Loading...
Welcome to Anarcho-Punk.net community ! Please register or login to participate in the forums.   Ⓐ//Ⓔ

Unpacking White Privilege Checklist

Discussion in 'Anarchism and radical activism' started by raindeer667, Aug 22, 2010.

  1. raindeer667

    raindeer667 Experienced Member Experienced member Forum Member


    170

    0

    0

    Oct 10, 2009
     
    So, one of the most important way to redeem our education is by looking at everything we are learning through an anti-racist lens. Upon reflection, it is clear that the ideology of white supremacy persists in today's world...it is constructed and maintained through a combination of deceptive storytelling and brute force. Although the system of white supremacy pervades every aspect of the lives of white folks, it remains invisible to most of them...and herein lies its power. Afterall, if we don't understand what it is, nor see the repercussions of its existence, then how can we challenge it? In order to defy this system, it is essential that we look at the fibers of racism that have been woven into the fabric of society.


    .......................................................

    Unpacking White Privilege Checklist
    by P. McIntosh

    * I can arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.

    * I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed.

    * I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented.

    * When I am told about our national heritage or about "civilization" I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.

    * I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race.

    * I can go into a music shop and count on finding the music of my race represented, into a hairdresser's shop and find someone who can deal with my hair.

    * Whether I use checks, credit cards, or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of financial responsibility.

    * I am not made acutely aware that my shape, bearing, or body odor will be taken as a reflection on my race.

    * I can worry about racism without being seen as self interested or self seeking.

    * I can take a job or enroll in a college with an affirmative action policy without having my co-workers or peers assume I got it because of my race.

    * I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help, my race will not work against me.

    * I can arrange my activities so that I will never have to experience feelings of rejection owing to my race.

    * I am never asked to speak for all of the people of my racial group.

    * I can be pretty sure that if I ask to talk with the "person in charge" I will be facing a person of my race.

    * If a traffic cop pulls me over or if the IRS sudits my tax return, I can be sure I haven't been singled out because of my race.

    * I can walk int a classroom and know I will not be the only memeber of my race.

    * I can easily by posters, postcards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls toys , and children's magazines featuring people of my race.

    * I can choose blemish cover or bandages in "flesh" color and have them more or less match my skin.

    * I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a "credit to my race."

    * I can enroll in classes at college and be sure that the majority of my professors will be of my race.

    * I can easily find academic courses and institutions which give attention only to people of my race.

    * I can criticize our government and talk about how much I fear its policies and behavior wthout being seen as a cultural outsider.
     

  2. butcher

    butcher Experienced Member Uploader Experienced member Forum Member


    2,118

    2

    18

    Sep 8, 2009
     
    True, but this checklist illuminates nothing, moreover it engages in the worst sort of binary system of racial profiling. ie, there is the 'white race' and 'the rest', this is a simplistic binary divide to say the least, and moreover, can easily collapse in racial separatist conclusions. This sorta shit is a National Anarchists wet dream imho. Class divisions, gender, and complex political and social histories within so-called 'races' (and across them) become meaningless when collapsed into stupid black and white (literally) categorical divides. The truth of the matter remains that the working class, which i define in its broadest sense, have more in common with each other than with the bosses, regardless of skin colour.

    Out of curiosity, was this text written by a white US resident?

    Que Blink 182: "What's my race again?"

    I can go shopping alone whilst feeling secure. I can also work through my neighbourhood and not see another whitey. Am I doing this right?

    I watch the news and see people of colour being represented as big bad bogeymen. Am i watching the right shows?

    By wiping out the locals.

    Seriously, WTF??

    I'm a good boy and only buy screwdriver records.

    I'm bored of this
     
  3. raindeer667

    raindeer667 Experienced Member Experienced member Forum Member


    170

    0

    0

    Oct 10, 2009
     
    read it again. feeling as you may only is the acknowledgement to this list of favors to skin tone.
     
  4. butcher

    butcher Experienced Member Uploader Experienced member Forum Member


    2,118

    2

    18

    Sep 8, 2009
     
    please clarify
     
  5. nodz

    nodz Experienced Member Experienced member Forum Member


    328

    0

    5

    Apr 4, 2010
     
    Why is this white privilege - surely this list would apply to anyone who is not in their country of origin. Surely myself of white european descent would potentially feel uncomfortable in say Japan, China or Ethiopia or Sudan, Israel or Palestine or any country where I am not part of the majority.
     
  6. deadsmart

    deadsmart Experienced Member Experienced member Forum Member


    106

    0

    0

    Nov 19, 2009
     
    I think that the point of this list is to open "white" people's eyes to racism that they don't realize happens everyday (because they themselves are "white").

    If you re-read the list and think of it in terms of :
    "Situations that "white" people who live in "white" countries generally take for granted"
    or
    "white people don't realize that if they weren't "white" they wouldn't have this list of priviledges"

    I might be wrong but that's what I got out of the original post after reading it a couple times.

    I just don't understand why this was posted on THIS message board, and not on a message board where there are racist people.If the point of the post is to open peoples eyes I don't think that this list is helping anyone here learn anything they don't already know.
     
  7. deadsmart

    deadsmart Experienced Member Experienced member Forum Member


    106

    0

    0

    Nov 19, 2009
     
    Didn't see this before I posted, but yes, I definately agree.
    The list is just directed at someone living in a primarily "white" populaiton.....but why?
    I've met numberous people from other races that are racist.
     
