US founded on genocide, slavery

[Osama bin Bambi]

It never gets brought up seriously in textbooks because they don't want to offend anyone's Eurocentric sensibilities.

[Smurfette Principle]

I had this discussion with my class in AP US History.

The criteria for genocide as outlined by the UN is as quoted, so, picking it apart:

In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part (it certainly wasn't unintentional. they might not have had the same reasons to kill them, but they singled out a single race to destroy. it wasn't an accident.), a national, ethnical, racial or religious group (which Native Americans are), as such:

(a) Killing members of the group; obvious check

(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; obvious check

(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; reservations, check

(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; no check as far as I know

(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. forced assimilation schools, check and double check

You only need one to qualify. We have four out of five.

[Osama bin Bambi]

Actually, all five: Depending on who you ask, there were once forced sterilizations (sp?) done on American Indian women. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compulsory_sterilization#United_States

[Smurfette Principle]

And people are still arguing that it wasn't genocide? Just because the reason for it was "we want their land" and not "we hate all Native Americans because we're evil" doesn't keep it from being genocide.

[Osama bin Bambi]

And people are still arguing that it wasn't genocide? Just because the reason for it was "we want their land" and not "we hate all Native Americans because we're evil" doesn't keep it from being genocide.

Double standard, Smurffete. Double standard.

[Lt. Fred]

I had this discussion with my class in AP US History.

The criteria for genocide as outlined by the UN is as quoted, so, picking it apart:

In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part (it certainly wasn't unintentional. they might not have had the same reasons to kill them, but they singled out a single race to destroy. it wasn't an accident.), a national, ethnical, racial or religious group (which Native Americans are), as such:

(a) Killing members of the group; obvious check

(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; obvious check

(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; reservations, check

(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; no check as far as I know

(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. forced assimilation schools, check and double check

You only need one to qualify. We have four out of five.

Interestingly, Australia also has the same deal. Huh.

[D Laurier]

As a non-american, and as someone who is rather critical of american policy.
America was founded on a dream of a better world.
A lot of mistakes were made by the people who followed that dream. A lot of those mistakes were costly and violent. A lot of people didnt know any better. They were ignorant.
The blue devils were not evil men, but they were ignorant and stupid men, and they slaughtered natives quite cheerfully. They believed a lot of nonsense that we now know is simply wrong, and they commited genocide based on those beliefs.

[Jack Mann]

A perspective by a Native American.

[rosenewock21]

A perspective by a Native American.

That one group of normal, generally decent people should have slaughtered another group of normal, generally decent people--ordinary human beings who baked bread and did their laundry and watched football games and gossiped about their neighbors and made mistakes and loved their children--is psychologically devastating, almost beyond comprehension. But that's what happened. We're just like you. We always have been. There are just fewer of us, now.

This is thought provoking and at the same time makes me want to go to the angry dome.

[DasFuchs]

I apologize. I've always associated genocide with wiping out a people because of a reason along the lines of skin color, religion, etc. I was not up to date on the proper terminology.

[Eniliad]

Neither was I actually. And these are the same Founding Fathers conservative talking heads blow daily for ratings.

Sickening...

[DasFuchs]

Neither was I actually. And these are the same Founding Fathers conservative talking heads blow daily for ratings.

Sickening...

I wasn't aware the founding fathers were that into the indian wars.* I thought that bullshit started with Jackson. Up to that point it was "be careful and defend yourself". Jackson began the "Let's use military power to take and force".


I am aware of the early British small pox blankets and such.

[Osama bin Bambi]

As a non-american, and as someone who is rather critical of american policy.
America was founded on a dream of a better world.
A lot of mistakes were made by the people who followed that dream. A lot of those mistakes were costly and violent. A lot of people didnt know any better. They were ignorant.
The blue devils were not evil men, but they were ignorant and stupid men, and they slaughtered natives quite cheerfully. They believed a lot of nonsense that we now know is simply wrong, and they commited genocide based on those beliefs.

Just out of curiosity, D, where are you from?

I also don't understand the "blue devils" bit.

[DasFuchs]

As a non-american, and as someone who is rather critical of american policy.
America was founded on a dream of a better world.
A lot of mistakes were made by the people who followed that dream. A lot of those mistakes were costly and violent. A lot of people didnt know any better. They were ignorant.
The blue devils were not evil men, but they were ignorant and stupid men, and they slaughtered natives quite cheerfully. They believed a lot of nonsense that we now know is simply wrong, and they commited genocide based on those beliefs.

Just out of curiosity, D, where are you from?

I also don't understand the "blue devils" bit.

Slang for Yankee. Since that was the prime color of the army uniform back in the day. See also "Blue Coats", "Billy Yank", "Bluebacks"

[D Laurier]

As a non-american, and as someone who is rather critical of american policy.
America was founded on a dream of a better world.
A lot of mistakes were made by the people who followed that dream. A lot of those mistakes were costly and violent. A lot of people didnt know any better. They were ignorant.
The blue devils were not evil men, but they were ignorant and stupid men, and they slaughtered natives quite cheerfully. They believed a lot of nonsense that we now know is simply wrong, and they commited genocide based on those beliefs.

Just out of curiosity, D, where are you from?

I also don't understand the "blue devils" bit.

Canada,
"blue devil" American military as seen by my ancestors