#american colonialist

[kaseythinksaboutgames]

So, I saw an interview with the show’s writers and it gave me a lot of thoughts regarding fallout, narrative themes, and colonialism.

First off, I consider myself pretty misanthropic, but even I know “people are evil and innately bad and destructive” isn’t the theme of fallout. That’s doing a lot to lift the blame off of American imperialism and how *that* is the great evil the series warns us about, not “everyone is like this”. The first game opens with us seeing American soldiers executing prisoners of war as America annexes Canada to take petroleum and uranium: it’s clearly about American evil and military/imperial evil, not something innate to all people.

Second, fallout is unique *because* you see “civilization” in a post-apocalyptic setting. Tim Cain has a quote about fallout 1 where he said “my concern in this story is the ethics of life in the aftermath of nuclear war, not building a better laser gun”, and that’s pretty central to fallout. Rather than stagnating, it tries to show us how life would adapt and move on from the apocalypse. The world will change, yes, but it will change in that the apocalypse will become more distant. The future won’t look much like the day the bombs dropped.

Third, what a colonial view to have! “Where’s civilization? Where’s *everything*?” is what you got from westerns? You think railroads and churches being built in recently stolen territory (as is common in Wild West stories) is “civilization”? Wanna tell us what you think America was pre-colonization, Wagner?

It shows this perspective that doesn’t truly want to admit the flaws of America, either willfully or (more likely) due to ignorance. It’s a sheltered perspective, one that doesn’t know history, one that doesn’t know other cultures, one that doesn’t even know the themes of the story it’s writing for…

Edit: this next quote doesn’t have anything to do with those points, it just feels wrong to me to write so spitefully for a series…

#fallout #fallout tv series #my essays and rambles #just… the colonialist perspective here drives me mad #the way it lifts blame away from American evils #and says it’s innate to us all rather than cultural? #a white American perspective devoid of outside views and refusing to listen to them…

[socialistexan]

If leftists and anti-imperialists inside Israel were so nonexistent (or just small and insignificant) like some of y'all on this website like to pretend they are, then why does the Israeli government and its officials work so hard to counteract them and act like they can singlehandedly bring down the entire government.

Sometimes you have allies on the inside, we have to learn how to have solidarity and not act like every single person in the illegitimate state of Israel is a Likudist ethnonationalist.

#some people are just born into a colonialist ethnostate and dont like it and actively work against it #just like y'know american leftists #we need to work on maybe working with two staters for the time being #because yeah eventually there will be (peaceful) conflict on two states vs Palestine one state #but the Zionist one staters want one state where every Palestinian is dead

[weldnas]

-

#Seeing the dune part 2 american centric red carpet and as a devoted aficionado of the books and yk a moroccan person here are my 2 cents #Dune was one of the few Western works inspired by MENA culture that that felt genuine and respectful #But ofc despite the profound symbiosis with Middle Eastern and North African culture evident within the pages of the novels #the movie adaptation lack of substantive representation from these communities both in on-screen portrayals and within production roles was #very much disappointing in part 1 and i doubt there are any change now #While drawing inspiration from the Amazigh peoples of Algeria and Morocco #the film barely skims the surface of its MENA influences leaving substantial potential untapped #Herbert openly acknowledged the profound impact of Islam and MENA culture on his noveIs #from the metaphorical representation of Spice as oil #to the allegorical parallels drawn between the occupation of Arrakis and real-world MENA geopolitics #By marginalizing Arabs from the narrative fabric of Dune the essence of the story is being undermined particularly its anti-colonial core #the irony of this is kiIIing me because this was a direct resuIt of us impérialism on the middIe east #But the reality is that Dune is an American production tailored for an American audience so it makes sense for it to be what it is now #a big production running from its original essence #What adds to my disappointment is the fact that I liked Villeneuve's adaptation of Incendies and I had what you call foolish hope hfhg #Dune feIt Iike a squandered opportunity to authentically depict the cultural milieu that inspired it #Given the narrative's inherent anti-colonial themes #the omission of Arab and North African voices dilute its message if any of it is even left #without representation from Arabs and Amazigh people the cultural essence becomes another appropriated resource watered down to an aestheti #rather than serving as a critique of the destructive actions of colonialists seeking power and dominance #the narrative becomes susceptible to distortion and co-option by the very entities it was intended to condemn and hold accountable

