Apparently, we must politely overlook the tedium and illiteracy, the malnutrition and dehydration, the alarming levels of child mortality, murder and infanticide, the sharply truncated lifespans, the child rape, and the delights of stone-age dentistry. We must see only how egalitarian and vibrant these exotic creatures are, if you squint and tilt your head, and then carefully turn away while the other stuff takes place.
Didn’t you know the evil white Spanish destroyed the beautiful Aztec slave culture, that would rip the beating hearts out of thousands of live captives in a day during festivities.
The best we can do now for south/ central American cultural diversity is enjoy some MS13 gangbanging and Santeria animal/ occasional human sacrifices.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/santeria/ritesrituals/sacrifice.shtml
My dream for indigenous peoples is eventually having someone with whom I can work side by side knowing they’ve achieved the identical professional standards as I have, meet up with on the weekend for a round of golf, and enjoy a couple of cool ones on the nineteenth hole with all the accompanying bragging and BS. “Progressives'” dream for indigenous peoples is some condescending version of a human petting zoo.
Are we comparing the HISTORY of Western society to that of other world societies.
Historically western society has been filled with just as much evil and ignorance as any other.
Even today Jehovah’s witnesses do not believe in Blood Transfusions. Mormons, well South Park summed that up. Koreans have automatic shut offs on fans because they think a fan will suck all the air out of a room. People drink coffee made form beans in monkey shit.The Catholic church claims there are not enough Exorcists.
It’s nice to feel all superior but the truth is we are all roughly equal when it comes to idiocy.
Except for Snake handlers they got the balls to put their lives at risk for their religion, oh it looks like Muslims do to.
Spanish Inquisition ring any bells?
You may also wish to check out Indian slavery under the Spanish.
No sin first stone, yadda yadda.
“In southern Ethiopia, for example, the poorest half of the poorest nation on earth, the streets and fields crackle with laughter.”
I’ve been there. As anywhere else, these people are very quick (and grateful) to seek medical attention for their kids at the foreigners’ clinic.
Also correlation is not causation. Otherwise the most obvious conclusion would be that a very strong patriarchy is the key to societal bliss.
To the indefinite, uncertain mind of the American radical the most contradictory ideas and methods are possible. The result is a sad chaos in the radical movement, a sort of intellectual hash, which has neither taste nor character. Emma Goldman
Above all, do not join the wrong ideological groups or movements, in order to “do something.” By “ideological” (in this context), I mean groups or movements proclaiming some vaguely generalized, undefined (and, usually, contradictory) political goals. (E.g., the Conservative Party, which subordinates reason to faith, and substitutes theocracy for capitalism; or the “libertarian” hippies, who subordinate reason to whims, and substitute anarchism for capitalism.) To join such groups means to reverse the philosophical hierarchy and to sell out fundamental principles for the sake of some superficial political action which is bound to fail. It means that you help the defeat of your ideas and the victory of your enemies. (For a discussion of the reasons, see “The Anatomy of Compromise” in my book Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal.) Ayn Rand
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“Pls don’t give me that… “thousands of years of oral history” b@llshit…
Christopher Pauchay couldn’t even remember where he left his kids.”
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EvilWizard
“Spanish Inquisition ring any bells?”
Aaaaand what’s your stupid point here?
It’s 2017/18, I don’t see any Spanish Christians bombing my neighborhoods or crashing trucks into crowds of people.
So go ahead, go live in a wonderful third world culturally enriching country if you think it’s so wonderful. I’ll take mine as it is thank you very f*cking much.
Monbiot wrote:
“It is impossible not to notice that, in some of the poorest parts of the world, most people, most of the time, appear to be happier than we are. In southern Ethiopia, for example, the poorest half of the poorest nation on earth, the streets and fields crackle with laughter. In homes constructed from packing cases and palm leaves, people engage more freely, smile more often, express more affection than we do behind our double glazing, surrounded by remote controls.”
I am sure he is right. The poorest of the poor in Ethiopia are most likely far happier than the leftist SJW that Mr. Monbiot normally associates with.
And to Evil Wizard who strives to find what is wrong with Western civilization, I’d just like to ask wherein would you like to dwell?
The “West” (U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand) is without doubt the freest societies with the most abundance for the average person in the history of the world. If what you claim is true, Jehovah’s Witnesses may opt against blood transfusion, the Catholic hierarchy may opt for exorcism, the Koreans (are they part of European West?) may opt to shut off their fans, but they do not wish to impose their beliefs on other people, as your Muslims who “have the balls to put their lives at risk for their religion” do. That is one of the greatest difference of a civilized society which obviously escaped you. The West in the form of the libtards suffer from one major fault, that civility should end with people who wish to destroy such a society with such civilities.
“…Are we comparing the HISTORY of Western society to that of other world societies. …”?
Yes, we are. Historically western society has been filled with just as much evil and ignorance as any other. But also filled with much good. If you do not think so, do you live in Western society because you prefer its evils to the evils of non Western societies or because you prefer its evils to the good in non Western societies?
