like with no WWI?  Without WWI, there wouldn't have been a WWII, and Hitler would have starved to death in an obscure artist's garret.  The Russian revolution probably would have failed, almost certainly the Chinese revolution as well.  The Ottoman Empire would still exist, so the Middle East wouldn't be so nutty.  Nukes would have taken decades more to develop, as would space travel...though the motives for the space race would have been different, and maybe we'd have actually accomplished something.  The entire national psychology of the USA and the UK would be vastly different, in a positive way.

So, here's to you, Gavrilo, you psychotic little fucking runt.  You ruined the future.  Way to go.

Or Kill Me.
" It's just that Depeche Mode were a bunch of optimistic loveburgers."
- TGRR, shaming himself forever, 7/8/2017

"Billy, when I say that ethics is our number one priority and safety is also our number one priority, you should take that to mean exactly what I said. Also quality. That's our number one priority as well. Don't look at me that way, you're in the corporate world now and this is how it works."
- TGRR, raising the bar at work.

Bebek Sincap Ratatosk

Excellent Observation.

I wonder what would have happened with American isolationism without the two big wars that forced us to go play with others?

Also, without WWII there would have been no nation of Israel,  which in and of itself may have completely rewritten huge chunks of history and the military industrial complex in the US would have had no opportunity to grow as it did. However, the impact of the Great Depression might have been worse and the New Deal may never have happened as FDR might have been voted out after his first term which might have some very interesting repercussions in US social services.

Damn Rev. I think you nailed this guy.  :)
- I don't see race. I just see cars going around in a circle.

"Back in my day, crazy meant something. Now everyone is crazy" - Charlie Manson

LMNO


The Good Reverend Roger

Quote from: LMNO, PhD on December 08, 2010, 06:20:52 PM
I really liked this one.

Thanks.  This is what Horrorology is supposed to be all about...Not new horrors to toss in peoples' faces (we have Aneristic Delusions and Science and Techmology boards for that), but rather the study of how and why things are so horrible.
" It's just that Depeche Mode were a bunch of optimistic loveburgers."
- TGRR, shaming himself forever, 7/8/2017

"Billy, when I say that ethics is our number one priority and safety is also our number one priority, you should take that to mean exactly what I said. Also quality. That's our number one priority as well. Don't look at me that way, you're in the corporate world now and this is how it works."
- TGRR, raising the bar at work.

Juana

Love this and I think you're mostly right (I think the Ottomans would have given up the ghost anyway). I actually have a story on the back boiler with some of this as part of it, but I hadn't thought about Gavrilo. Something to think about.
"I dispose of obsolete meat machines.  Not because I hate them (I do) and not because they deserve it (they do), but because they are in the way and those older ones don't meet emissions codes.  They emit too much.  You don't like them and I don't like them, so spare me the hysteria."

The Good Reverend Roger

Quote from: Hover Cat on December 08, 2010, 06:42:39 PM
Love this and I think you're mostly right (I think the Ottomans would have given up the ghost anyway). I actually have a story on the back boiler with some of this as part of it, but I hadn't thought about Gavrilo. Something to think about.

I'm working the little shit into a graphic novel I'm going to be doing with Liam.
" It's just that Depeche Mode were a bunch of optimistic loveburgers."
- TGRR, shaming himself forever, 7/8/2017

"Billy, when I say that ethics is our number one priority and safety is also our number one priority, you should take that to mean exactly what I said. Also quality. That's our number one priority as well. Don't look at me that way, you're in the corporate world now and this is how it works."
- TGRR, raising the bar at work.

Juana

"I dispose of obsolete meat machines.  Not because I hate them (I do) and not because they deserve it (they do), but because they are in the way and those older ones don't meet emissions codes.  They emit too much.  You don't like them and I don't like them, so spare me the hysteria."

The Good Reverend Roger

Quote from: Hover Cat on December 08, 2010, 06:46:02 PM
Very nice. Will we get to see some of it?

We'll probably post an "ashcan" here, but if you want to see it, it will be going cheap in electronic format.

Fuck printers.  Fuck their thieving, imcompetence in their ear.
" It's just that Depeche Mode were a bunch of optimistic loveburgers."
- TGRR, shaming himself forever, 7/8/2017

"Billy, when I say that ethics is our number one priority and safety is also our number one priority, you should take that to mean exactly what I said. Also quality. That's our number one priority as well. Don't look at me that way, you're in the corporate world now and this is how it works."
- TGRR, raising the bar at work.

Jasper

If I only knew one century of history extremely well, it should be the 20th century.  Jesus wept Roger, good post.  It makes me very heavy hearted to have glimpsed a world that had nice things.

As an aside, having spent the last few days rewatching the lotr movies I can't help but hear Theoden saying, 'So much death. What can men do against such reckless hate?'

American isolationism was...a good thing.  Wasn't it?  We might have been as fortunate as Sweden.


Juana

The world would probably still be convinced we were rowdy frat boys, but possibly.
"I dispose of obsolete meat machines.  Not because I hate them (I do) and not because they deserve it (they do), but because they are in the way and those older ones don't meet emissions codes.  They emit too much.  You don't like them and I don't like them, so spare me the hysteria."

Jasper

I didn't have much hope for that.  I'd settle for not having a clinically antisocial government.

Salty

Fucking Serbians! :argh!:
I liked this very much.
Do you suppose walmart would have existed if things had gone another way? What about rascal scooters?
The world is a car and you're the crash test dummy.

Whatever


The Good Reverend Roger

Quote from: Sigmatic on December 08, 2010, 06:58:40 PM
If I only knew one century of history extremely well, it should be the 20th century.  Jesus wept Roger, good post.  It makes me very heavy hearted to have glimpsed a world that had nice things.

As an aside, having spent the last few days rewatching the lotr movies I can't help but hear Theoden saying, 'So much death. What can men do against such reckless hate?'

American isolationism was...a good thing.  Wasn't it?  We might have been as fortunate as Sweden.



American isolationism was a mood, not a policy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine%E2%80%93American_War

QuoteSmith instructed Major Littleton Waller, commanding officer of a battalion of 315 US Marines assigned to bolster his forces in Samar, regarding the conduct of pacification:

"I want no prisoners. I wish you to kill and burn, the more you kill and burn the better it will please me. I want all persons killed who are capable of bearing arms in actual hostilities against the United States." General Jacob H. Smith said.

Since it was a popular belief among the Americans serving in the Philippines that native males were born with bolos in their hands, Major Littleton "Tony" Waller asked "I would like to know the limit of age to respect, sir?."

"Ten years," Smith said.

"Persons of ten years and older are those designated as being capable of bearing arms?"

"Yes." Smith confirmed his instructions a second time.

" It's just that Depeche Mode were a bunch of optimistic loveburgers."
- TGRR, shaming himself forever, 7/8/2017

"Billy, when I say that ethics is our number one priority and safety is also our number one priority, you should take that to mean exactly what I said. Also quality. That's our number one priority as well. Don't look at me that way, you're in the corporate world now and this is how it works."
- TGRR, raising the bar at work.

Adios

Nice piece, but what I wonder is who would have filled his shoes if he had been tossed down that well.