[pattern-recognition]

i wish the US civil war was discussed like the colonialist conflict that it was instead of just some Americans having a bit of a spat amongst themselves

#there’s a lack of dialectical materialist analysis of the conflict in general #but the american people are not intellectual to put it kindly #but like if you were to make a reddit post or something with the title ‘the US civil war was a colonialist conflict’ #it is inevitable someone would assume you meant the north was trying to colonize the south or some shit

[enbycrip]

Been digging into things on Canadian/British, United States/British and South American/Spanish history recently and the notable thing that has come up on both - in all three cases, the European settlers were the ones actively engaging in genocide of the indigenous population. It was not the active policy of the European government.

In all three cases the European government actually passed protective legislation for the rights of indigenous subjects at the request of either indigenous people themselves travelling to Europe to make these representations, or not-entirely-awful Europeans passing on what was happening to them. They weren’t *incredible* protections in any of the three cases, but they at least recognised that indigenous people were *people* with actual basic rights. Like “not being automatically murdered or enslaved”.

But then European settlers went *batshit* at this legislation. The entire idea of “No Genocide” policies provoked enormous settler backlashes in all three cases. It was even a material, if not enormous, factor in why the US declared independence.

And the European governments in question just…rolled over. Made no real attempt to enforce this protective legislation. And it *certainly* was *not* why Britain sent in troops when the US declared independence. The Founding Fathers just viewed even the fact they had been *asked* to not murder indigenous people as an outrage.

None of this is to excuse European colonial states today of our responsibility to pay reparations and lobby for protections for indigenous people (and BIPOC in general) in our ex-colonial states. We’ve benefitted so much, especially on mass resource plundering, that reparations are a responsibility we cannot shirk.

(I just finished a biography of Charles Hapsburg and how he frittered away *massive* silver imports stolen from South America on European wars. That huge resource injection was pretty vital to the beginning of European international capitalism in the 16th-17th centuries. Before that, states just kept coming up against insufficient metals for currency, especially ones with the intermediate value of silver that let a critical mass of lower-level transactions happen.)

What it is, however, is an examination of the different ways states can be responsible for genocide, eugenics, and other crimes.

It does not need to be active policy for a state to be responsible. Even passing protective legislation doesn’t prevent a state’s responsibility if they don’t take measures to enforce that legislation, and, particularly, *if they give in to loud backlash from privileged parties who see it as an infringement of their privilege for people they are oppressing to be given some basic rights.*

I am not a proponent of “history repeats itself”. Context *always* matters, and every different situation has a different context. However, history itself provides an incredibly important and *necessary* context for situations we face now. And these facts are *incredibly* relevant to *many* situations we are currently facing.

#early modern history #colonialism #colonialist legacy #canadian history #us history #south american history #capitalist history #indigenous rights #indigenous people #spanish history #british history #nonenforcement of legislation makes it worse than useless #genocide #canadian genocide #south american genocide #american genocide #eugenics #corporate lobbying #privilege #settler colonialism #settler states #european history #european reparations #reparations

[moodr1ng]

once again i am begging you to realize that using "european" to mean "white people" is shitty to european people of color and that if youre going to talk shit about white europeans and their racism (as you should) you oughta realize that some of the principal victims of that racism are the people of color LITERALLY LIVING WITH IT. the us is 75% white. france is 85% white. those numbers are not so ludicrously far apart that you can keep pretending like your countrys diversity is evident and needs be respected while obviously other countries are white only bc theres a white majority.

#97 #im just unfollowing for it now lol like im tired of it #the denial of european poc even EXISTING let alone deserving to be cared abt whatsoever has been OBVIOUS and LOUD #ever since you all decided that there was some kind of us/europe dichotomy where europeans oppress americans or the other way around #which so far has only served for white ppl to brush their ego and feel like theyre the good ones #ITS THE SAME. ITS THE SAME. WESTERN COUNTRIES IS THE SAME!! #this whole topic is stupid and senseless!!! #its all western countries w racist white majorities!! its the same #this is not like some third worlder vs first worlder thing where there is a dynamic of privilege. there is not. #these are different white-majority racist colonialist western powers. Theyre The Same. #alright thats enough rbing this i have anon on rn lol