  8. Wooly

    Wooly Experienced Member Experienced member Forum Member


    123

    0

    0

    May 24, 2010
     
    Uhh, im sorry?
     
  9. raindeer667

    raindeer667 Experienced Member Experienced member Forum Member


    170

    0

    0

    Oct 10, 2009
     
    other "races"

    well anarchists in the u$@ if truly anarchists confront wite privilege as a viable concept that has been hidden and kept covered from most of the civilization. T <3 hose who actually discovered "it" challenge all to work through it, past it, and to even refuse it.
     
  10. butcher

    butcher Experienced Member Uploader Experienced member Forum Member


    2,118

    2

    18

    Sep 8, 2009
     
    I understand why it was posted, I just do not think this 'checklist' does it very well. Please refer to my initial response.

    My request for clarification was specifically related to this:
    Moreover, there are racist people in the 'radical' community, and have been a number explicitly so on this forum. I remember one person who argued that some (read: Western) cultures were superior to others. Just cos we claim we're anti-racist does not always make it so. The problem with this text, imho, is audience. It appears to be written for middle class folk. Points such as this:
    highlight that to me.


    Racism is a social construct, it is a social relationship. Racism, and white privilege, operates within a context. I feel this text, and further your reference to 'most of civilsation' decontextualises and essentialises the issue. Racism operates differently in different places and across time periods. Moreover, glosses over a history of working class solidarity across and against racial divides. Take the IWW for example, or union support for Indigenous groups in Aus in the forties, or the fact that during colonisation in Aus or the US there a lots of stories of whiteys pissing off to live with Indig mob, whilst fuck all Indig folks wanted to come live with whitey.
    Further, within a lot of radical writings on race coming outta the US, there is a tendency to set up the false binary of 'white' and 'people of colour'/'other'. Thus, anyone from Latin America becomes Hispanic/Latino, now whilst it may be the case that from the point of view of a US resident that such categorisations are legitimate insofar as they highlight the forms of discrimination these people may be subjected to, however, it is problematic if we look at the structures of racism within Latin American States. ie a Mapuche person may be a bit offended if you were to suggest they faced the same forms of racism as other, non-Indigenous, Chileans.

    Basically, I think it is important to note that whiteys aren't fundamentally racist, rather are born into a set of social relations that privilege white skin. Of course whitey are often blind to some forms of this privilege, why would you when its been normalised and you aren't adversely affected by it? However, I don't see how this text highlights that racism is socially constructed, and hence can be socially de-constructed; rather I am concerned that such texts impose an original sin of whiteness on people, with its implicit essentialism, and doesn't require whiteys to challenge racism, only feel guilty for it.
     
  11. raindeer667

    raindeer667 Experienced Member Experienced member Forum Member


    170

    0

    0

    Oct 10, 2009
     
    racism however you mindset is, pretty much simple... stupidity and ignorance in the panorama.
    it's highly false when you claim some anarchists are racists, if that's so then they aren't anarchists.

    antiracsim is a very new science as it may be for a person to free themselves of a "race" identity, although the emphasis regardling the local is, where your originality is... once again placing a antagonism on land or social development.

    inthe southwest four corners, many natural land formations have certain stories (i wouldn't say myths) as with i know the celts there's a similiar tie to possession of thousands of years of surviving 'cultural' tech which only enforces the fact that these are longstanding than the few hundred years of develpment of say "anglo'centric or roman inspired genocide culture.

    whitey is a really unfaire use of finger pointing... and where did the term "white" for "white" people originate? before or after roman conquest again pointing to history... i like the egyptian one better than the made up one.
     
  12. butcher

    butcher Experienced Member Uploader Experienced member Forum Member


    2,118

    2

    18

    Sep 8, 2009
     
    I'm sorry, I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.
     
  13. raindeer667

    raindeer667 Experienced Member Experienced member Forum Member


    170

    0

    0

    Oct 10, 2009
     
    ma! very well
     
  14. snookams

    snookams Experienced Member Experienced member Forum Member


    438

    1

    4

    Feb 7, 2010
     
    even recognizing racial differences, wether you're against them or not, is racist in itself. we are one species, and we all came from the Great Valley Rift in Ethiopia.

    however, we are planted with the idea since day one that there are different races and that this is okay. it's not. it's fucked, in my opinion. there are different cultures that are often associated with skin color. in America, it's conisdered "white culture" but it's simply a great mixture of European cultures. only in recent history has America been influenced greatly by other countries such as India or China. but in today's global economy and government we are seeing different cultures being included in the "white culture," for example, the electoral college of the United States choosing a black man to run the country(there i go being a hypocrite).

    there is white supremecy, but only if we accept it to be so. if we reject in our minds the ideas of race, we can begin to have true unity outside of global supremecy based upon resource allocation . or at least a higher level of coexistence
     
  15. butcher

    butcher Experienced Member Uploader Experienced member Forum Member


    2,118

    2

    18

    Sep 8, 2009
     
    nah, do go on, maybe just rephrase yr previous statements, and hopefully I'll get ya. :)
     
  16. raindeer667

    raindeer667 Experienced Member Experienced member Forum Member


    170

    0

    0

    Oct 10, 2009
     
    well this should suffice, i however tend to dissociate to validation and invalidation. And why should we let past anthropology be the authority? there are other histories...

