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Europeans like to pretend they're innocent, but they are the benefactors of most the damaging empires to have ever existed. They colonized nearly the entire world, extracting value from other cultures while destroying them. They pulled out once it was financially wise, keeping the wealth they extracted and leaving behind the destruction they created. They then blame everyone else for their issues while bragging about how awesome the EU is while overlooking that the EU is only possible due to the wealth they stole from everyone else. Europe likes to discuss that they had their social hardship discussing WWII, but the origin and impact of WWII there was internal to Europe. Had Europe been subject to colonization from elsewhere, it would be just as much a mess as other places. Look at the situation in former Soviet Pact countries that were practically colonized by Russia for maybe half a century. Now imagine if instead of half a century, it was hundreds of years and 5 times as brutal.
Fun fact: The term "colony" comes from Christopher Colombus' name, which is Spanish is Cristobal Colon. Even the term colonization derives from a European.
tl;dr: Europe got to where it is by destroying the rest of the world while blaming the rest of the world for their issues. Their critique of USA is merely a distraction from their own responsibility.
I don't think Columbus was the origin of the word "colony"
It came from Latin so the claim is still right, but for the wrong reasons
The rest of your comment is great, but it would have taken a five-second check on https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/colony to make sure you got your etymology right (which you didn't)
Had my Spanish brother in law over for the holidays. He says spanish schools teach that the spaniards were trying to civilize the natives and bring them a better life. And sure, some things went wrong, but that columbus should be seen as a hero. He strongly beleives it. I was floored. I thought that stuff was pretty settled. I showed him some info on the genocide of Hispanola, and he said he'd never seen that before, but that we cant judge what happened back then by todays standrads, and that the word genocide hadnt even been invented back then, and that method of conflict was normal back then.
There was a recent call in Barcelona to take down the Columbus statue, at least as early as 2016 (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/27/call-to-topple-christopher-columbus-statue-from-its-barcelona-perch)
I live in Barcelona, and Colombus and colonization is definitely not a popular topic: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/12/spain-leftist-columbus-day-celebrations
On the other hand, Spain can still be quite racist, football players being a good example (https://www.ft.com/content/6801c79a-6325-4a2a-9d5d-1d99b37920ab, https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20240610-fans-get-8-months-jail-for-racism-targeting-real-madrid-s-vinicius)
I guess Finland isn't European by your description then 🤷🏻♂️
We don't believe in generational sin, forced upon you because your grandparents did something bad either.
Lol the downvote brigade is here +11/-7 and on my other comment too, if I'm so wrong tell me why!
I will believe this when the British museum, the Louvre, etc are devoid of stolen (or very unfairly "purchased") artifacts from former colonies. Generational responsibility may not be a thing, but institutional abuses spanning centuries that persist into the current day absolutely are.
Fair enough, but it's quite far away from enslaving and murdering.
Edit: I see the difference between stealing versus raping, enslaving and murder. Not saying stealing is right, but there is more than a nuance to it lol.
Countries built their generational wealth on the backs of slaves though. Look at how, for instance, Belgium enriched itself though the horrific abuses in the Congo. While it's true that no one alive was directly responsible, they still benefit from it.
It's the trophies from the enslavement and murder. They didn't get to keep the people, but they did keep souvenirs.
like serial killer trophies. They just cant help themselves.
Ignoring the past doesn't mean it didn't happen, or that it has no bearing on the present. "Somebody else did it so the generational inequity is fine actually" is a terrible argument.
Agreed, but the sad sick thing is that as time goes on, the crime really does go away-- or any hope of it being remedied does. Justice delayed really is justice denied.
Which is not what I said. At all.
Putting words in other peoples mouth is not as good as you think it is.
Your reply was a nonsequitur as well
In whzt way is it a non sequitur ?
It's not my job to educate you
Also, if you're going to correct my misspellings, don't misspell "what"