[rotzaprachim]

the amount of Jewish people being rich media controlling landlords that’s come out in various ways over the last two days

#People can be the local (not global overlord) local setter colonialists #Without Americans and Western Europeans casting them as some kind of upper/higher wealth class that’s really out to oppress you Alllll

[spearheadrampancy]

i think if you have to be reminded that mocking a certain accent (with the "humour" generally being that said accent indicates poorness, lack of education, or something racist) then perhaps you are not as progressive as you claim to be. just a thought,

#srs09:m:haix #hi yes this post is first and foremost about mocking various british accents #every now and again i like to get pissed off about the rampant classism shown by white americans. because it always is white americans. #consider stopping for a moment to unravel why you think 'innit' and 'chewsday' are funny to you. #perhaps 'funny because uncivilised'? 'funny because different'? i think we have words to describe those thoughts. #i cant speak for the racism aspect because im white myself but like. theres an element of that too. #lots of white americans reblogging posts talking about appropriation of AAVE. then using words from MLE or british english creoles/pidgins #i havent seen british POC talk about that being an issue. so maybe it isnt. but it happens and i think its worth noting #mocking the poor and uneducated NOW does not undo the transgressions of colonialists

[the-sound-of-her-wings]

I think marking the fall of Shady Sands as 2277 is actually kind of compelling.

My current non-cynical theory is that the historians of Vault 4 decided that the First Battle of Hoover Dam marked the beginning of the downfall of the NCR and Shady Sands. They won that battle! But at what cost, exactly?

The NCR's position in New Vegas was already tenuous at best before the battle. What they thought would be an easy annex turned out to be very complicated. They fought the Brotherhood of Steel for Helios 1 but fucked up and couldn't even access the resource. The awakening of the Hopeville and Ashton silos destroyed one of the few supply lines into and out of New Vegas. They shunned a potential ally in the Followers of the Apocalypse upon receiving criticism.

Their attempted annexation of the region was failing by 2281, which only weakens their position back home, not strengthens it. Kimball and his government's lack of restrictions and continued foray into New Vegas and the surrounding areas to search for and supply power to people back home almost certainly contributed to its downfall. Which leads me to believe that the canon of the show, although not yet confirmed in any capacity, is that the NCR loses the 2nd Battle of Hoover Dam.

It would be unlikely that Kimball stays in power if they lost control of the Dam. The NCR would be forced to withdraw, losing all of the power in the region that they were sending back home to Shady Sands. The value of its dollar, already only at 40% of a cap, would certainly plummet. With a loss of a main source of power (both actual electricity and dominance through being beaten by house/the legion/yes man), Shady Sands is almost certainly on the decline by the time it gets nuked.

#fallout #fallout tv spoilers #the failure of all factions in fallout is that they keep trying to recreate specific aspects of america without addressing their flaws #the NCR is a representation of both american liberal ideals as well as older colonialist sentiments #neither of which the NCR has really addressed the flaws of #it is simultaneously too careful about trying to strike down clear threats when they are weak #harkening back to failures at the federal level to prevent the civil war #and too reckless about attempting to colonize land that “didn't belong to anyone” #see westward and southern expansisons and our long violent history of slaughtering countless native americans #am i giving both the show and the games more credit than they deserve for this? almost certainly #but that's part of why fandom exists imo. to expand on and make connections when the source material doesn't give answers

[anarchotolkienist]

I also feel the need to point out that while Sinn Féin became the biggest party, and while this clearly is a huge step in the direction of reunification, unionist parties still hold the plurality of votes in the North, and a majority of non-aligned voters would prefer to remain part of the UK over joining a future united Ireland. There is still a long way to go in that direction before it becomes reality - including, I think, serious reforms to the South (both things which would make it better, like a more comprehensive health care plan and further removal of the influence of the Catholic church in the state, and matters of identity that would not be accepted by the south in order to try and accommodate 600 000 committed Unionists, like say removing Ámhran na bhFiann/Soldier's Song as the national anthem, changing the flag, and etc - this identity stuff is even less likely to happen with Sinn Féin in power in the South) that very well might not happen.

