“How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries!
Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live. A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement; the next of its dignity and sanctity.” [Sir Winston Churchill in 1899]
Did Winnie's view of people of other cultures/races improve with age? Nahhh. Not a bit.
On his American mum's side he was part American Indian, yet he hated his own race. Like our own founders who mid-wifed the birth of a constitution that guarantees equal rights before the law for all, yet owned slaves, Winnie was a brilliant, complex, flawed man.
On one hand, he was a great and legendary Statesman, not just in England but for the civilized world. On the other hand, he was a callous anti-Irish and anti-Indian bigot.
When Gandhi went on his life-threatening hunger strike, the only thing Churchill could think of to ask his advisors was, "Is the Indian dead yet?"
That a man of so much greatness could be so petty presents an enigmatic contradiction that's difficult to resolve - especially when we're among the future generations of folks whose bacon was saved - thanks in no small part to this self-aggrandizing old bore.
