I understand the point about the British army in NI, as a vehicle of state sponsored terrorism. It’s also impossible as an Irish person not to see the parallels between ICE and the Black and Tans.
If anything the latter is the more interesting analogy because the effects are similar - ordinary people putting aside their differences and uniting against atrocities. Most people don’t study history, but you’d think that tyrants would. Instead they repeat their own mistakes.
Another parallel that’s worth considering is post WW1, there was a sudden shift in attitude to colonisation. The Japanese who were late to the game, invaded China in the 1930s and were roundly condemned by all the world powers who had been doing that fifty years before. They rightly read this as rank hypocrisy. But it also indicated a paradigm shift.
The British public have also experienced a paradigm shift, and I think it’s important to support them in calling out injustice. It’s always easier to see it at a distance. But it’s important that it’s being seen. This isn’t the time and place to focus on division.
I’ve been reading about the resistance in Minneapolis and it’s very uplifting to see how many republicans are out on the streets, defending their neighbours, defending childcare facilities ffs. For all the talk about MAGA, the people of Minneapolis are actively demonstrating what is actually GREAT about America- the spirit of generosity and justice. People, facing down fascists aren’t concerned about their differences, and maybe, just maybe, there’s hope that they can find a way to seal the divisions that have fractured their country.
We can’t change what happened in the past, but if we can move forward together, in agreement about what is wrong, it makes it more likely that justice will eventually be served.