Uncle an' me went to a dinner at Maud's last evenin'. A lady who was a guest was a professional Columbus hater, Indian defender.
Another guest was a Spaniard. He had read a book written in 1500s about three fellas who came to Cuba with expeditionary team and came on up heah to Florida whar' they found Indians keepin' other Indians in cages. AN' they didn't have nuthin' with wheels on it--no carts, no water wheels or mill-wheels. Soon enough, them Indians had also caged the hapless Spaniards, enslaved them and after some years these men escaped and made their way to Mexico whar' they was sent on back ter Spain for R&R. Their reports were filed, the story of Indians mistreatment of other Indians duly noted.
Now the Lady guest was sputtering. "That's not right" she done insisted. "Indians lived in harmony since that were one of their philosophies."
The Spaniard said, "Well, mama, that is the spin. But contemporaneous sources report Indians was wild and fierce against other tribes."
The Lady weren't havin' that, no sir.
"Indians was mistreated by them conquistadores, and youse makin' light o' that by sayin' they's murderous to their own."
So Aunty pipes up, "I'se always wondered why them Indians didn't band together and make themselves a unified defense?"
Lady says "Well, ya have to remember that their languages were all different. They couldn't communicate. I think that is pretty simple to see."
Oh.
So, uh...the reason that Europe and the Middle East and Marco Polo in China and Caesar and all manner of other folks got together and spread inventions and information, alphabets and such is on account of them havin' all the same language?
Poltical correctness is the most blinding illness known ter man.
9 comments:
Certain groups of people tend to loathe all humanity, unless they were "indigenous."
Even so, to fit the indigenous in to the very narrow category of "acceptable humans," all sorts of mental convolutions are necessary.
Great post. Boy I would have liked to have been a fly on that wall!=]
OK:
1. Dont we 'non-savage types)cage our people here too? For reasons of crime and mental illness... Its tough to sit in judgement of people... especially if they cant explain themselves
2. The living in harmony because of their philosophies thing made me nearly spit my coffee out (well if I were drinking it I would have at least! lol) How about all of the bloody wars fought in the name of God...
I dont totally agree with your statement, " Poltical correctness is the most blinding illness known ter man. " I think that it keeps the peace and allows us to functionally brush our differences under that proverbial rug... Its knowing when to use it that is key.
Looking forward to meeting you tomorrow! =]
Hey Kate....yeah, Sugar, I hope I make it to the summit. See the FRONT Porch @
abporkrinds.blogspot.com
for the nature of mah struggle to get to the summit.
Now honey, 'bout the Indian post:
Agreed, we cain't judge folks who cain't explain theyselves no more--they's long gone. BUT, the contemporaneous accounts of eye-witnesses is a good barometer.
Tribes enslaved each other according to Indian sources, it were a regular practice.
Now I ain't pointin' fingers at Indians over slavery. Fact is, Kate, that all types of folks have at some time been enslaved and slave traders. The glorious Greeks were enslaved by Romans, Egyptians and Jews, Chinese enslaved their own and Koreans, Africans enslaved rival tribes, still do to this day....
The larger point Aunty is makin' is that to pretend fer the sake of political correctness, that the Indians were a peaceful harmonious people whose paradise was trashed by the Conquistadores, is jes' silly. History does not support such a notion.
One of the most violent savage cultures ever was the Aztec--jes' ask the Mayans.
So all Aunty wants folks ter note, is that they ain't no perfect people, no perfect culture, an' no natural paradise is to be had by jes' ejectin' the Europeans from a land ...nope, that is a fatuous utopian idea. It is a politically correct idea. It is a false and dangerous idea.
Political correctness jes' perpetrates falsity. Nuthin' lasting or good can be built on falsity. Political correctness is always achieved at the expense of this or that group.
Then folks make decisions and policy based on falsity. Then reality sets in and unrest and even civil war erupts. In the long run, Sugar, doan ya' think that truth works best?
Ya' wrote: "I think that it(PC) keeps the peace and allows us to functionally brush our differences under that proverbial rug..."
Well, now wouldn't that be waht we call "manners". Manners will do the trick--it'll smooth over differences fer the sake of polite exchanges, an' thas' a real good thang.
But political correctness goes beyond social and communal exchanges. It infects public policy and law. It sucks out truth and substitutes a falsity. It dares truth to be told, penalizes those who defend truth, it insists falsity be given the accord due only to truth.
Ya' cain't build a healthy society on false presumptions. Eventually, the bill comes due.
some folks just refuse to take off those blinders.... like this woman you talked to. like you mentioned, different cultures throughout the ages have enslaved each other as well as others. the human race can be remarkably unkind towards each other.
I think the difference between manners and Political correctness is the difference between seeing that the kitchen trash is full and taking it out- or pretending that it doesn't stink and letting it fester in the house (for whatever reason- religious, political, social)
Manners are based on common sense-
PC is usually devoid of such...
as I see it anyway :)
"they ain't no perfect people, no perfect culture, an' no natural paradise is to be had by jes' ejectin' the Europeans from a land ...nope, that is a fatuous utopian idea. It is a politically correct idea. It is a false and dangerous idea.
Political correctness jes' perpetrates falsity. Nuthin' lasting or good can be built on falsity. Political correctness is always achieved at the expense of this or that group."
like that .... well put.
I am by birth native american, and my second husband was also native american, but a different tribe. If you do not believe that Indians did battle between tribes, you just need to sit and talk to the elders of any Pomo, Wailaki, Konkow, Maidu or Nomlaki tribes. They will tell you the tales of why very few tribes actually got along with each other. Even today there are range and territory wars. My husband's family, with two other families were in a war against three other families in Covelo. I saw first hand the animosity and viewed the devastation. His cousin was tied to a fence and shot. This is not ancient history, it is still happening today. Look on google under Covelo Indian Wars.
Well, hidy do Nea--an' thanks fer comin' by. That is real interestin' information--that the territory wars continue ---please come again.
Post a Comment