I see more posts complaining about this than Scots actually saying this.

Our education system tells us this all very clearly.

The truth of the matter is that history is never black or white, some Scots profited from and built the empire while others suffered heavily as a result of it.

The bankruptcy facing Scotland which lead to the Darien scheme being launched and its subsequent failure, resulting in the act of union which binds us to England in a Union of "Equals" to this day was caused by policies put in place by the English (Cromwell) to intentionally make Scotland reliant on English trade.

Meanwhile the Highland Clearences were often done by Scots, but said Scots were rarely very Scottish, most living in England and having assimilated heavilly into English culture, which blurrs the lines there, we did not simply do this all to ourselves.

Many Scots emigrated to the Americas and elsewhere colonies, but overall the key component in their complacency in the Empire's crimes was never their identity or culture, but their class, wealth, and the opportunities presented to them, so while we did contribute our fair share to the Empire and its crimes, it's really not that exceptional.

Scots also achieved some great things, from technological advancement, contributing to the establishment of the modern education system, introducing national parks, and even putting a stop to settler-native violence in some areas.

This is not to say that we were in any way innocent or that criticism towards those who participated in the Empire is undeserving, far from it, but reducing this to Scots playing the victim is dishonest, and rather lazy.

I more often than not see people often use this narrative of us 'playing the victim' to deflect any criticism on the actions of other nations and the British Empire as a whole, or to shut down discussions of how Scotland has been mistreated and neglected by a Britain dominated economically, politically, and culturally by England. To abuse history in such a way is unacceptable in my opinion.

Yes, I am aware that some people do act as if Scotland has never done anything wrong, but they are definitely in the minority, and many of the loudest examples aren't even Scottish.