Understanding Indigenous People
reverendhornibastard
Depraved Deacon of Degeneracy
If you’ve done any reading at all about “indigenous people” you will surely have noticed some peculiarities. For one, indigenous people are generally presumed to be superior (albeit in a crude, brutish sort of way) than your typical urban dweller in a more technologically advanced society. A great many terms and phrases, whose meanings are murky at best, get tossed tossed around when describing indigenous people and their ways. These terms are meant to imply that indigenous people are nobler, gentler, purer and environmentally wiser than the rest of us.
This is pure horse shit!
Some of the large industrial projects for which I crafted the joint venture agreements and other key contracts were built in remote areas where allegedly indigenous people lived. I visited some of these sites and met many of them.
Indigenous people are nothing at all like what you’ve been led to believe. ( https://www.tuscl.net/photo.php?id=1697 )
First, it’s never been clear to me which people are entitled to be considered “indigenous.” Is this term reserved exclusively for people who were the first to occupy a particular piece of real estate? If so, I doubt if there are any indigenous people left anywhere on the planet. Humans have a long tradition of showing up uninvited on their neighbors’ hunting grounds, murdering all the locals and then claiming the conquered territory as their own. Perhaps “indigenous” is a term we apply loosely to any group of people who, while not necessarily the first to occupy a patch of land, have at least been living there for a long, long and time and who successfully disposed of the prior residents, leaving no trace of them whatsoever.
But there is more to being “indigenous” than just being the earliest known residents of some god-forsaken, remote, mosquito and leach infested patch of real estate. There is an entire world view and ethos that must be adhered to and religiously maintained. Even if your father wore a bone through his nose, had six wives (each of them brightly painted in different colors) and 39 children (only 11 of whom survived long enough to reach puberty), you will lose the right to be considered “indigenous” if you went to college, got an MBA and now hang out at Starbucks tracking your stock portfolio’s performance on an iPad.
It is important to remain ignorant and naïve about the modern world.
New Age sociologists think indigenous people are far cuter if they stay that way.
Having visited remote areas full of “indigenous” people and after reading many books about them, I believe I am qualified to translate for your some of the bullshit that you may read about them.
Phrase: They live in harmony with nature.
Translation: They are well adapted to a life rife with fleas and intestinal parasites.
Phrase: Their society has learned to live in a gentle, ecologically sustainable manner, in full balance with nature.
Translation: They have no technology to speak of and their population levels are held mercilessly in check by malaria, measles, malnutrition and inter-tribal warfare.
Phrase: They have no interest in or need for money.
Translation: They have a totally cashless economy and will happily give up their 12 year old daughter’s hand in marriage in exchange for a nice cow or two pigs and a sack of rice.
Phrase: They have a powerful sense of community.
Translation: The villagers have all shared the same, single toothbrush for generations.
Phrase: All disputes are peacefully resolved by a council of the village elders.
Translation: The local members of the “good old boys” club get to tell everyone else what to do. ( https://www.tuscl.net/photo.php?id=1695 )
Phrase: They are an intensely spiritual people.
Translation: These fools believe in ghosts!
Phrase: Their culture is rich in ancient traditions, symbolism and sacred rituals.
Translation: It was a gas watching these idiots dancing around the campfire whooping and hollering, wearing only some face paint, beads and a few brightly colored feathers ( https://www.tuscl.net/photo.php?id=1694 ), but it was also kind of spooky watching them tie a virgin onto an ox at the bottom of a deep pit and set them both on fire to ensure the monsoon rains would commence on schedule.
Phrase: They are very tolerant and permissive with their children.
Translation: Their kids don’t go to school and can do whatever the fuck they want all day long while their parents forage in the jungle looking for edible fruits, nuts and insects. ( https://www.tuscl.net/photo.php?id=1692 )
Phrase: They maintain great respect for their elders.
Translation: The village chief gets first dibs on any young local woman. ( https://www.tuscl.net/photo.php?id=1696 )
Phrase: Theirs is a holistic world view that embraces natural healing practices.
Translation: They don’t know shit from Shinola. ( https://www.tuscl.net/photo.php?id=1693 )
Phrase: They have a powerful and commanding presence.
Translation: Wheweeeee! These motherfuckers really STINK!!! ( https://www.tuscl.net/photo.php?id=1698 )
This is pure horse shit!
Some of the large industrial projects for which I crafted the joint venture agreements and other key contracts were built in remote areas where allegedly indigenous people lived. I visited some of these sites and met many of them.
Indigenous people are nothing at all like what you’ve been led to believe. ( https://www.tuscl.net/photo.php?id=1697 )
First, it’s never been clear to me which people are entitled to be considered “indigenous.” Is this term reserved exclusively for people who were the first to occupy a particular piece of real estate? If so, I doubt if there are any indigenous people left anywhere on the planet. Humans have a long tradition of showing up uninvited on their neighbors’ hunting grounds, murdering all the locals and then claiming the conquered territory as their own. Perhaps “indigenous” is a term we apply loosely to any group of people who, while not necessarily the first to occupy a patch of land, have at least been living there for a long, long and time and who successfully disposed of the prior residents, leaving no trace of them whatsoever.
