Another Media Example Of Racism And Crab Mentality?

[Bruce]

 

Bruce said

It is easy to focus on the negative and it makes many uncomfortable. They often try to divert attention away and then issue disinformation and after a while, people actually believe it. So much easier to blame others..... PC history in the US has the indians being tricked, taken advantage of and killed and the white man is the bad guy. But in reality, if you remove the white settlers, what you have left are hundreds of tribes, killing and enslaving each other, stealing food supplies and women / children. Living in very rough conditions and general everyday violence. But that is lost to history as it is easier to blame the settlers.

  I'm not sure what exactly you're saying here, Bruce. I certainly agree that it is an unfortunate ploy that people use to divert attention away from themselves by blaming anyone and anything else instead of accepting that they are in the wrong. However it looks from your American Indian example that the Indians were entirely to blame for what happened to them. They may have been living what the settlers thought was a 'heathen' and 'primitive' life but it was a lifestyle of their own choosing which harmed no-one other than themselves. Can you really say that foreign settlers invading the tribal lands and appropriating the best land using superior weaponry, almost wiping out the staple protein source that the indians relied on (Buffalo) and decimating the indian population by force and spreading disease was justified? Do you really believe that history shouldn't record these facts and cast the settlers as being 'lily white?'

 

During the years 1500 to 1800, slavery was historically a simple buy / sell agreement between tribal chiefs selling their own people to a middle man with a ship to take 'the product' to the buyers country. But that is also lost to history... the local tribal members had no real value to the cheifs beyond cash, so they sold their own people, as a 'product'. But for history.... It is much easier to blame the outsider with the ships.

 

OK!- Let's accept the basic thrust of your argument that there were indeed SOME African Tribal Chiefs who willingly sold their own people into slavery

 and of course I agree that these were very evil people who should be blamed. (We humans haven't changed very much, have we? The world still has numerous people who are prepared to sacrifice their own countrymen, and the resources that their country relies on, for personal gain.) However I would just like you to clarify if you also place an equal amount of blame on the other links in the 'evil' slavery chain. Personally I do not excuse any of the people involved at any stage in this appalling practice. The sellers, facilitators, buyers and users of slaves are all tarred with the same brush by my reckoning- it may be wrong to concentrate all the blame on one of the links- (which I think you are saying?)- but please tell me that you didn't mean that the buyers etc. are not to blame! Wilberforce in England was in the vanguard of modern slavery abolition and your own country, many years later, was prepared to fight a bloody Civil War in which the abolition of slavery in the Southern States of America was a key issue. The world became a slightly better place for that.

  Sorry if I have misunderstood you, Bruce- I'm not trying to offend!

 

 

Your 1st argument about the indians did not break down the situation far enough. Look at it this way....... Before the white settlers... indians killing and ENSLAVING other indians, very violent times, very rough times..... OK, along come the white settlers..... the NEW indians on the block. Took over. End of story.  

 

Suppose the NEW indians had a name... Souix. OR Cherokee  (pick any you like) and THEY took over. Did the same thing the white settlers did. Does that make you feel any better? Is somehow Indian on Indian violence 'OK' but white settler violence not OK? Classic case of the stronger taking over. In this case, it was the settlers, and the settlers got a bad name for it. But if the settlers never came, sooner or later... it would have been a war like tribe whith no agriculture or other skills but for the war mentality to take what they want. At least the white settlers developed the grew the country and as a  result, the indians of today have the same opportunities for a good life as most all others here. If they 'avail' of the opportunity is another topic.  

 

Slavery per se was, in my opinion the worst idea of all time in that, ultimately, it will have divided and weakened America to such a state that we no longer exist. Crime, disease, crime, welfare, crime, social disruption and of course, crime, all have a huge root growing out of slavery. I just want a more balanced history / news articles that acknowledges the HUGE part the the tribal cheifs played in the slavery of their own people.  

 

One thing the Philippines does not have is a dual race situation (not talking about the very minor pop of Pinoy indians) so in history, it has always been the Pinoy against the 'outsiders'. In America, it is groups vs groups. Big difference. Also, if you look at modern Pinoy history... suppose the Philippines was 97% Catholic..... No muslims in the country... NO MILF or ABU SAYYAF, no 'autonomous; area on Mindenao..... FAR less issues in running the country. This is what is happening in America now with groups wanting to divide up the country. In 100 years or less.... there will be no America as we have known it..... Once gone, never to return.

 

So while I can see the writer of the article being angry with Magellan, his refusal of acknowledging that Magellan opened the door for 'progress' and without that 'progress'.... the Philippines today would either be nothing but a chain of remote islands... OR... a posession of another country. China? .... The new indians on the block? If it was not for the 'REST OF US'... China would have posession of the Spratleys today and Noynoy has nothing to say about it.  

[i am bob]

We are getting off topic and getting into a political discussion quite quickly here...   Let's get back on topic please. 

[Call me bubba]

We are getting off topic and getting into a political discussion quite quickly here...   Let's get back on topic please. 

 

 

yes he may getting a slight ... slight off topic, & the P-WORD was involved.

Yet BRUCE is starting to show us insights of the RP by a comparison of the different cultural.w/some historical info mixed in   

 

,maybe its time for

:559:     or this                  :grouphugg:

[relcarve25]

Sorry! - I am suitably admonished. My fault that we're getting off topic. I do enjoy an intelligent discussion but I'll try to stay off the dreaded 'P' word. God knows- if you come from N.Ireland, like me,you should know better than to engage in Politics or Religion. Chris McG.