The comparison with Scottish nationalism, which made huge strides during a very short time in 2014, is not fully applicable because the Scottish case unleashed a lot of political hopes that never would have happened, but which drove enthusiasm for it (and still does), whereas we already know what Ireland looks like, and frankly it leaves a lot to be desired. If steps are not taken to try and in some ways accommodate the Unionists within a united Ireland, the looming threat of Loyalist paramilitarism would hang permanently over that political project.

So basically, Sinn Féin won and that's huge, but it doesn't mean United Ireland is a certainty or even likely as a political outcome, just that it's significantly more likely than it was a week ago, and that it will have the wind in its sails for a good while. Let's be vaguely sensible here.

#to be clear I would vote for unification if I lived in the North #in part because of Irish language rights #but also because the likelihood of a progressive outcome within the context of a triumphant Republicanism #is much much higher than with a triumphant unionism #because unionism is fundamentally colonialist and therefore deeply reactilnary at it's core #the hope for a progressive unionism that you hesr from some quarters is completely ridiculous #but also - let's not project our political ambition and sense of aesthetic violence on some of the poorest and most suffering communities #in the UK - let's take them seriously as real people making real political choices in a real place whoch is deeply fraught abd scarred #something I feel the Left has utterly failed to do these last few years - probably due to the influence of Americans online tbh

[pacinothot]

saw a post on here saying that f1 is becoming too americanised (which it is) but that phenomenon isn't just confined to f1. why the fuck are countries outside of the us offering black friday and cyber monday sales? why is everyone forcing american football down our throats? why are champions league officials planning to introduce half time shows? why are american soldiers stationed in my country?

#it's nothing but neo-colonialism #i'm not saying that other western countries are immune to being neo-colonialist either #but it's striking how americanisation is spreading further each day #we even have 'american' weeks at aldi and lidl twice a year (but always before the super bowl)

[sleepygaymerdisease]

not gonna bitch about the national park service on that post i reblogged since i dont want to discredit the work they put into that lgbt history collection BUT i do have issues with the park service as an institution... hmm

#HI i accidentally made this a draft instead of posting it earlier so just pretend it was back-to-back #like. how ive been treated at parks for being native american. outdated and offensive info about natives. and their policies regarding #indigenous practices in the parks are pretty bad. the parks as an institution are designed to upkeep the settler colonialist myth that #arbitrarily separates humans from nature. were taught to think the national parks thrive because theyre untouched. undisturbed. #which directly contradicts native history 💀 like hi.... these lands were never untouched.... we were thriving and then you kicked us out 😐 #anyway. some parks are better than others but overall they suck. i hope this can change in the future but that means directly challenging #yet another part of USA's carefully crafted colonizer rhetoric #anis gaymer moments

[wachi-delectrico]

Thinking a lot about this thing that happened at the dinner table the other day.

My sister's been talking about wanting to study abroad for a while now, my mom and I have been trying to dissuade her by informing her of how it works and the local options she could try instead.

I didn't know how to bring my real worries up, because I wasn't sure she'd understand, but when she asked "well, what about going to Europe?" I couldn't stop myself from replying "oh yeah, because europeans love anyone who isn't from their favourite handful of white countries." She looked baffled? confused? for a second, then my mom followed "when you're there you stop being a person and become a sudaca. Just ask your aunt how nice they were to her when she tried."

That was the end of the conversation really, we were all very tired and getting up from the table already. And I don't know, I've just been thinking about that a lot.

#rambling #''sudaca'' for those who don't know is a slur used against South Americans #I think nowadays i think of discrimination and xenophobia in Latinamerica mostly as it is between all the latino countries #And also the ways in which the USA and Canada discriminate and control and colonise us #But there's something about the xenophobia and colonialist sentiment coming from Europe that makes me really uneasy #I can't explain it really #It's a very hopeless defeated feeling #It's weird to be reminded of such #The ways in which not only do European countries - just like the USA & Canada - still colonise us and take our resources #But also the ways they just fucking hate us to the core and think we're all brutes deserving of being under their ruling once more #If you aren't hispanic you'd be surprised of the amount of times I've read Spanish fascists echo such thoughts #And - i don't know #I'm not looking for sympathy or condolences I'm just venting #I guess it's also what prevents me from having friends from the European countries that affect us the most #Very weird feeling...

