Forward

If you think about it, European colonialism is still the fundamental issue in our country. The question is whose lives matter in the United States. Do only the lives of men of European descent matter like in the 1700s? It's 2022, everyone matters regardless of whether their ancestral background or heritage.

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Colonialism

It's funny that we are so "advanced" and we are still debating European colonialism to a large extent. Even without realizing it, most of our political discourse is a remnant of our colonial history and Euro centric cultural background. Let's examine briefly how we got here.

African primates

Humanity originated in Africa. All humans are primates of African descent. We are storytelling primates. We come equipped with a data processor (brain) that can run images and communicate stories. Our imagination and storytelling abilities are what set us apart from other animals. 

Storytelling primates

We are so good at storytelling that we believe our own stories. Mythology and theology are good examples of the amazing storytelling prowess of our species. Primitive humans of ancient times invented stories about deities with super natural powers and ruling us from above. Clever rulers appointed themselves as prophets or designees of the divine powers that be. 

Rulers dictated to the masses which religious stories were "true" and which stories were false. Of course, the fictional stories about gods and divine forces originated in human imagination. However, with constant repetition and strong enforcement over centuries the stories became widely accepted dogmas in colonized communities.

Programming

Education is the programming of the mind. Education can either enslave you or set you free. Religious education for example traps you into a potentially dangerous position of having to believe by faith without the ability to seek proof or question the stories. When you are required to believe by faith and tradition without the ability of questioning the source of the story and belief, you are trapped in a cult.  

Culture

Popular culture is loaded with cult like beliefs that we don't even recognize as such. Many cultural dogmas and beliefs were created by primitive humans who are long gone and dead. Yet we keep believing them without pausing to question their origin and validity. 

Race

One such cultural belief that we blindly uphold daily is the social construct of race. Primitive folks of the past decided to divide humanity in different biological "races". That division allowed them to rationalize colonization, exploitation, and genocide. Along with religion, racism was the fundamental moral force of European colonialism.

Racists

Still to this day, the majority of humans on Earth are "racists" by faithfully believing in the social construct of race. The European "race" still regards itself as the superior "race". The problem with dividing humanity in "races" is that it reinforces tribalism. Dividing humans in different races creates a "natural" us vs them crab mentality that is virtually impossible to escape. No one ever wants their "race" or "biological tribe" to have less. Everyone wants their "race" or tribe to have more. 

Skin color

People use skin color and other inherited physical characteristics as rationalizations for believing in different "races". The European "race" is the "white" and "pure" race even though human skin is never white, ranging from light beige to black. Some Africans could be the "purest" humans because all humans originated in Africa.  

People of color

So called "white" people refer to others as "people of color" as if beige was not a color. Simple observation evidences that all humans are people of color. The color shades of human skin run from beige through brown all the way to black and back. 

White Socks and T-Shirts

Human skin ranges in color from light beige to black running through all shades of brown. No one is white. Human skin is never white. Just wear white socks and a white T-shirt, or look at others wearing them, to realize that human skin is never white. 

Continents

In geography, we divide the world in continents. The main continents aligned to the social construct of race are Africa, Europe, and Asia. That is, humans are said to be of European race, African race, Asian race, or a mix of these three "main races". 

Adaptation

Human tribes settled in theses continents (Africa, Europe, and Asia) for the longest time. Due to the different climatological and environmental conditions in these continents, humans endured different mutations and adaptations. Variations in climate and sun exposure explain all the different "racial" traits and characteristics of homo sapiens.

UV radiation

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is the main culprit behind the outer shell adaptations that people refer to as "racial" characteristics. UV burns the skin and damages DNA. Nature's response is melanin, a pigment or "ink" that absorbs the UV radiation before it penetrates deeper into the skin and kills the cells. 

Melanin

Darker melanin is more protective than lighter melanin. Tribes who stayed in regions near the equator line benefited from darker melanin. Tribes that migrated and settled in nordic areas benefited from lighter melanin. 

Skin color

If you are of recent African descent, the color of your skin ranges from beige to black. If you are of Asian descent, the color of your skin ranges from light beige to light black. If you are of recent European descent, your skin color ranges from light or pale beige to dark or tanned beige. 

Whiteness

You are not white. No one is white. Human skin does not come in white. Melanin colors range from light beige all the way through shades of brown until dark black. You are not white, and no one is white, yet we are all victims of the cult of whiteness. Whiteness is the cult belief that the European "race" is the superior one. Whiteness believers in America (e.g. MAGA Trumpies) simply stand, knowingly or unknowingly, for a blind defense of European American supremacy of colonial times. That is why they are conservative or regressive wanting to go back to the 1700s. For example, Trump's insurrection of January 6th, 2021 was supposed to be the return to 1776.

Progress

In today's day and age is should not matter if your beige or black. Neither the color of your skin, your hair type, or any other outer shell physical characteristics should dictate your socio economic wellbeing as an American. 

Founding Fathers

The founding fathers knew little to nothing about the advantages of diversity and inclusion. In the 1700s people believed blindly in the social construct of race and were also blindly religious. Luckily, after a couple of centuries of progress, we know better. Like everything else in human knowledge and technology, we kept building on and improving the work of others. 

Equality

The founding fathers were not perfect, but they were going in the right direction. Back then men of European descent sought equality between beige skin men. That equality was based on oppressing women and the other "races". 

Progressive

Believe it or not, American men of the 1700s were not only revolutionary, but quite progressive for their times. Before that, back in Europe, not all beige men were equal. European societies were for the most part stratified in rigid social casts running down from the fictional god to the king, nobility, clergy, and so forth. Europe was a conservative shit hole that American colonists set to escape. 

Forward

The greatness of our Nation is that we keep moving forward. There are always domestic conservative movements trying to stop progress and travel back in time. However, our history shows that progress always prevails. There are set backs along the way, but we find the way of overcoming them to push progress forward. 

Food for thought. What do you think?

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