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> No one calls the U.S a settler colonialist country What? The US is the ur-example of settler colonialism. We are the end stage, the model for the ultimate fa
by PhasmaFelis 5y ago
> No one calls the U.S a settler colonialist country
What? The US is the ur-example of settler colonialism. We are the end stage, the model for the ultimate fate of the original inhabitants under colonialism: decimated and pushed back into whatever worthless land none of the settlers wanted.
> or that the Indians get the right to their lands back
People do demand that, yes.
Personally, I would love to see Native American tribes given better land than the shitty deserts they've been stuck in, but two wrongs don't make a right; no one has a right to force people off of land they've been living on for decades or centuries just because their ancestors used to live there.
That means the British had no right to unilaterally carve Israel out of Palestine in the first place, and also that Palestine shouldn't get to force Israelis off of land they've been living on for nearly a century, however wrong their ancestors were to take it; nor does Israel have the right to keep taking more Palestinian land to build new Israeli settlements.
There will always be Arabs who won't be satisfied with anything short of total hegemony. They would have a lot less support, resources, and manpower if Israel would treat Palestinians as equals and stop air-striking innocent men, women, and children because they happen to be within the blast radius of a suspected terrorist. Killing innocents to achieve political goals is no better when Israel does it than when Hamas does.
- joelbluminator 5y agoOk what I mean is no one is seriously asking to decolonise the U.S. Its easy to want a few Indians get a few more acres. It sounds nice and costs you nothing. But what about settling real claims? Like some tribe wants Manhattan back? Or returning California to Mexico? Thats what Israel is asked to do. To basically destroy itself to fix some past wrong that wasn't really its fault to begin with (we don't have to start this argument but comparing Zionism with what Americans did falls short).
- jessaustin 5y agoIt's not obvious that Mexico has a better claim to California than e.g. the Ohlone or Tongva.
- joelbluminator 5y agoWhy not split it between the 3 entities then? I'm sure they'll take it. If we're in the business of decolonizing let's get serious!
- jessaustin 5y agoTaking this seriously would require differentiating between the various parties. Absolutely, indigenous Americans should be compensated for the recent theft of their lands. That compensation could take the form of return of land, or if the land's current use makes that impossible then we can print some money like we do for all our stupid wars. Mexico, however, is also a colonial state. If we compensate them, soon someone will suggest that Spain should get a piece.
- PhasmaFelis 5y agoLike I said, I'm not asking for anyone to be kicked out of their homes. I'm asking them to stop kicking other people out of theirs. There are people who want to do the former, and I disagree with them, on both sides. Stop using them as an excuse for Israel's ongoing abuses.