    1. HISTORY OF COLONIALISM

    Colonialism is neither new nor limited to any specific historical period (i.e., the ‘colonial period’ of the 15th to 19th centuries). Ancient civilizations were the first to begin colonizing other lands & people. When their populations became too large, and as resources became depleted, colonists were sent out to occupy and settle new lands. When these lands were already occupied, military campaigns were carried out to gain control.
    When nations & territories were conquered, the survivors were enslaved and forced to provide resources, including human labour, food, metals, wood, spices, etc. The invaders then imposed their own forms of governance, laws, religion, and education. Over time, these populations became assimilated into the culture & society of their oppressors.

    Early Egyptian Colonialism

    In ancient Egypt (around 1,500 BC, or 3,500 years ago), all the methods of colonialism were already being practiced. An African scholar, Cheikh Anta Diop, described these methods:

    “In some towns, as in Jaffa, the conquered princes were purely & simply replaced by Egyptian generals… Egyptian garrisons were stationed at strategic points, important towns and ports… 1,400 years before Rome, Egypt created the first centralized empire in the world.

    “The children of vassal [conquered] princes were taken as ‘hostages’ & educated in Egyptian style, at the court of the Egyptian emperor, in order to teach them Egyptian manners and tastes and to assimilate them to Pharoanic culture and civilization…

    “The Pharoah [emperor] could at any moment require money, chariots, horses, compulsory war service; the vassal was constantly under the orders of the Egyptian generals… The vassals enjoyed only internal autonomy; in fact they had lost their international sovereignty; they could not directly deal with foreign lands”
    (Cheikh Anta Diop, Civilization or Barbarism, p. 85-86).

    European Colonization

    When looking at the world today, we can see that this process still continues, sometimes referred to as imperialism, globalization, or even ‘peacekeeping’ and ‘humanitarian’ missions. Whatever term is used, the principles of invasion, occupation and exploitation remain the same.

    Today, the European states & their settler nations dominate the global system. How did this come to be? Why is it that Western Civilization is now the primary economic, political and military power in the world? The answer to these questions can be found in the history of civilization.

    Early civilizations concentrated vast amounts of human and material resources under the control of a central authority. This authority was usually in the form of kings and priests, who based their right to rule on spiritual or religious tradition. They controlled all governance, economic trade, law & order, education, etc. Through religion, mind control was imposed over citizens, which created a culture of obedience, slavery, and war (just as we see today).

    The first civilizations were established in northern Africa and Mesopotamia (the Middle-East), comprised of the Egyptians, Sumerians, and Babylonians. Other civilizations also began in India, Asia, and the Americas, but those in Egypt and the Mid-East had a direct influence on Europe.

    The Greeks were the main transmitters of civilized culture into Europe, based on both Egyptian and Mid-East models. The Greeks, southernmost in all of Europe, were strategically located to serve just such a role. Prior to this, southern Europe was inhabited by tribal peoples. While Egyptians built massive pyramids and cities, had a written language, advanced science and astronomy, etc., Europeans were still hunting & gathering.

    This history tells us that colonization results from a society’s culture, not its racial or biological background. This culture, based on expansion, control, and exploitation, arises from civilization. Despite this, it is the European system that now dominates the world, the result of history, geography, and the exchange of culture & technology that occurred throughout the Mediterranean.

    Roman Colonization

    The first people colonized by Western Civilization were the European tribal peoples, such as the Goths (Germany), the Gauls (France & Spain), etc. They were invaded & occupied by the Roman Empire, beginning around 200 BC (some 2,300 years ago):

    “Conquered territories were divided into provinces ruled by governors appointed in Rome for one-year terms. Governors ruled by army-enforced decree… Conquered peoples all had to pay extraordinary taxes to Rome.”
    (Jack C. Estrin, World History Made Simple, p. 65)

    Early accounts by Romans described these peoples as worshipping Mother Earth, organized in clans and tribes, living as semi-nomadic hunters and gatherers. They were also strong and adept military forces that inflicted numerous defeats against Roman forces, with some regions never being pacified or conquered (i.e., the Scottish Picts).

    Despite this resistance, some areas such as present-day Spain, Portugal, and France, as well as parts of Germany and Britain, were occupied by Roman forces for as long as 400 years. Forced to work as slaves, to build houses and fortifications, to serve as expendable frontline soldiers, to provide resources and manufactured goods, or as servants (cooks, janitors, barbers, tutors), these conquered peoples were also increasingly assimilated into Imperial Rome.

    Tribal chiefs and high-ranking families were targeted for systematic assimilation; often, their children were taken and taught how to speak and read Latin (the language of Rome). Roman clothing and overall culture were imposed. After several generations, these peoples were effectively Romanized or Latinized, with some gaining citizenship and high ranking positions in the Roman military or political system. These families, along with the Roman governing system and the Christian church, served as the basis for the feudal system which evolved in Western Europe after the collapse of the Roman empire (5th century BC).

    Perhaps more than any other region, Europe stands as a stark example of the effects of colonization & assimilation. Today, very little remains of the European tribal cultures, which were destroyed & assimilated into the Roman imperial system (which explains why European civilization is essentially fascist in nature).

    1492: Invasion of the Americas

    In 1492, the European colonization of the Americas began with the voyage of Christopher Columbus, in command of the Nina, Pinta and the Santa Maria. This recon expedition arrived in the Caribbean and landed on the island of present-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic, which was named Hispaniola. In 1494, Columbus returned with a second, larger force, comprised of 17 ships and 1,200 soldiers, sailors, and colonists.

