In the years I’ve been making Stuff The British Stole, the biggest lesson for me has been how much history hides behind politeness—polite plaques, polite speeches, polite monarchs. I don’t have Lidia Thorpe's life experience, and it’s not appropriate for me to offer commentary on her actions. But let’s be clear on one thing: the British Empire was not a polite enterprise. Like most, it was built on conquest, power, and, yes, things were truly stolen. Many things that have not been returned or in some cases even acknowledged. It was not a polite empire.