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That they committed genocide. I think one of the worst aspects of (human nature? Dominant culture? I don't know why people think this way) is that people someho

That they committed genocide. I think one of the worst aspects of (human nature? Dominant culture? I don't know why people think this way) is that people somehow cannot internalize the concept that a person can be both a victim and a perpetrator. You're either one or the other, never both. This issue is especially acute when it comes to colonialism. It's so bad that it robs people of agency. Victims of colonialism are practically infantilized by the very people who are supposed to be defending them.

defrost 3y ago
> That they committed genocide. Not exactly new knowledge there though, is it? I first heard that in ~1980 from both Māori and Pakeha in both Australia and New Zealand. It's pretty much a core part of (say) Once Were Warriors that they historically had a fierce fighting culture. > people somehow cannot internalize the concept that a person can be both a victim and a perpetrator. Depends on the person really, though, doesn't it. Many people can walk and chew gum while thinking compex thoughts about others in the world. Other people seem to think that they alone can do so while projecting an inability to do so on others. > Victims of colonialism are practically infantilized by the very people who are supposed to be defending them. Not everybody wanders about wearing a halo of white savior complex though, do they? One critique of a certain subclass of "the right" is that they like to homogenous "the left" and reduce them all down to some dopey cartoon characterization .. which is hardly higher level thinking.