this post was submitted on 11 Oct 2024
1244 points (96.2% liked)
Memes
45657 readers
1771 users here now
Rules:
- Be civil and nice.
- Try not to excessively repost, as a rule of thumb, wait at least 2 months to do it if you have to.
founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
While there can definitely be some legitimate discussion and ambiguity over which culture/country gets to inherit Mayan artifacts, for example, saying that the British, for example, should inherit it is a very weak argument. It's not like the entirety of an extinct societies people just dropped dead. Some survived and after some time rebuilt new societies. Using Mayan artifacts as an example, Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras have a better claim to them then the British. It's not propaganda or useless to say that items of cultural heritage should be returned.
So how about this what about-ism, if you live in the United States, the British took cultural artifacts from your lands too and aren't giving them back right this moment. Where did you think all those native American artifacts in British museums came from? They didn't make them and it's not like North America was spared from British plundering. Might be nice to get that stuff back.
Yes, I am not making that argument, inheritors mush be at least somewhat related.
Although, in case you're talking about, the indigenous people's artifacts will likely end up in the country of their conquerors and oppressors, which is also a shame