Is It Wrong To Be Proud Of Viking Heritage?

[Revoltingest]

Vikings preyed upon other countries, raping, killing, pillaging, & enslaving people.
Should this be overlooked or should the be vilified for it, as we do with the Confederacy?

 

[Nakosis]

Vikings preyed upon other countries, raping, killing, pillaging, & enslaving people.
Should this be overlooked or should the be vilified for it, as we do with the Confederacy?

I'd suspect every heritage line from the past has its own set of peccadillos.

 

[PoetPhilosopher]

Vikings preyed upon other countries, raping, killing, pillaging, & enslaving people.
Should this be overlooked or should the be vilified for it, as we do with the Confederacy?

What if their history has already been demonized, hence your view on Vikings which caused you to make the thread?

 

[ChristineM]

Vikings preyed upon other countries, raping, killing, pillaging, & enslaving people.
Should this be overlooked or should the be vilified for it, as we do with the Confederacy?

Most nations preyed on other nations through history (and some still do)
Your country was built from preying on native Americans.

Mine was built on preying on Scotland and Ireland (and being preyed on by rome, Viking, Saxon, Norman.

You can't rewrite history though many try.


Am i proud of my viking heritage? Really a couldn't care less.

 

[Revoltingest]

I'd suspect every heritage line from the past has its own set of peccadillos.

Yet some cultures are demonized while
others are glorified. Should it be so?

 

[Estro Felino]

Fortunately the historical evidence shows that it dealt with basically peaceful people practicing agriculture who used to migrate towards the south because of the rigid Northern climate.
This despite the raids.
Let us mention the Viking settling in Normandy, creating a new civilization that spread throughout Europe (England, Sicily, both in the eleventh century).
The eleventh and the twelfth centuries are centuries of great changes also thanks to the Vikings, and how they positively improved European civilization.
So the answer is: it is not wrong to be proud of Viking heritage. It is rightful to be proud.

 

[Revoltingest]

What if their history has already been demonized, hence your view on Vikings which caused you to make the thread?

Actually, I've been wondering about the pride
expressed in Vikings for years now. Finally
got up off'n me behind to broach this issue.

 

[Revoltingest]

Most nations preyed on other nations through history (and some still do)
Your country was built from preying on native Americans.

Mine was built on preying on Scotland and Ireland (and being preyed on by rome, Viking, Saxon, Norman.

You can't rewrite history though many try.

So then it would seem that southerners could
openly express pride in the Confederacy, eh.
BTW, I've no pride in Ameristan's checkered
history. But I am pleased that we drove out
those swishy inbred Limey invaders.

 

[Estro Felino]

Nice map

 

[ChristineM]

So then it would seem that southerners could
openly express pride in the Confederacy, eh.
BTW, I've no pride in Ameristan's checkered
history. But I am pleased that we drove out
those swishy inbred Limey invaders.

Claiming Scottish (limey) ancestry invariably means you have viking blood and being a proud limey you are proud you drove your ancestors out... Interesting lime line on hypocrisy you have there.

 

[Aštra’el]

Vikings preyed upon other countries, raping, killing, pillaging, & enslaving people.
Should this be overlooked or should the be vilified for it, as we do with the Confederacy?

It is neither “right” or “wrong”, and there is no “should”. Take pride in this or don’t. No judgement here. I see no need to consider anyone else’s approval.

 

[Orbit]

As a direct descendant of a Confederate war veteran, I take no particular pride in the Confederacy. It was a political thing, a civil war, not something to celebrate. That they defended slavery was awful. But history is what it is, nor do I particularly vilify them. They were a product of their time and cultural context.

 

[Nakosis]

Yet some cultures are demonized while
others are glorified. Should it be so?

IMO, screw the past.
There exists no necessary connection between me and my forefathers.

A person's heritage is just a fantasy identity they create/adopt for themselves. People claim this identification with their heritage/culture is important.
I don't think it is.
What is important is what I do, What I create. Not what my ancestors did.

If someone wants to adopt some heritage, fine, whatever. It is still all in their head with no necessary connection to reality.

 

[Truthseeker]

Vikings preyed upon other countries, raping, killing, pillaging, & enslaving people.
Should this be overlooked or should the be vilified for it, as we do with the Confederacy?

Any people has some virtues. I shouldn't be proud, perhaps, that I am descended from the Stuart Kings up to James I and the Plantagenet's, and their Kings up to Edward III. It's like worshipping power and nobility no matter what they have done. I watch The Lion in Winter and I'm descended from three of those characters in that. Nice to see what my ancestors that far back have done, at least in some sense, though there is fiction involved to some extent. Unfortunately I am descended from King John who made such a mess of things that the Magna Carta was foisted on him. I am descended from Richie Rich, depicted in A Man for All Seasons by John Hurt. In real life, he was a really bad person.

In the end, none of these ancestors have anything to do with us, though. It's not something that we should be proud or ashamed of, in my opinion, though I myself am breaking that.

 

[Exaltist Ethan]

 

[Hermit Philosopher]

Hmm… I don’t know @Revoltingest

Is it even a should-I sort of question?
Pride is either felt or not felt.

Should one be ashamed of whether one feels/does not feel it? Perhaps that’s the question rather.

I myself know that my own heritage is a huge mixture; one as embarrassing as the other.
Yet, we are not our heritage - unless we choose to be, that is.


Humbly
Hermit

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Fortunately the historical evidence shows that it dealt with basically peaceful people practicing agriculture who used to migrate towards the south because of the rigid Northern climate.
This despite the raids.
Let us mention the Viking settling in Normandy, creating a new civilization that spread throughout Europe (England, Sicily, both in the eleventh century).
The eleventh and the twelfth centuries are centuries of great changes also thanks to the Vikings, and how they positively improved European civilization.
So the answer is: it is not wrong to be proud of Viking heritage. It is rightful to be proud.

Viking means pirate. They raided, raped, enslaved, burned, plundered, pillaged, burned, razed, butchered and terrorized everyone within a stone's throw of a body water.
It's no different than if in 1000 years we glorify and romanticize the Nazis.

 

[joe1776]

Group pride is generally considered a virtue. IMO it's arrogance in disguise because...

We intuitively know that the man extremely proud of being Irish and Catholic would be equally proud had he, by some twist of fate, been raised to think of himself as German and Lutheran. His groups are wonderful because they're HIS groups.

 

[mikkel_the_dane]

Vikings preyed upon other countries, raping, killing, pillaging, & enslaving people.
Should this be overlooked or should the be vilified for it, as we do with the Confederacy?

There is 3rd option. Do you know that one?

 

[mikkel_the_dane]

Viking means pirate. They raided, raped, enslaved, burned, plundered, pillaged, burned, razed, butchered and terrorized everyone within a stone's throw of a body water.
It's no different than if in 1000 years we glorify and romanticize the Nazis.

Not that simple. They also build trade towns and a part of it comes from the Franks stopping trade, because the Vikings were heathens.