this post was submitted on 14 Nov 2023
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I wonder how few will draw some of the parallels of the colonial expansion in Australia and the West in general.
I love the types that say others should go back to where they come from ignoring their parents and grandparents were not that far removed from the boat that brought them here.
Then they don't want to acknowledge that these groups were probably not that thrilled at being slaughtered and their kids taken away from them to make way for their colonial ancestors.
It's a amazing trait to me that humans can hold such diabolically opposed ideas as the same truths for them.
Eurasian empires have been shaped by this for millenia. Nomadic horse tribes harass existing empire until it starts to crumble. Tribes annex land and establish new empire/ruling class and give up the nomadic lifestyle. New nomadic horse tribes show up and start harassing. Rulers who are only 1 or 2 generations removed from living a nomadic lifestyle and conquering call new group "barbarians" and "uncivilized" for their brutality. New horse tribes topple empire, rinse and repeat.
To list a few: Mongols, Turks, Huns, Scythians... It was like a revolving door until gunpowder showed up.
Each generation completely ignoring the atrocities of their forebears while also framing their successors as monsters. Tale as old as time.
Justifying current atrocities by pointing to previous atrocities misses the point.
The point is at some point it should stop. Yes, America and Australia and Europe and everywhere commit genocide, committed atrocities that are now considered war crimes, but responding to current calls for it to stop by making some attempted Gotcha at perceived hypocrisy is worse than saying nothing.
Edit: to be clear, my ancestors were monsters. What they did to the natives her in America is deplorable, and the fact that Andrew Jackson's dickface is on anything but textbooks on the Trail Of Tears and lists of most evils leaders in recent history is a current stain on my country's reputation. I don't know enough about Scottish history beyond my ancestors coming to the US, but I'm pretty sure they were on the oppressed side of most engagements for a good long time. None of that changes that I think any people who commit genocide (except genocide of mosquitos) are monsters, and I want them to stop.
Some would point out the same before the Colonials came too. In the other examples it was all out war with promises of more, not treaties ignored when it became inconvenient or as bait to disarm.
There were also commitments made that are only starting to be honoured in some cases today.
It's the atrocities from the higher standards of the "right God" Fearing and "more civilized" peoples that came to into replace everyone. There was no honour in it which was supposedly the basis of some of these societies They were supposed to be better often were not even for their times.
Unfortunately that's a tale as old as time too...
After the Bronze age collapse, the nomadic Habi-ru people came out of the wilderness and conquered the Cannanite people who no longer had the protection of the Egyptian Empire.
Also, I'd say that the first dynasty that follows your example are the Gutians.
I wouldn't be surprised if the western countries defending Israel start using that excuse themselves, once all the others fall apart
Oh and just checking, did you mean diabolically (evilly) or diametrically (opposite) opposed? Either works just wondering
I kind of mean both. Is there a word that works for that?
Diabotricelly.
People also over-emphasize the importance of being born here.
Yes. That land should be returned to the Canaanites.
...wait