Why do the English have this dilusion that the British Empire was civilized, when it was clearly savage?

Enslaving people in Africa, Asia, the Americas, raping children, commiting genocide, killing Irishmen and women, starving them to death, the attrocities are uncountable. Yet English people look back on their savage Empire with foggy glasses believing they were somehow civilized when they were killing spear weilding tribes in Africa, or abusing male and female children in India.