    By 1496, it is estimated that half of the 8 million Indigenous peoples on Hispaniola were dead, killed by a combination of European diseases & massacres. Both priests & conquistadors have left detailed accounts of their atrocities, killing for fun, hunting Indigenous peoples as if they were animals, and devising all kinds of cruel and inhuman methods of torture.

    Survivors were enslaved and forced to supply gold, silver and food to the conquistadors. Those who failed to meet their quotas had their hands, ears or nose cut off. From this strategic location, military campaigns were conducted into nearby islands; by 1510, the Spanish were relocating Indigenous peoples from the Bahamas and Cuba to replace the dying slaves on Hispaniola.

    By 1535, Spanish conquistadors had launched military operations into Mexico, Central America, and Peru. Using guns, armour, and metal edged weapons, as well as horses, siege catapults, war dogs, and biological warfare, the Spanish left a trail of destruction, massacres, torture and rape. Tens of millions of Indigenous people were killed within the first century. The Mexica (or Aztec) alone were reduced from some 25 million people to just 3 million. Everywhere the death rate was between 90-95 % of the population.

    The European invasion of the Americas was, without question, the most devastating genocide and holocaust in history. Despite this, it is still celebrated today as a ‘discovery’. With some exceptions, the history of this holocaust has been minimized or concealed.

    The main goal of the Spanish and Portuguese was to take control of the land and enslave the surviving Indigenous people. Settlement was not a main objective. They established huge plantations to grow crops for export to Europe, while vast ranches were set up for cattle raising. Mines were opened to dig for gold and silver. Millions of Indigenous people were enslaved and died working in these mines.

    In order to maintain a source of slaves, European traders turned to West Africa. There, Indigenous Africans, engaged in intertribal war, traded prisoners of war with the Europeans, clearly ignorant or indifferent to the long term effects such actions would have. As many as 15-20 million Africans were shipped onboard slave ships, with an estimated 40 million dying from disease & starvation on the trans-Atlantic crossing.

    Despite this high level of violence & destruction, Spanish & Portuguese colonial forces were largely restricted to the coastlines of Central & South America. Many interior regions resisted for 2-3 centuries and were never conquered by the Spaniards. The Maya in the Yucatan Peninsula, for example, withdrew into the forest lowlands, where Spanish forces fell victim to disease and the intense heat. The Maya then launched military attacks and were able to resist total Spanish control.

    By 1800, the Spanish laid claim to a vast region encompassing parts of South, Central, and North America. Despite this, it was an empire in decline, faced with ongoing Indigenous resistance, slave rebellions, and even settler revolts. By the mid-1800s, settler independence movements forced the Spanish out of the Americas (with the exception of Cuba & Puerto Rico).

    At the time of the invasion of the Americas, Europe was in the Dark Ages, suffering from resource depletion, overpopulation, widespread poverty & social decline. Colonialism brought new resources & wealth into Europe, while destroying Indigenous nations in both the Americas and Africa. It is from the colonization of the Americas that the European nations were able to further expand and dominate the world.

    1498: Invasion of North America

    In 1498, John Cabot, sailing under command of the English King, claimed the east coast of present-day Newfoundland. He was followed by the French shortly after. Throughout the 1500s, the British & French attempted several colonies on the east coast of the US, but none survived the harsh winters (or, in the south, attacks by the Spanish). Finally, in 1607, a British colony was established at Jamestown, Virginia. It survived due to the help of Indigenous peoples (the tradition of Thanksgiving, adapted from Indigenous peoples, arises from this).

    These early British settlers took great care to not engage in any offensive actions, especially as Indigenous peoples were militarily stronger. At first, peace & friendship treaties were made. As colonist’s numbers grew, they began to seek greater land and resources, especially the agricultural lands of Indigenous peoples. By the 1620s there was all-out war in the north-east, with colonists carrying out massacres and scorched earth policies. Combined with the effects of biological warfare (smallpox), these attacks gradually broke the ability of Indigenous nations to militarily resist.

    Unlike the Spanish & Portuguese in the south, the British & French found little gold or silver with which to finance large-scale invasion. Instead, they relied on trade with Indigenous nations (i.e., the fur trade) as well as the gradual development of agriculture for export to Europe. For this reason, a dual policy of maintaining friendly relations with some, while waging war on others to gain territory, was used. Over time, however, even those that actively collaborated with the settlers were attacked, their lands taken, and their populations enslaved.

    A main focus for the French & British was the transfer of large numbers of citizens to the colonies in order to relieve the pressure of over-population, as well as to garrison them against other European powers. Settlement was therefore a major factor in the colonization of N. America.

    As in South & Central America, Indigenous populations suffered death rates of 90-95 % across North America. Although diseases had a major impact, they were most often accompanied by wars of extermination that targeted not only men, but also women & children. Those not killed by disease or massacre suffered starvation, as villages and crops were systematically burned by heavily armed European militias. Extermination of Indigenous people was an official policy of colonialism, limited only by the potential to make money through slavery.

    Competition between the French & British led to a series of wars, fought both in Europe and in the American colonies. By 1763, France was defeated and surrendered its colonies to the British (including present-day Quebec). In turn, the British reorganized their colonial system and imposed new taxation on the colonies themselves, to help pay for the costs of war.

