What I find interesting is that people ignore the genetic evidence showing that the so called "native people" are actually the third or fourth wave of "colonizers" that "displaced" an earlier people, who did the same when they showed up in the Americas.
No one is "native" to the Americas. They each came from somewhere else.
There is a great question as to where humans came from, Africa, the flooded lands of the continental shelf, etc..., but no "people" were created on this Land.
There was a series on PBS, years ago, that discussed all this, but I can't remember the title now. It upset quite a number of "native people" at the time. HA!
BTW, In the novels I write, all people came to this copy Earth from other copy Earths.
All Origin Stories have people walk to this world from somewhere else. That is almost universal. There are only a few stories of people being "born" from seedpods of a tree.
Well written, well said... talk about "blowing smoke," as we say in New York... these empty gestures are stunningly ridiculous. I had no idea this was a thing. The solutions you recommended would be an excellent start. "Money where your mouth is..." There is no substance to these ideas or apparently to these people. Too many marketing degrees and not enough carpenters. Thank you!
Check the name of the god damned state in which Harvard (and other Boston Area universities) resides and then realize how idiotically hollow and performative this all is. It is so condescendingly gauche.
I just can’t ever vote for these asshole anymore and I’ve spent my adult life voting for them.
So many possible thoughts! Land acknowledgements are just — silly. As others have pointed out, where does one’s history end? Native Americans found incessantly, depriving weaker tribes of access to land, resources, and by killing and enslaving, their people. Should we “acknowledge” only the tribe that remained on top when the Europeans arrived? And at least in the eastern USA, most of the transactions for the first 200 years were consensual purchases. Why fight a war or have a questionable title when a Native American was willing to sell land he valued less than the colonists did? The American Indians weren’t stupid. They knew they had something the Colonists wanted and the Colonists had things they wanted. So they traded. And at the end of the day, we are all descended from a woman who lived somewhere in East Africa. All of the Earth is colonized land. We need to get over these historical grievances or we will be right where the Middle East is now.
A lot of great points here, and really well written!
I think one of the greatest issues with the Democratic Party right now is the emphasis on virtue signaling and emotional outrage to injustice, rather than actually creating a coherent plan or policy to address any of the problems their voting base cares about. A lot of talk is focused on correcting bad outcomes, without going back and identifying the true source of the problems creating those bad outcomes (case and point: pushing affirmative action for 18-24 year olds, rather than investing in elementary and middle schools to ensure children of all races have the same opportunities to be excellent students and equally qualified applicants). A lot of policy is more focused on the appearance of good, rather than effecting any positive change.
Repealing a lot of the Disparate Impact Laws from the late 60's-70's would take care of this problem. Not so much the "land acknowledgements" or the DEI statements, but the lowering of the standards. Griggs vs Duke Power is a great case to look at when it comes to Disparate Impact Laws actually making it harder for the people it was meant to help.
Yes, excellent. I'm a very pragmatic person. Offering doable solutions flicks my bic. 😁 Now, if only those solutions could be handed to those who can and will implement them.
This one is pretty simple. It’s a great way to display virtue without doing anything. We have developed a political system that rewards people base on the opinions you express irrespective personal behavior or outcomes. A powerful example is climate change where the private jet people are immune to criticism because they purchase carbon credits. This the equivalent of purchasing indulgences.
I’m just wondering if history repeats. At first glance Trump does not fit the part of Martin Luther but there are similarities.
If you want to be more depressed look how much Harvard pays the people who manage the endowment and what kind of investments they make. Every bit as rapacious as any PE group.
I've run (small to midsize) companies for PE. to a man (and they all seem to be men) the most greedy soulless people i ever met. Also, solid Democrat voters FWIW.
I don’t work in PE, but I have noticed the same phenomenon in my former industry (Hollywood): greedy and soulless, and uber progressive. Nearly half are female, though, so seems not to be sex-dependent in that business:
Super long for a bumper sticker but if you printed them up and sold them, I’d put one on mine. And I detest bumper stickers. Which reminds me that I’d probably get keyed by one of the zillions of Tesla drivers around here with “Shut up Elon” and “We Bought This Before We Knew He Was a Jerk” (?!?) stickers, so…back to detesting bumper stickers.
No worries. They will pay. We will all pay, millions and billions and trillions. We set the path with apologies and acknowledgements. It's just about time now. And the indigenous are nothing if not patient.
Great essay. It brings to mind a refrain from Thomas sowell about the discrepancy, often, between what sounds good, and what works. And , to the incredible frustration of many, the former is what sells, politically.
As an aside:
What I find interesting is that people ignore the genetic evidence showing that the so called "native people" are actually the third or fourth wave of "colonizers" that "displaced" an earlier people, who did the same when they showed up in the Americas.
No one is "native" to the Americas. They each came from somewhere else.
There is a great question as to where humans came from, Africa, the flooded lands of the continental shelf, etc..., but no "people" were created on this Land.
There was a series on PBS, years ago, that discussed all this, but I can't remember the title now. It upset quite a number of "native people" at the time. HA!
