this post was submitted on 21 Nov 2023
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[–] dynamojoe@lemmy.world 103 points 2 years ago (20 children)

There was a fight for them and they're still British. There was a referendum and the islanders overwhelmingly want to stay British.

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[–] theinspectorst@kbin.social 88 points 2 years ago (14 children)

'Get them back'. What does 'back' even mean in this statement? Of all the countries that have ever legitimately ruled the Falklands, Argentina was never one of them.

The penguins have a better claim to the Falklands than Argentina...

[–] AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 13 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

#FalklandPenguinRule2024

#PenguinEmpireRising

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[–] MossyFeathers@pawb.social 73 points 2 years ago (10 children)

Just a reminder: that there was no one living in the Falklands prior to the UK and France showing up. My understanding is that no one even wanted the islands until they found oil nearby. While it's weird that the UK has a colony all the way down at the tip of South America, there's no reason to argue for Argentinian ownership of the Falklands. Hell, Argentina taking ownership of the Falklands is more colonialist than UK maintaining ownership due to the population being mostly British and French.

[–] galloog1@lemmy.world 49 points 2 years ago (10 children)

I personally think calling them a colony is incorrect. They are an island where UK citizens live and have lived since the beginning of human habitation. They get to vote. They have the same culture and want to stay in the UK. The only thing that matches the colonial definition is that they are far away which is a relative term.

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[–] crackajack@reddthat.com 59 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (43 children)

I met an Argentinian, and she is still upset about the Falklands. It made an impression on me that Argentines are still not over it. Don't get me wrong, she is a nice lady, but I'm guessing that nationalism is Argentina's past time instead of fixing their own more critical domestic issues. Tribalism is a time tested tool used to distract and manipulate people, anyhow.

[–] force@lemmy.world 33 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (9 children)

Argentinian leaders use nationalism as a distraction for their economic woes – it's why the Falkland war started in the first place, the president wanted something to make citizens focus on other than the declining state of the country, and grabbing some land from a greater power to get a bunch of glory seemed like a great option, especially considering they didn't think the UK would actually retaliate or even care. The reason they went for it is they thought the British didn't give a damn about the Falklands, seeing as how they constantly denied giving the island economic support. Oh boy, were they wrong.

Because of the war, Argentinians now see not having the Falkland islands as a detriment to their national pride, they think it's soveirgn Argentinian territory... even though everyone living on the island has always been and still is almost entirely Anglo-Franco-descendent, and not once did Argentina actually have claim to the islands until recently in history...

[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 11 points 2 years ago

Argentinian leaders use nationalism as a distraction for their economic woes

Tale as old as time...

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[–] DeathWearsANecktie@lemm.ee 31 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Lol I was wondering just yesterday how long it would take this guy to bring up the Falklands after getting elected.

Normally right-wingers in the UK would be pleased to see someone like him elected, but because of the Argentina-Falklands connection, they're going to hate him lmao

[–] FishFace@lemmy.world 17 points 2 years ago

I mean the Falklands war did Thatcher no harm.

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[–] halloween_spookster@lemmy.world 31 points 2 years ago (3 children)

Are we just doing out of order reruns of the 20th century?

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[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 26 points 2 years ago (20 children)

On a differrent note: What would anybody want of the Falkland Islands? I mean, it is a lousy island with 3000 inhabitants and half a million sheep, and they live of fishing, wool, and day tourism from cruise ships.

On the one hand, maintaining a military presence equivalent to more than half the number of native inhabitants costs the British a shitload of money. On the other hand, starting another bloody war with the UK in the middle of an economic catastrophe over a piece of rock with sheep does not make any sense for Argentina, either.

[–] CosmicCleric@lemmy.world 23 points 2 years ago

On a differrent note: What would anybody want of the Falkland Islands?

Oil in the nearby ocean ownership is the reason why.

Its the way international treaties work as far as claiming ownership of resources in the ocean.

[–] Enkrod@feddit.de 18 points 2 years ago

It's about the territorial waters that come with them

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[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 25 points 2 years ago (9 children)

He has said he wants a diplomatic solution similar to the one that Britain reached with China over Hong Kong.

Wonderful example. What happened to Hong Kong is something that no place in the world really wants to experience.

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[–] EnderMB@lemmy.world 19 points 2 years ago (1 children)

This happens every couple of years, as a populist move in Argentina to avoid tackling the real issues.

The UK will have a nice chuckle, will make some empty threats about protecting its people if needed, and we'll all move on.

What worries me is that this seems to improve the opinion of those in power, and last time the Falklands came up Theresa May loved every second of it because she could act out her Thatcher cosplay fantasies.

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[–] ThePyroPython@lemmy.world 17 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (11 children)

Argentina: we will retake Las Malvinas!

Royal Navy: Oh really? Try it. We'd really like a chance to demonstrate the combat effectiveness of our QE2 Class Carriers. And Bob here hasn't shot his destroyer's deck guns since '82 and he's bored!

RAF: (Rapidly dusting off the Vulcans and Nimrods)

Royal Marines: (Lights up a Benson & Hedges cigarette)... Right... (Slaps knees and stands up)... Grab yer Bergens and Bayonets lads!

[–] floofloof@lemmy.ca 37 points 2 years ago

I really hope Argentina doesn't hand the UK's faltering Conservative government a nice patriotic war just before the next election. If they hadn't done that in 1982 we might have seen the back of Thatcher before the worst damage was done.

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[–] Roflmasterbigpimp@lemmy.world 16 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Soooo trouble in Middle East is back from standby and Argentina is making demands about the Falklands. How about we just stop there and let other famous Conflicts in pease. * sweats in german *

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[–] Thrashy@lemmy.world 16 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

Well, if another curbstomping by Britain is what it takes to run this addle-brained right wing moron out of office in short order, then perhaps that's a silver lining.

[–] pachrist@lemmy.world 10 points 2 years ago

Uh, last I checked, Britannia rules the waves, not the Falklands. Checkmate, Margaret.

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