    Along with this, the British issued the 1763 Royal Proclamation. This law limited the expansion of colonies by imposing a western boundary line (along the Appalachian Mountains). Only British Crown forces could trade, acquire land, and conduct other business in the ‘Indian Territories’. This act, which also recognized Indigenous sovereignty to land, served to limit some Indigenous resistance. At the time, the British were faced with an insurgency led by Pontiac, with an alliance of Ottawas, Algonquins, Wyandots, and others. They had captured 9 of 12 British forts and laid siege to Detroit for 6 months.

    New taxes & the 1763 Royal Proclamation angered many settlers in the 13 original colonies, especially their exclusion from gaining more land. Real estate had become a huge business, with settlers taking land by violent conquest and selling it or growing cash crops such as tobacco. In response, they organized an armed revolt against the British in order to establish an independent Euro-American empire.

    Settler Revolts in the Americas

    The Euro-American Revolution of 1775-83 was the first in a series of settler independence revolts in the Americas. Unrestrained by British colonial policy, the new USA began a rapid military expansion westward, killing, enslaving, or relocating Indigenous peoples. At the same time, tens of thousands of European immigrants were brought in. Despite this, it would take over 100 years for Indigenous resistance to be defeated by US forces.

    In the early 1800s, inspired by the ‘American Revolution’, settler revolutions occurred throughout South & Central America, with new independent nation-states being created (i.e., Bolivia, Chile, Peru, etc.). Although these movements kicked out European colonial powers, they did not liberate the Indigenous peoples. Instead, it was the immigrant European elites & their descendents who assumed power. We do not refer to these as examples of anti-colonial resistance.

    By the late 1800s, these settler governments began to take out huge loans from European banks. These loans were used to build roads, railways, dams, ports, etc., in order to better exploit the natural resources. US & European corporations became heavily involved in these countries, where they could make huge profits exploiting cheap labour, land and resources. This period established the imperial relationship between the ‘Third World’ & the Western powers, based on debt and repayment of loans.

    Afrikan Slave Revolts

    As early as 1526, Afrikan slaves had rebelled against their European ‘masters’. In some regions, such as Brazil, escaped Afrikans established liberated zones, defending them against colonial forces. In the Caribbean, Central and South America, escaped Afrikans also found sanctuary among Indigenous peoples.

    During the ‘American Revolution’ in the US, the British offered freedom to Afrikan slaves. As many as 100,000 are believed to have abandoned the slave-plantations and to have fought with the British. Many Afrikan units continued fighting after the British defeat, others went to Canada, and those that didn’t were re-enslaved.

    While the Euro-American settler elite were planning and executing their continental expansion, Afrikan slaves in Haiti rebelled and defeated French forces in 1791. This had an alarming effect on the US, where some began to realize the dangers of having a large Afrikan slave population. In 1800, a large slave revolt occurred in Virginia. Efforts were made to reduce the numbers of slaves; in 1808, the government banned the import of new slaves.

    In 1812, settler vigilantes attacked Seminole communities in Florida in an attempt to re-capture escaped Afrikan slaves, who had gained sanctuary among the Seminole. This began the first phase of the Seminole Wars, which cost over 1,600 dead US soldiers and millions in dollars. Even after the Second Seminole War of 1835, the Seminole and their Afrikan allies remained undefeated.

    Meanwhile, slave revolts continued. By the 1820s, many cities had large numbers of Afrikans, often concentrated in certain areas. Although most were slaves, and urban slaves outnumbered those on plantations, an increasing number were also escaped slaves. They were able to find sanctuary in large numbers. As a result, many insurrections and rebellions had their origins in urbanized slaves. By the 1830s, large numbers of these slaves were being re-located to the plantations. It was also felt that too many Afrikan slaves were being exposed to education and learning “too much” in the cities.

    By the 1850s, slavery had become a dividing policy among the southern and northern settler elites. The slavery-based plantation system of the south was now seen as retarding the interests of empire, threatening it with Afrikan revolution while limiting the growth of the northern industrial-capitalist system. What the US needed was a vast army of Euro-settlers to take and hold territory, to work in the factories & farms, to produce & consume.

    Between 1830-60, some 5 million European settlers emigrated to the US. By this time, the struggle for power between the north and south erupted into the US Civil War (1861-65). Again, freedom to New Afrikan slaves was promised, this time by the northern forces. Once again, tens of thousands escaped and joined the northern Union army. With this mass withdrawal of slave labour, further strengthening the north, and unable to compete against the economic and industrial capacity of the north to wage war, the south was defeated.

    New Afrikans in the south immediately organized to defend their freedom. Strikes and armed occupations of land occurred. The new northern government offered limited political, legal, and property rights, while attacking the most militant elements. Union soldiers also disarmed Afrikan army units, or redeployed them to the ongoing ‘Indian Wars’ on the plains.

    But these reforms were too much for southern settlers, thousands of whom joined white supremacist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan to wage a campaign of terror against blacks. Thousands of Afrikans were killed during state elections. The north withdrew its forces and allowed local settler regimes to regain power, who maintained a brutal system of apartheid until the 1950s civil rights struggles.