BTW, In the novels I write, all people came to this copy Earth from other copy Earths.
All Origin Stories have people walk to this world from somewhere else. That is almost universal. There are only a few stories of people being "born" from seedpods of a tree.
- I find that useful for stories of terraforming.
But I digress.
Thank you for that digression!
I’m glad you digressed. It echoes my thoughts as well.
Well written, well said... talk about "blowing smoke," as we say in New York... these empty gestures are stunningly ridiculous. I had no idea this was a thing. The solutions you recommended would be an excellent start. "Money where your mouth is..." There is no substance to these ideas or apparently to these people. Too many marketing degrees and not enough carpenters. Thank you!
Check the name of the god damned state in which Harvard (and other Boston Area universities) resides and then realize how idiotically hollow and performative this all is. It is so condescendingly gauche.
I just can’t ever vote for these asshole anymore and I’ve spent my adult life voting for them.
"More Black lives were lost as a result of well-intentioned but fundamentally misguided policies." I'm not so sure the policies are well-intentioned.
There was nothing well intentioned associated with that movement.
So many possible thoughts! Land acknowledgements are just — silly. As others have pointed out, where does one’s history end? Native Americans found incessantly, depriving weaker tribes of access to land, resources, and by killing and enslaving, their people. Should we “acknowledge” only the tribe that remained on top when the Europeans arrived? And at least in the eastern USA, most of the transactions for the first 200 years were consensual purchases. Why fight a war or have a questionable title when a Native American was willing to sell land he valued less than the colonists did? The American Indians weren’t stupid. They knew they had something the Colonists wanted and the Colonists had things they wanted. So they traded. And at the end of the day, we are all descended from a woman who lived somewhere in East Africa. All of the Earth is colonized land. We need to get over these historical grievances or we will be right where the Middle East is now.
*fought incessantly….
If only people were aware of the savagery of the wars between Indian tribes they might just forego the bullshit.
A lot of great points here, and really well written!
I think one of the greatest issues with the Democratic Party right now is the emphasis on virtue signaling and emotional outrage to injustice, rather than actually creating a coherent plan or policy to address any of the problems their voting base cares about. A lot of talk is focused on correcting bad outcomes, without going back and identifying the true source of the problems creating those bad outcomes (case and point: pushing affirmative action for 18-24 year olds, rather than investing in elementary and middle schools to ensure children of all races have the same opportunities to be excellent students and equally qualified applicants). A lot of policy is more focused on the appearance of good, rather than effecting any positive change.
https://open.substack.com/pub/thewholetruthpublications/p/just-say-no-to-performative-policy?r=4dg1kb&utm_medium=ios
Repealing a lot of the Disparate Impact Laws from the late 60's-70's would take care of this problem. Not so much the "land acknowledgements" or the DEI statements, but the lowering of the standards. Griggs vs Duke Power is a great case to look at when it comes to Disparate Impact Laws actually making it harder for the people it was meant to help.
Yes, excellent. I'm a very pragmatic person. Offering doable solutions flicks my bic. 😁 Now, if only those solutions could be handed to those who can and will implement them.
This one is pretty simple. It’s a great way to display virtue without doing anything. We have developed a political system that rewards people base on the opinions you express irrespective personal behavior or outcomes. A powerful example is climate change where the private jet people are immune to criticism because they purchase carbon credits. This the equivalent of purchasing indulgences.
I’m just wondering if history repeats. At first glance Trump does not fit the part of Martin Luther but there are similarities.
If you want to be more depressed look how much Harvard pays the people who manage the endowment and what kind of investments they make. Every bit as rapacious as any PE group.
A few weeks ago I heard someone describe Harvard as a private equity fund masquerading as a university. Seems spot-on.
think i read that too - taibbi
I've run (small to midsize) companies for PE. to a man (and they all seem to be men) the most greedy soulless people i ever met. Also, solid Democrat voters FWIW.
I don’t work in PE, but I have noticed the same phenomenon in my former industry (Hollywood): greedy and soulless, and uber progressive. Nearly half are female, though, so seems not to be sex-dependent in that business:
I believe the 3 go to together. the virtue bestowed upon those who think and vote correctly is the moral cover they need to justify themselves.
Thank you once again for articulating what I’ve had a difficult time understanding about this new trendy virtue signal.
Super long for a bumper sticker but if you printed them up and sold them, I’d put one on mine. And I detest bumper stickers. Which reminds me that I’d probably get keyed by one of the zillions of Tesla drivers around here with “Shut up Elon” and “We Bought This Before We Knew He Was a Jerk” (?!?) stickers, so…back to detesting bumper stickers.
🤣
No worries. They will pay. We will all pay, millions and billions and trillions. We set the path with apologies and acknowledgements. It's just about time now. And the indigenous are nothing if not patient.
Great essay. It brings to mind a refrain from Thomas sowell about the discrepancy, often, between what sounds good, and what works. And , to the incredible frustration of many, the former is what sells, politically.
The stolen car 🤣 love! You’re killing it!
Great example of doublethink !