I’ve been reading Civilized to Death, and in a section on the subjugation of the Taíno, the author quotes Columbus writing, “they are so guileless and so generous with all that they possess, that no one would believe it who has not seen it. They refuse nothing that they possess, if it be asked of them; on the contrary, they invite any one to share it and display as much love as if they would give their hearts” only to follow it up with “they shall make fine servants.”
He also embarked on his genocide in the face of the 15th-century Catholic Church, an institution not exactly known for its gentle approach, saying that the Taíno should be recognized and treated as human, so it’s not like you can say he was just a product of his time. Dude was enthusiastically horrible.
Pretty sure the church condemned him because he was so genocidal and murderous. You have to be REALLY genocidal and murderous for the 15th century catholic church to condemn you for it.
“they shall make fine servants.”
The translation of his journal that I read had it as “they shall make fine slaves.”
It was quoted as “servants” in the book but I would venture that “slaves” is the more honest rendering.
“If you apply logic and morality once, then you’ll have to apply it all the time!!!”
Funny how they hang Christianity up there along with the others in an attempt at whitewashing the rest but all it does is smear shit all over Christianity by reminding everyone it went hand in glove with a lot of the atrocities of the “age of discovery”
And we can do the same.
“You oppose the Soviets? Then you also oppose:
- progress
- industrialization
- scientific discovery
- Eastern Civilization
- Human rights
All the human rights they take for granted were because the USSR civilized the fascist west and intimidated the porks into behaving even if just for a few decades.
Eastern Civilization
I would say USSR was a part of western civilization. Hell, at this point everyone is a part of western civilization with PRC being its most successful representative.
When people call Western civilization, meant by Westerners themselves, it includes mainly Western Europe and the US. Later inclusions were Japan, Australia and Canada (both were part of the British empire but were separated). Russian royal family adopted French customs and the Russian bourgeoisie adopted Western culture broadly, but it doesn’t mean they were actually included as Westerners by the “West”.
Russia particularly is often opportunalistically included as West when talking about cultural and technological advances, but also identified as East or the Eastern horde, Eastern despotism whenever they want to oppose Russia. The same logic is applied to Eastern Europe and Balkan states.
It’s a similar treatment we from Latin America receive. We are Westerners only when it’s suitable.
i was already on board, you didn’t have to make it even more appealing
Exploration and Progress are such vague terms as to be meaningless. Oh yeah?! You oppose benevolence? You oppose magnanimity?
The unstated and no doubt deliberate implication is that Western (read: white) civilization has a monopoly on those things.
no one ever explored until the Europeans did it - - what they’re going for
Especially not the people living there. Lol.
Cool. So if you think all Muslims are terrorists and should be genocided, then you are condemning:
- Hygiene
- medicine
- also exploration
- Also western civilization (thermonuclear take? You can’t have Western Civilization without Islam. It has been a part of it for centuries.)
- Math
Progress
she misspelled “Manifest Destiny”
Oh, you oppose cancer? Well then I guess you also oppose progress*!
*of a kind
Did I stutter?
Yes, but it’s ok, I understood you just fine. I stutter too sometimes, it’s not a big deal.
Of course I do
I can, and I do ¯\(ツ)/¯
Credit where credit is due, we are not reducing Columbus to a genocidalremoved, it was actually Christopher Columbus who did that.
ah yes Exploration and Progress, two things that are definitely exclusive to the whities and no one else in the whole world did. very telling that she can’t imagine these things without the slavery and genocide part.