    Final Phase of N. American Indigenous Resistance: 1800s

    In 1812, US forces attempted to invade eastern Canada. At this time, Britain was again at war with France, and the US hoped to take advantage of this. They were repelled, however, by a small British force and an alliance of Indigenous warriors. It is generally acknowledged that, had it not been for the involvement of Indigenous peoples, the US would have been successful. This resistance was led by Tecumseh and Blackhawk, who also helped organize insurgencies against European colonial forces throughout this period.

    In 1838, US troops forced thousands of Cherokee into prison camps and then, in winter, on the Trail of Tears, a forced relocation during which one in four died. Numerous other nations were also forcibly relocated, including the Choctaws, Creeks, Shawnees, Miamis, Ottawas, Delawares, and others. Many were sent to Oklahoma.

    In 1848, the US invaded and took control of northern Mexico, including California, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Colorado and Utah. That same year, gold was discovered in California, setting off an invasion of settlers that decimated Indigenous nations in that region.

    In the 1860s, as the US Civil War raged, Indigenous nations on the plains and in the southwest continued to resist their colonization. Apache resistance, led by Cochise and Colorado, began at this time and would not end until the final capture of Geronimo, in 1886.

    In 1863, the Shoshone began attacks against invading settlers and military forces in Utah and Idaho. As well, the Dene in New Mexico and Arizona began to carry out attacks against colonists. During this time, US, British and Russian colonists were also active on the Northwest Coast. In BC, British navy gunboats were used to bomb villages, destroying houses, canoes and food supplies.

    On the plains, the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho began to wage guerrilla war against US troops and settlers. From the 1860s to ‘70s, the US Cavalry suffered numerous defeats (including the defeat of Custer, 1876) and lost several forts. By 1885, however, the last great buffalo herd was slaughtered by settlers, depriving the plains nations of their single most important source of food, shelter, clothing, etc.

    That same year, the Metis and Cree in southern Manitoba rebelled against British Canadian authorities (led by Louis Riel and Poundmaker). The British were able to use the destruction of the buffalo herds to impose control on the plains nations in Canada, forcing them to sign treaties and live on reserves.

    At the same time as these military campaigns were being carried out, diseases continued to have a devastating impact on Indigenous populations. At times, the intentional use of biological warfare was also used to destroy Indigenous resistance.

    By 1890, Indigenous peoples in both Canada and the US were militarily defeated. That year, nearly 300 unarmed men, women and children were massacred by the US Cavalry at Wounded Knee, South Dakota. At this time, the systematic assimilation of the surviving populations began, with Indigenous peoples relocated to reserves and generations of children forced into residential schools, where they were indoctrinated with European culture & ideology, language, religion, etc. Many suffered physical, mental and sexual abuse, while tens of thousands would die from diseases such as tuberculosis & influenza.

    Africa, Asia, and the Middle-East

    Although the Portuguese had begun trading and raiding along the African coasts in the mid-1400s, European colonialism on the continent remained limited for several centuries. The first attempts by Portuguese forces to invade were met with strong resistance and deadly African diseases. The main concerns for Europeans were economic trade and securing slaves for the colonization of the Americas. In North Africa, Europeans were limited by the presence of large and equally powerful Islamic civilizations. Despite the crusades of the 10th-12th centuries, Europe was unable to invade and conquer these empires.

    Until the mid-1800s, most of the African interior remained unmapped and unknown. It was referred to as the ‘Dark Continent’, a land of black ‘savages’ and deadly diseases. At this time, new antibiotics were developed and more European explorers began to penetrate beyond the coastlines into the heart of Africa. Here they encountered nations already depopulated and weakened after centuries of the slave trade. Europeans were also armed with far more deadlier firearms, cannons, etc. As a result, a new phase of European colonialism began. As in the Americas, millions of Indigenous Afrikans were killed and enslaved, while European nations looted and plundered the natural resources.

    By this time, colonization in both North America and Africa were at similar stages. In 1876, the Lakota, led by Crazy Horse and others, destroyed Custer and the 7th Cavalry. In 1879, Zulu warriors completely destroyed British forces at the Battle of Isandhlwana. Likewise, by the 1890s, machine guns were used to massacre men, women & children, both in N. America and the African Congo.

    In the 1920s, as a result of World War 1, the Ottoman Empire was weakened. This empire held together the Arab Islamic civilizations of the Middle-East. During the war, the Ottoman rulers had sided with Germany. Following their defeat, the Mid-East was divided up between the Western powers, especially Britain and France. They took control of countries such as Iraq, Iran, etc., as well as their oil and gas resources.

    In Asia, Spanish and Portuguese forces had conducted extensive recon missions during the 1400s, establishing trade with the Chinese and other Asian empires. Here again, in the face of an equally powerful civilization, the Europeans were unable to simply invade and occupy (with the exception of islands such as the Philippines, invaded in 1565 by the Spanish). While Europeans were able to take control of international trade in Asia during the 16th & 17th centuries, it was not until the mid-1800s that many Asian nations came to be controlled by Europeans (primarily the French & British, including India, Burma, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, etc.).

    World War & The Rise of the USA

    By the early 1900s, virtually the entire world was divided up between the (primarily) European & US empires. The final phase of this occurred in Africa, where the Europeans divided up the continent among themselves. After this, there were no new lands to invade & colonize. Having taken possession of the world’s peoples and lands, the imperialists turned against one another (as they had for centuries). World War 1 was the inevitable result of this power struggle for global domination.