Child rape? Rape in general – and ambush by other tribes.
My casual observation of the the North American aboriginal culture groups reveals that they ARE all quite HAPPY to lead simple lives provided by taxpayer funding of their alcohol and drugs (natural, cultural, drugs of course). And a few select, elite, “Chiefs” get rich$$. They’ve all made the “choice” to live semi-modern lives, taking the “white mans” charity (fine … call it “reparations” if you wish … meh.). So, yeah, the noble savages are living such WONderful lives … so much better than the poor meth head white folk, all passing out in their 30-year old sedans.
This is an interesting topic. In Canada, through recent immigration policies and the promotion of “diversity” as a positive value, the “equality” of cultures is being foisted upon us by the current government. But cultures are not equal and some cultures offer much greater scope for the promotion of civilization and the advancement of humanity. White European cultures have helped humanity make great advances in the last 500+ years or so. Instead of valuing these advancements, the left seems bent on attacking European values (its political, technical and cultural accomplishments) and promoting more primitive values and cultures. Monibot’s article, and such things as refusing to acknowledge the barbarity of FGM, and the lawlessness behind much of BLM are examples of this destructive way of thinking. Not only is this negatively impacting the social order — it is a disservice to individuals. Muslim women, for example, deserve to live in a world where they are not subject to things like honour killings and FGM. Individuals should be treated equally under the law, but cultures should not be. I certainly acknowledge that I have benefited greatly from being brought up under a system based on White European/Judeo/Christian values. It is wrong to devalue this culture and constantly apologize for white’s cultural impact on the world. I don’t expect primitive cultures to instantly progress, but they do so through exposure to more advanced cultures. This is not devaluing the people within cultures as it is very hard to move outside of whatever culture you are born to. But we do need to reject cultural values that drag us down. That is not what is happening. We are promoting barbarism by ignoring destructive cultural practices and not respecting our own cultural heritage.
“In southern Ethiopia, for example, the poorest half of the poorest nation on earth, the streets and fields crackle with laughter.”
I think this is a misinterpretation of what exactly is going on. I met an Ethiopean couple years ago and they broke into great gales of laughter as they described being imprisoned by Haile Selassie. I was taken aback at the time. In retrospect, I think this laughter comes from desperation. As a physical response, laughter can be very close to tears (as anyone who has inadvertently laughed at a funeral service can tell you.) In Ethiopia, for many people, life is so desperate that nothing is left to assert one’s humanity, but laughter. It is not a laughter that comes from joy. Moniboit is badly mistaken in his interpretation.
Several years ago, I spoke with a fellow ham in an Alaskan village on the shore of the Bering Sea.
Whenever I make an on-air contact ith a new location, I like to learn more about the place. The Wikipedia entry for the village emphasized that it was poor because its average income was around $10,000 US per year.
But it also mentioned that the majority of the population was Yup’ik and that gives them special privileges in Alaska. From what I understand, they can hunt and fish any time they want and hunters wouldn’t have had to go far to bag themselves some big game.
A moose can feed a family for several weeks and it doesn’t cost much to get one. Compare that with what someone in a large city would have to pay for a side of beef.
Maybe the people of that village are poor, but only if one thinks in terms of money.
My comment was too brief and not very clear.
Monbiot should note that correlation is not causation. The people may indeed be poor and happy, but there are many poor people who are not happy and many happy people who are not poor. Following Monbiot’s line of thought, the most obvious conclusion from observing society in southern Ethiopia would be that a very strong patriarchy is the key to societal bliss.
Besides, the people of southern Ethiopia would be the last to consider themselves poor. Other than in times of medical need and occasional food shortage they held us in polite derision. Sure we might drive around in Landcruisers and fly in planes, but (to their knowledge) we had no cattle, so we had no status and earned the label of utmost poverty.
(By the way, veterinarians were also much appreciated.)
My reply was to the Aztecs comment.
Maybe you should attempt to puzzle out why you make knee jerk statements. Clearly Aztecs having horrible practices equates with Spanish Inquisition atrocities.
By the way what neighborhood do you live in that was recently bombed?
Are you from one of those middle eastern countries where wedding parties get bombed? Yemen maybe?
I missed the point where we bomb the shit out of everyone to impose our “freedoms” on them.
I also missed the point where if you disagree vehemently with the state they will impose harsh punishments. Wasn’t there a group of ranchers in the midwest who protested and one was killed? Or maybe those people in Waco or Ruby ridge.
Yep, we sure are better white folk.
I’m beginning to think that everyone in ‘civic’ life is retarded. There, I said it.
When we had our last local election, every one of the eleven candidates introduced themselves and then ‘acknowledged’ the kindness of our local native band for allowing us to be part of their traditional territory.
