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Is it normal I get pissed that we stole the land (America) from the Indians & mexicans? And that slavery was fucked up?! I am white America by the way.....
I think it's a wasted feeling. I mean, you personally didn't oppress anyone, steal anyone's land, or have a slave. So...I don't really see the mentality over being upset over something that happened before you were even a sperm.
Life's too short, man. Worry about something that actually concerns you.
That's a good point, but I think there's something to be said for remembering the atrocities of the past. There's not much use in getting furious over it now, though.
Though it's a terrible and reductionist term, "white guilt" is really an interesting concept. I'm not really sure what to make of it.
I feel for the ancestors of today's Natives, however not so much for the ones who have everything paid for by the government from our tax dollars. The thing is, our ancestors didn't steal the land from anyone because their views were that they did not own the land, they simply lived off of it, white people came and modernized the way the land was divided for self benefit.
Even if you feel they stole it, WE are paying for it now through OUR taxes. I'm not sure how it works in the U.S. but in Canada a Native person, if they so choose, never has to do a damn thing, never has to pay for college, never has to pay for anything really and it's at our expense.
I do respect the ones who leave the reserves and are hard working individuals that choose not to leach off the government because of what happened hundreds of years ago, these people must have some pretty great morals because they could have it all handed to them but instead would sooner earn the money for their family.
Ofcourse it's normal. Just like you would get pissy if someone done it to another, but 100% worse since it didn't just have one victimizer and one victim.
Best is to not blame yourself for what happened back then, a lot of people say they are just as responsible for what happened since they reap the benefits. (That's if you do think you share some blame)
White guilt is an absolute joke.
In case you didn't know, non-White people are far from innocent. Furthermore, Whites gave Blacks and Browns everything they have.
I like Vonnegut's take on this in Breakfast of Champions (a wonderful book, especially if you're not used to books that are more than books). Anyway, he says:
1492. As children we were taught to memorize this year with pride and joy as the year people began living full and imaginative lives on the continent of North America. Actually, people had been living full and imaginative lives on the continent of North America for hundreds of years before that. 1492 was simply the year sea pirates began to rob, cheat, and kill them.
Mexicans? We didn't steal land from them. Mexican is Spanish and Indian mixed together. The Spaniards are as much to blame then. I never really thought about it until recently when I heard the whites would give the Native Americans blankets with smallpox on it. Really, the diseases they brought from Europe killed more than violence itself and for that, I feel horrible.
Yes, so do I! I thought I was the only one that had been angered by this mentality.
the taliban stole the lives of thousands of innocent inhabitants of this country. i think that's more horrible.