[lunulater]

Today is a National Day of Mourning. Please make sure to center Indigenous voices first and foremost, today and always. Check out the shared link along with @mahtowin1 on both IG and Twitter as one resource for more info & ways to show support to our Indigenous family. My personal ruminations of today are below:

Please take this to heart; mourning is not at odds with celebration of life, of family, of gratitude. Grief and gratitude are not incompatible. Grief and gratitude are hand in hand in the practice of mourning, which is also a practice of healing. It is in times of mourning that we reflect most on our lives, our loved ones, and all that we might be grateful for. Conscious mourning is an invitation to honor those things. To celebrate.

So, if you must celebrate Thanksgiving today, please, take the time to educate yourselves and your families on what it is our Indigenous family is mourning. Take this time so that you may reflect collectively on the insurmountable losses and grief faced by the original Indigenous peoples of these lands. Loss of sacred lands, homes and havens, loss of human life, communities, cultures, languages. The grief soaked Trail of Tears. The grief of babies ripped from the loving arms of their families, to be stripped of their rights to heritage, to community. Name the genocide for what it is. Take time to sit with the violence of our shared colonial histories, here on these lands of the "United States of America" as well as abroad. Take the time to reflect on the ways this violent heritage persists even today.

May your time today with family (and food) be as a wake grounded in the collective mourning of Indigenous people. May you celebrate all you have to be grateful for anchored in that mourning. May you reflect on all the ways things could have—should have—been different and how we may challenge ourselves and our communities towards better. May you take the time to sit with the loved ones you still have the privilege of today, and reflect in earnest on the intergenerational traumas that not one of us can escape. Take the time to learn from our shared histories, from one another, take the time to heal, and to grow. Take the time to celebrate where each of us has come from, and where we might go. Take the time to reflect and foster accountability so that we might all leave this plane of existence better off than we have entered it. A feat that cannot be achieved without all of the above. Take the time to ground one another in humility and compassion, to do the work, and to share the burden in doing so. That is what family, what community, is for. To share the load of growth towards building better selves, towards building a better future for all.

My mother took us to PowWows and demonstrations of Indigenous practice, of creative joy. She got us books about Indigenous people and histories. For most of my childhood she collected Indigenous arts and jewelry. There were admittedly ways in which this erred into appropriation and exotification of Indigenous culture and people, I won't defend that, but she tried. She tried when there was little accessible public discourse to guide us in the paths of least harm. On that note, be sure that you are centering Indigenous voices today and always. Let those be the voices that guide you in truth and healing, and towards work centered in harm reduction.

My mother continues to try. It is for those types of efforts that I continue to try with my family, despite harms done which cannot be undone. It is for the witnessing of those efforts that I do not just give up on the world. We cannot undo all harms done, but we can try. We must try.

#national day of mourning #thanksgiving #is a colonialist sham #indigenovember #indigenous #indigenous lives matter #today and always #spilled ink #prose #essay #UAINE #protest #plymouth rock #United American Indians of New England #american indians #Indians #indigenous history #personal #trauma #intergenerational trauma #childhood trauma #the truth will set you free

[beansprouts]

if americans are going to put that british asshole’s stolen and mangled romanian folklore dr*cula daily all over my fucking dash this week then i am going extra hard on the eurovisionposting, sorry not sorry ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#if you have been tagging it appropriately this isn't about you #enough people have been posting it untagged that this romanian-american is going a little nutso #it would be nice if romania got to represent itself in pop culture just once. #also to see people who post anti-colonialist perspectives then only talk about romania when it's some western european's stolen folklore.. #at least acknowledge the hypocrisy? #anyway. i've said my part. 🍵

[hydrostorm]

its dumb as hell whenever people use "mud huts" to talk about how bad third world countries are as if mud huts are not an infinitely better alternative to standard american houses

#literally when i hear ''you could be living in a mud hut'' like you have no idea how quickly i would pack my shit and move into a mud hut #sounding like a brain-dead colonialist bootlicker every time #the benefits to living in homes made with natural resources is too many to list #and the flaws of the most modern kinds of american homes are also too many to list #(i say american bc thats my experience but it applies to many countries who delusionally believe theyre superior)