Same thing a few nights ago when I attended my grandson’s Christmas event at his elementary school. First thing the principal did was to acknowledge that the thousand or so parents and grandparents should be grateful for being able to park their SUV’s on the roads and parking lots atop the obviously stolen and occupied lands of the two native kids who attend a school of 400.
They just don’t understand how tedious, tiresome and foolish they sound as prisoners of their own ideology.
“Spanish Inquisition ring any bells?”
You mean the courts that, used forensic methods as close to scientific as were available anywhere in the world? That employed torture only in extreme circumstances much less often that other courts (same goes for executions)? That has much higher acquittal record? Were those guilty had much higher chance of being pardoned if they repented? Where those accused would ask for for inquisitor because they knew the inquisitor would give the most fair and impartial treatment possible? Everything you know about inquisition is pure politically correct BS. Their archives have been meticulously preserved, read up on om what people found. Everything else you said is also BS.
EvilWizard
Yes, have spent many years in many Middle Eastern county’s, you?
You can try to equate barbaric third world practices still going on today with “the Spanish inquisition” but you will never change the reality of Third World barbarism spreading into western nations today. Everyone with a brain and a little situational awareness knows it.
The sad part is that pathetic apologists like you are on a lose/lose future world outcome. It’s the rest of us that will ALWAYS refuse and stand in the way of letting mentally ill people like you drag us down with you.
“Clearly Aztecs having horrible practices equates with Spanish Inquisition atrocities.”
Clearly it doesn’t. Fortunately Cortes made a great contribution to humanity and we do not have to worry about Aztec empire anymore. Although we have to deal with their alleged heritage.
“It’s nice to feel all superior but the truth is we are all roughly equal when it comes to idiocy.”
I must disagree. Your examples of rather small groups/cults in any Western society are not representative of the society at large. Compare this to any Muslim dominated country for instance and you will find the entire culture (using that word loosely) immersed in an ideology (idiocy) filled with ignorance, hatred and blood lust.
Western societies are superior, full stop.
I wonder if EvilWizard is the former UnME.
You might want to read this on the battle for Mosul in Iraq. Now it is the Iraqi army torturing and killing the real or suspected ISIS members. Thousands of their soldiers whom dropped their weapons and ran were executed by ISIS. At the end of the article the Iraqi soldiers are wondering who they will fight next, the Shia, some militia. This is the real 3rd world of endless butchery. In the news today, Afghan police were killed by the Taliban, 10 women killed in Yemen by SA bombing, Christians were killed in their church in Pakistan. Just another day in the muslim world where nothing good is ever reported.
https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2017/dec/15/after-the-liberation-of-mosul-an-orgy-of-killing-podcast?utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=The+Long+Read+-+Collections+2017&utm_term=256834&subid=4241550&CMP=longread_collection
“When we had our last local election, every one of the eleven candidates introduced themselves and then ‘acknowledged’ the kindness of our local native band for allowing us to be part of their traditional territory.” That does seem a bit rote and excessive, also, ultimately phony — the latest in leftist virtue signaling. If these folks are so concerned about encroaching on aboriginal land, perhaps they should meet elsewhere.
“..Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe in Blood Transfusions…” And they didn’t get AIDS from contaminated blood, either. Blood transfusions are not without risk, and synthetic blood has been developed for use when the “real thing” is either unavailable or contraindicated.
The West is without doubt the best civilization ever for the common man. This does not mean that there are not people with aberrations therein.
Every example you cited is perpetrated by people who do not in the civilized society of the West. They all want to practice totalitarianism, which is totally antithetical to freedom, instead.
Bombing the heck out of everyone? That was the cancer that was Nazi Germany, Imperialist Japan, Communist China, and other totalitarian regimes. Ruby Ridge and Waco? I absolutely despise the people who perpetrated those deeds. But those are the very same people who espouse exactly the sort of moral equivalence between all cultures that you spout.
I’ll say it one more time. Civility ends with people who wish to destroy societies with such civilities. Even the most enlightened societies have a right, nay duty, to protect themselves and their citizens from destruction of their way of life. The Battle of Salamis, Charles Martel at the Battle of Tours, General MacArthur in the Pacific theater, and yes in the landing at Inchon all served to advance ideals of freedom against totalitarian despotism.
bingo!!
and the most succinct spot on centre-of-the-bullseye posting for today is right here.
as far as dealing with the opponents and enemies of the freedoms I continue to enjoy over 6 decades now, I truly wish I had had the equal opportunity to dish it out to the likes of a bunch of gestapo types responsible for machine gunning captured allied soldiers post D-day.
I really really wish the FCUK I was the bombardier on Bock’s Car. I wouldnt have ‘missed’.
manchuria, nanking, battan, manila, kamikazi, etc what a ghastly gawdawful bunch toejam tojo set loose. they were indoctrinated from early childhood to give their life for the emperor.
12 friggin YEARS of war and death and destruction ENDED in a matter of a few days.
excuse me, I gotta take my doggie for a walk now.