    While Western Europe was devastated from 1914-18, with as many as 20 million killed, the US remained largely untouched. Although there was widespread repression inside the US, including mass arrests and deportations of tens of thousands of European immigrants labeled ‘subversives’, the US did not suffer any combat on its own soil. Entering the war only in 1917, the US emerged in a stronger economic and military position than the Europeans.

    As a result of the war and forced industrial production (under Martial Law), the US economy expanded. The post-war economic ‘boom’ of the ‘Roaring Twenties’ ended in 1929 with the collapse of the stock markets and the beginning of the Great Depression. The party was over. Seen as the result of over-production, this economic crisis forced tens of millions around the world into unemployment, poverty, and starvation.

    In response to this crisis, and the threat of communist revolution (i.e., the Russian Revolution of 1917), many Western governments resorted to police repression and, in the case of Italy, Germany and Spain, fascism. Nazi Germany, established in 1933, was funded and supported by many businessmen and politicians in the US. By 1939, Germany had invaded neighboring countries including Austria and Poland. This aggression was used as a pretext for World War 2.

    Portrayed as a war to end fascism, WW 2 was in reality a result of the unresolved power struggle that had initiated the First World War. While Western Europe and Asia were devastated by the war, once again the US emerged unscathed and strengthened. At the same time, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) extended its control over Eastern Europe. As a result, the world was divided into two major blocs: the capitalist West and the communist East.

    WW2 and UN ‘Decolonization’

    As a result of the destruction of World War 2, former European empires were unable to maintain direct control of their colonies as new anti-colonial movements emerged in Africa and Asia. Many of these struggles were the result of power struggles between the US and the USSR during the ‘Cold War’. Decolonization was also promoted by the US as a means of further undermining W. European states and extending US imperialism.

    The result was an explosion of anti-colonial insurgencies in Africa and Asia, wars of liberation that succeeded in forcing out European powers. Some of the hardest fought battles were those of Algeria, Vietnam, Mozambique, Kenya, and Rhodesia/Zimbabwe. This period of anti-colonial war extended from the 1950s into the mid-70s.

    As a part of this, the United Nations was used to assimilate these new independent nation-states into the global system (based on rhetoric of peace & human rights). The UN, it should be noted, was itself set up by the US in the aftermath of WW2 to impose just such a system. The US also provided funding and built the UN headquarters in New York City.

    At the same time, the US also established the International Monetary Fund & World Bank. Along with the UN, these groups were used to reconstruct the global system after the war. The main beneficiaries were US corporations. The post-WW2 period is often remembered as a US ‘Golden Age’ of US prosperity and stability.

    Since its establishment, the UN has served as a convenient cover for Western imperialism, giving legal & moral sanction to ongoing colonial invasions (including Korea and Vietnam Wars, the Congo, Iraq in 1991, Somalia, Haiti, Afghanistan, etc.). These are termed ‘peacekeeping’ or ‘humanitarian’ missions, although their primary purpose is to maintain or re-impose Western control.

    After gaining independence, many colonies remained dependent on the western economic system (a legacy of colonialism, including large-scale export of agriculture, petroleum, & minerals). Decolonization, in fact, served to open up these former colonies for penetration by US-based corporations. Others became dependent on the USSR for industrialization & modernization of military forces. Overall, decolonization did not fundamentally alter the imperialist relationship between the Western nations & Africa and Asia.

    Vietnam and US Domestic Rebellion

    Vietnam was first colonized by the French in the mid-1800s. After WW2, anti-colonial resistance to the French in Vietnam increased. By 1954, Vietnamese guerrillas had defeated the French during the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. The US, which had begun aiding the French in the early ‘50s, began increasing its involvement. At the same time, the UN partitioned the country in half. The north was controlled by the Vietnamese communists, while the south remained a puppet regime for the US.

    As Vietnamese resistance to foreign occupation continued in the south, more US forces became involved. At first, a handful of Special Forces were sent in to train & organize anti-guerrilla forces. By 1968, over 500,000 US troops were in Vietnam.

    At this time, resistance movements had emerged around the world, inspired by the anti-colonial wars of the time. One of the most influential was that of the Vietnamese, which created a climate of insurgency & rebellion. Inside the US itself, movements such as the Black Panthers, Puerto Ricans, Chicanos, Indigenous, student, women’s, gay & lesbian, and others began. These were also part of a broader, multinational anti-war movement.

    During the same period, large-scale urban riots occurred, primarily by blacks, during which National Guard troops were deployed to maintain order. Many civilians were killed, and tens of millions of dollars in damage inflicted. In response to these increasing revolts and organized resistance, the FBI intensified its domestic counter-insurgency campaign (the Counter-Intelligence Program (COINTEL-PRO). Many movement organizers were killed, imprisoned, assaulted, etc.

    Meanwhile, US forces in Vietnam became increasingly demoralized. Many citizens & soldiers alike began to question the purpose of the war. Insubordination and drug use became common among US combat forces, with entire units refusing to fight, or avoiding combat. Commanders became the target of ‘fraggings’ (a term that arose from the practice of using grenades to kill or wound commanders seen as dangerous or reckless).

    Many combat veterans returned from the war, traumatized but also angered and disillusioned with their country. Some became involved in resistance movements and added their combat skills & experience to these. By the early ‘70s, in the face of lethal repression, urban guerrilla groups had formed in the US, including the Black Liberation Movement, Puerto Rican independistas, and white anti-imperialists. These and many other groups carried out bombings, arsons and armed attacks against police, throughout the country. In 1973, the 71-day siege at Wounded Knee, S. Dakota, occurred.