But there is more to being “indigenous” than just being the earliest known residents of some god-forsaken, remote, mosquito and leach infested patch of real estate. There is an entire world view and ethos that must be adhered to and religiously maintained. Even if your father wore a bone through his nose, had six wives (each of them brightly painted in different colors) and 39 children (only 11 of whom survived long enough to reach puberty), you will lose the right to be considered “indigenous” if you went to college, got an MBA and now hang out at Starbucks tracking your stock portfolio’s performance on an iPad.
It is important to remain ignorant and naïve about the modern world.
New Age sociologists think indigenous people are far cuter if they stay that way.
Having visited remote areas full of “indigenous” people and after reading many books about them, I believe I am qualified to translate for your some of the bullshit that you may read about them.
Phrase: They live in harmony with nature.
Translation: They are well adapted to a life rife with fleas and intestinal parasites.
Phrase: Their society has learned to live in a gentle, ecologically sustainable manner, in full balance with nature.
Translation: They have no technology to speak of and their population levels are held mercilessly in check by malaria, measles, malnutrition and inter-tribal warfare.
Phrase: They have no interest in or need for money.
Translation: They have a totally cashless economy and will happily give up their 12 year old daughter’s hand in marriage in exchange for a nice cow or two pigs and a sack of rice.
Phrase: They have a powerful sense of community.
Translation: The villagers have all shared the same, single toothbrush for generations.
Phrase: All disputes are peacefully resolved by a council of the village elders.
Translation: The local members of the “good old boys” club get to tell everyone else what to do. ( https://www.tuscl.net/photo.php?id=1695 )
Phrase: They are an intensely spiritual people.
Translation: These fools believe in ghosts!
Phrase: Their culture is rich in ancient traditions, symbolism and sacred rituals.
Translation: It was a gas watching these idiots dancing around the campfire whooping and hollering, wearing only some face paint, beads and a few brightly colored feathers ( https://www.tuscl.net/photo.php?id=1694 ), but it was also kind of spooky watching them tie a virgin onto an ox at the bottom of a deep pit and set them both on fire to ensure the monsoon rains would commence on schedule.
Phrase: They are very tolerant and permissive with their children.
Translation: Their kids don’t go to school and can do whatever the fuck they want all day long while their parents forage in the jungle looking for edible fruits, nuts and insects. ( https://www.tuscl.net/photo.php?id=1692 )
Phrase: They maintain great respect for their elders.
Translation: The village chief gets first dibs on any young local woman. ( https://www.tuscl.net/photo.php?id=1696 )
Phrase: Theirs is a holistic world view that embraces natural healing practices.
Translation: They don’t know shit from Shinola. ( https://www.tuscl.net/photo.php?id=1693 )
Phrase: They have a powerful and commanding presence.
Translation: Wheweeeee! These motherfuckers really STINK!!! ( https://www.tuscl.net/photo.php?id=1698 )
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20 comments
“But it's also wrong to believe that white Europeans brought religion and civilization to savage natives out of the goodness of their hearts.”
You’re spot on.
Europeans liked the savage natives because the males made good slaves and their women were fun to fuck.
Teaching them about religion and proper dental hygiene was just an after-thought.
And indigenous peoples had civilizations and proper dental hygiene...
Fucking imperialism and colonialism
That’s what I always thought.
No doubt, the superior weapons helped. But as it turns out, the biggest deciding factor in most encounters between populations that had been previously separated, was germs. For example, more native Americans were killed by smallpox (the black death), than by muskets or cannons.
The Europeans had already survived the black death and had acquired immunities. The Native Americans had never been exposed to that disease and their populations were depleted as had previously happened in Europe.
I recommend the book to you, Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond.
It is a fascinating read.
Drugs, Labor And Colonial Expansion, edited by William Jankowiak, is a pretty interesting book too
Thanks for the correction.
I always thought Bubonic Plague and the Black Death were the same thing. I did a little reading after seeing your comment. You are right. Most epidemiologists agree that Bubonic Plague was NOT the cause of the Black Death.
Likewise, I had not read that the Europeans intentionally infected the Native Americans. I didn’t think the Europeans at the time were savvy enough yet to understand how the disease was spread.
Where did you read about the intentional spread of the disease among Native Americans?
Since last night I had already found some reading material on the topic most (but not all) of which supports the premise that on more than one occasion blankets infected with small pox were provided by American authorities to Native Americans.
Disgusting!
I intend to find a book by a credible author to learn more background on this shameful piece of our history.
It’s appalling, but unsurprising, that this revolting morsel of America’s past never found its way into the curriculum (at least not during my youth).
Superior weapons and technology do not mean the society possessing them is superior. Throughout history the supremacy of different societies has waxed and waned.
When the ancient Arabs were inventing the alphabet and algebra, Europeans were still running around chasing their dinner and trying to avoid becoming a predator’s dinner. That the tables have turned is the result of a long and complex series of largely serendipitous events.
Right now America is at the top of the heap. But how long do you think we can remain at the top if our country is full of ignorant lazy people who can’t be bothered to read history or study calculus, who believe in intelligent design while ignoring mountains of evidence compiled by biologists, paleontologists and geneticists, who oppose vaccinations based on asinine anecdotal evidence spread on the internet or who are suckered in by juvenile white supremacist bullshit?
It makes me sick but I fear we are watching the tables turn again.
LMFAO!
Thanks for that information.
Unfortunately I was out sick with a bad case of the flu the day they covered the domestication and weaponization of mosquitoes in law school.
Also, those who defend colonialism reek of the alt right aka modern day neo nazis with a smiley face slapped on to appear more socially acceptable...