Alright, this post arises out of a little rant that occurred inside my brain during the second half of my "Slavery In Latin America and the Caribbean" class yesterday. I kind of wish I had written this post sooner so more of my genuine frustration would have poured out (I've mostly cooled off about it now), but in any case I still want to get my thoughts out on this subject.
The subject for our class yesterday was the Haitian Revolution, which occurred in Haiti during the last decade of the 18th century and the first few years of the 19th century. It's actually a really complex and interesting subject, but all I'll say about it is basically it was the only successful slave uprising that truly destroyed the local system of slavery during that era. In our class the teacher told us that really the Haitian Revolution is just as important and impactful as the American Revolution, French Revolution, etc. in modern history but that in America we don't really do pay much attention to it. I agree with that; I was never really taught about it in any detail growing up, and it was a very important event (it didn't immediately lead to abolition elsewhere, but it did send waves throughout the rest of slave-owning America, in any case terrifying the heck out of slave owners and affecting how they viewed their slaves). The question our teacher posed was "Why don't we focus on it more?"
Obviously early on accounts of it would be suppressed or highly biased as slaveowners would want to protect the slave system from any further uprisings, and after that for a while racists also would not want to confront it, but really now I don't think there's any deliberate ignoring of it now; I just think that, as in the past most people avoided the subject, now most modern historians don't really think to much about it, instead focusing their research on more commonly known topics and on the fates and actions of more powerful nations (American Revolution eventually leads to superpower; French Revolution likewise still leads to a powerful nation; Russian Revolution leads to a communist superpower). Haiti, meanwhile (as another student in the class pointed out) has not been very economically successful or militarily powerful in the world scene.
Anyways, a female, Native-American student (I've realized I have issues with both the ethnic label of Indian [because the Americas are not India, though peopled did call them the Indies] and native American [because, heck, I'm an native American; whether you're white, black, or Asian if you're born here you are a native]) made a comment about how in American history classes nobody studies or teaches native American history enough (she's commented about this many times before); she told a personal anecdote about how she went to some college lecture with these white guest Professors from the east. She talked about them opening [I think] their lecture with an apology. I'm not sure if she was saying that they were apologizing for what had been done to the native Americans in the past or that more white people had not shown up at the lecture or if they were apologizing for there not being enough research on native American history (I don't think it was for the last one, but for one of the first two). She made a comment about how she appreciated them being more sensitive to the native Americans and how she thinks conquering societies don't like to confront or own up to the destruction of indigenous societies they caused. I'm trying to represent what she said fairly because miscommunication/misinterpreting is a common thing, but to me her comments seemed to possess resentment against white western society and fit into the whole "white guilt" pattern of thought where white people have to always make sure they're apologetic about their society's past and really sensitive to the feelings of formerly persecuted minority groups.
Okay, moving past her comments (which were just a trigger; it just got me thinking about the broader white guilt philosophy in our society), I just wanted to make it know that I think white guilt political correctness is a BUNCH OF CRAP! If I understood correctly and those professors were apologizing for what Europeans had done to native Americans, then I think that's just absurd, because YOU CAN'T APOLOGIZE TO SOMEBODY WHO NEVER HAD AN ATROCITY COMMITTED AGAINST THEM FOR AN ATROCITY YOU NEVER COMMITTED! It's a ridiculous, childish exercise that really doesn't advance the cause of historical truth or social progress but instead gives people feelings of warm fuzzies and "Boy, am I enlightened!" self-righteousness. The past is done; it happened. And what happened then does affect where people are now socially in the present. But the way to fix problems is NOT to keep harping on the past and demanding restitution from the descendants of a conquering society. We should know our history, and if people want to do further research into the history of conquered/largely wiped out societies, more power to them. But, please, nobody should feel either guilty or entitled to apologies because of what past ancestors did.
And while it is true that conquering societies usually do white-wash their history, I just really don't think that's the case in this situation now, as far as what's taught in American schools about white/Indian relations in America. I was always taught, from elementary school on up that what European conquerors had done to native Americans was VERY WRONG. I don't think there was ever any moral confusion or debate over that. We might not know tons of details about past Indian cultures, but I don't think modern America really has any problem admitting up to its history of destroying indigenous cultures.
The other problem I have with white guilt is that turns our narrative of history into a perverted, innacurate, skewed account just as surely as racism or a belief in the infallibility of the United States does. While western society (referring to western European civilization and the societies it established in other places that it conquered at one time or the other) does have a history of many atrocities and oppression against indigenous societies (and, btw, western civilization did not invent murder, rape, prejudice; they existed everywhere throughout human history because they are simply part of the darker side of human nature and not unique to any one civilization), it also has a history of many political/scientific/social achievements and inventions that have benefitted the whole world. Decreased child mortality rates, longer life spans, cars, planes, greatly improved general standards of living, the protection of civic liberties, greater opportunities for social advancement, etc. I believe these all developed out of WESTERN civilization and philosophies, and if you're going to knock on America/Britain/whatever for past crimes you should also acknowledge all the good and great things those countries did (for, example, being/becoming the kinds of countries that DO ALLOW you to criticize them or their past without fear of being beheaded or tossed into a gulag).
In closing, I'll leave you all with a quote from one my most favorite political commentators, Mark Steyn: "We are encouraging of certain forms of assertiveness: I am woman, hear me roar! Say it loud, I’m black and proud! We’re here, we’re queer, get used to it! But the one identity we’re enjoined not to trumpet is the one that enables us to trumpet all the others: our identity as citizens of a very specific kind of society with a very particular inheritance, built on the rule of law, property rights, and freedom of speech. Heaven forbid we should assert any of that: I am western, hear me apologize!"