    Faced with growing internal revolts, and mounting casualties (as many as 50,000 dead), from an increasingly unpopular war, the US had retreated from Vietnam by 1974. This domestic unrest, and the refusal by large segments of the population to support wars of this nature, has been termed the ‘Vietnam Syndrome’.

    The New World Order

    The term ‘New World Order’ was first used by US President George Bush Sr. in 1990, as the US prepared to invade Iraq. This ‘new order’ was the result of the collapse of the USSR and, with it, the entire communist East Bloc. With the demise of the USSR, the US emerged as the dominant global power, the strongest economic & military force in the world.

    With the threat of Soviet reprisal now removed, the US invaded Iraq in 1991, severely damaging Iraq’s military and infrastructure. As many as 200,000 civilians are estimated to have been killed. A UN embargo was then placed on Iraq, limiting imports of food, medical supplies, and equipment necessary to rebuild. The UN also set quotas for Iraqi oil production, continuing the export of oil in exchange for food imports. US/UN forces also established bases around Iraq and carried out systematic bombing campaigns, including cruise missile strikes.

    War for Oil & Global Domination

    The US/UN siege of Iraq continued until 2003, when the US again invaded. The invasion of Iraq is part of a larger US strategy to take direct control of Mid-East oil, part of its plans for global domination. One official described it as a “stupendous source of strategic power and one of the greatest prizes in world history.”

    US involvement in the Mid-East increased after WW2, following the retreat of primarily British and French forces during the period of ‘decolonization’. Corporations such as Exxon, Gulf Oil, Standard, and Texaco moved in. Israel (established in 1948 through Zionist war & terror) is a vital part of overall US control, serving as a US fortress and a source of instability in the region. Other Arab countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt, are the largest recipients of US military & economic aid in the world.

    Planning and preparation for direct US invasion of the Mid-East began in 1973, during the ‘Oil Crisis’ when Mid-East Arab nations cut oil supplies in protest of US-Israeli military aggression in the region. Following this, US military forces began extensive training & preparation for desert warfare.

    In 1979, an Islamic Revolution in Iran overthrew the US-backed dictator (the Shah) and cut off a valuable source of cheap oil to the US. Demonstrators stormed the US embassy and took over 50 Americans hostage. The hostage ordeal was a humiliating and frustrating event for the US, which appeared impotent and helpless. In 1980, an attempted hostage-rescue ended in disaster when US special forces crashed in the Iranian desert (the hostages were released in 1981).

    In 1980, as Saddam Hussein gained power, the US used Iraq to attack Iran. The war lasted until 1988, with two million Iraq & Iranian dead. Western nations, such as the US, Britain and France, supplied arms to both sides, despite widespread atrocities and the use of chemical weapons during the conflict. As the war ended, the US Navy ‘accidentally’ shot down a civilian Iranian jet, killing nearly 300 passengers.

    The Iranian Revolution was a great concern to the US, and it quickly moved to expand its control. In 1980, the US established a Rapid Deployment Force, prepared for short-notice invasion of the Middle-East. From 1980-83, new bases were built in Saudi Arabia & Oman. In 1981, Bright Star annual training exercises began in the Mid-East.

    In 1982, nearly 250 US Marines were killed in a truck bombing in Beirut, Lebanon. The marines were part of a UN ‘peacekeeping’ mission to maintain control of Lebanon. After the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan in 1989, the US became an increasing target for Islamic militant groups. It is now common knowledge that these groups had initially been trained, funded, and armed by the CIA during the Soviet war in Afghanistan (including al-Qaeda).

    As a result of the September 11, 2001 attacks against the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, the US declared its ‘War on Terror’, beginning with the military invasion and (ongoing) occupation of Afghanistan. In 2003, the US invaded Iraq, using the pretext of weapons of mass destruction (none were found). Three years later (2006) the US occupation of Afghanistan & Iraq continues (with Iran in between, part of the ‘axis of evil’ targeted by Bush, including Syria & N. Korea).

    In Iraq, the US faces an organized and expanding insurgency, while in the US itself a growing number of people are becoming increasingly disillusioned with the war altogether. From its origins in ancient Mesopotamia, the Western imperial system has now gone full circle, invading and destroying Iraq, the homeland of Babylon itself.
     
  17. FAT b

    FAT b Member New Member


    5

    0

    0

    Feb 24, 2011
     
    ITS NOT GOING TO HELP TILL WE OUST ALL THE RIGHTWING PIGS {DEM./REP./LEFT./GREEN./AND SOOM INDY.}
    WE NEED WORKERS IN THE GOV. NOT TRAIND PAPER PUPETS THEN AND ONLY THEN WILL WE SEE A DIFF!!!!
     
  18. butcher

    butcher Experienced Member Uploader Experienced member Forum Member


    2,118

    2

    18

    Sep 8, 2009
     
    SPEAK UP A BIT, I CAN'T HEAR YOU
     
  19. snookams

    snookams Experienced Member Experienced member Forum Member


    438

    1

    4

    Feb 7, 2010
     
    wait...what?
     
  20. JackNegativity

    JackNegativity Experienced Member Uploader Experienced member Forum Member


    885

    1

    28

    Nov 9, 2010
     
    Fuck a government.
     
Loading...