Today's at-work-light-conversation went thusly: from cigars, to throat cancer to Ulysses S. Grant and alcoholism, to nineteenth century medical technology to when was the best time to be a white American (since it's never been good to be a black American)to the question of which ethnic group or nationality has been the most screwed over the course of history, to the final and long considered question of which ethnic group or nationality has done the most screwing (the metaphorical bad kind) over the course of history. Here then are some of the points brought up in consideration of this topic.
1.) The Good Ole U.S. of A.: While we don't exactly have a clean record on this account I (unlike many on the Left of the political spectrum-- think Ward Churchill) don't think we deserve any special award for going above and beyond on the evil bastard scale. (And here a caveat-- while we're certainly not the font of all evil, neither are we the do no wrong, purely innocent chosen people of God that many on the Right would have you believe). Of course, there is slavery, the virtual extermination of the Native Americans and their culture, foreign military adventures on behalf of corporations, and the support of autocratic (to put it kindly) regimes the world over, but in the final analysis, we still don't make the ranks of the very worst of the worst. Though, check back in a few years, because lately, we've been working overtime.
2.) China: Cultural Revolution anyone? Remember, good oppression begins at home, and the Chinese Communist Party are world class oppressors. Millions dead from starvation and government violence over the course of just a few short years. Also, let us not forget Tibet, Tianmen Square, and all that support for North Korea over the years.
3.) Russia: The Russians may actually get my vote. From the czarist expansion into Central Asia, to Stalin's purges, the horrors of collectivization and the brutal occupation and oppression of Eastern Europe after World War II, the Russians have really set the bar high when it comes to being bastards. But, lest we forget...
4.) Germany: Really, do I need to go into detail on this one? The evils of Nazism are so burned into our popular conciousness that to say anything else is to really belabor the point. While the Holocaust does deserve special attention for a variety of factors (it's cold-blooded industrial nature for one), it is also important to remember that genocide is not the exclusive province of Germany. Just ask an Armenian.
5.) The British: Colonialism anyone? If the natives get a little unruly strap a few to the muzzle of a cannon and fire away-- that'll show the buggers. And remember, before there was a USA the Atlantic slave trade was in full gear, shipping human beings to plantations all across the Caribbean and the Southern colonies. (It should also be noted that most of this can also be said for the Dutch, the Portugese, the French, and every other imperial wannabe in Europe.)
6.) Spain: Nobody does religious intolerance like the Spanish. Woe to the Jew or Muslim left in Iberia after 1492. Moving right along to the Inquisition, the brutal conquest of Latin America (which is what made it Latin America), to the triumph of fascism in the ugly Spanish Civil War, well,... you get the picture.
7.) Belgium: Yes, Belgium. Though a true small-fry in the worldwide game of conquest and oppression, the Belgians deserve special mention for the utter destruction they wrought on a single country: Zaire, or as it was at the time, the Belgian Congo. Nasty, nasty stuff.
8.)Japan: The Rape of Nanking. Comfort Women. Babies + Bayonets = Japanese soldiers out for a night on the town. Racism that would make an Alabama Republican take notice.
And this list could go on and on and on. But what's the point? Maybe that we're all just a bunch of bastards. Of course, this is just a discussion of the crappy, evil side of history and doesn't take into account all of the good things each of these cultures has done for humanity. But I don't have the time to go into any more detail, so there it is. Your bit of cheeriness for today.
note: this post was actually started about a week ago, but I just didn't have time to get back to it.
8 comments:
Wow. that's a discussion. You say this was with your co-workers, which is impressive. We usually just talk about boring things at AN. I hope this sort of discussion, and the hope of more similar ones, somehow lessens your bad times at work. :)
That was a good conversation. Funny, I was going to post it on my blog but I never got around to it.
Also, you forgot to mention how the British were the original drug cartel and virtually destroyed East Asia, that was in there too. The Dutch should definitely be up there as well (slave trade, Rwanda, Etc.). I am however glad that you included Belgium, that’s an easy one to forget.
I still have to give my vote to Spain, although you made a good point about Russia. The Chinese Cultural Revolution also has high marks, especially to someone who started out pursuing a Chinese history degree.
Well, Scott, this is the sort of thing that happens when you have two history majors working together on the same shift. That is when we can get away from discussing the finer points of The Colbert Report, The Office, and various computer games and components.
I'm kinda disappointed at the lack of replies to this post, I was hoping to continue this conversation.
I don't know that I could pick a worst, I just know that humans are capable of great evil and there is an endless supply of evidence. Of course, we are also capable of great good. And I don't mean some people are evil and some are good, I mean everyone has/does both. Gotta run to lunch, but I'll add more later.
The idea that normal people could be capable of such evil is very fascinating. Take WWII Germany for example. Many Nazi soldiers who committed terrible atrocities were seemingly normal people who got swept up in their time and place; discovering that they could perform extreme acts that they never dreamed of before the war. I have a professor who just published a book on a subject along this line titled " Ordinary Germans in Extraordinary Times: The Nazi Revolution in Hildesheim". No villainous, dehumanized Nazi’s like in the movies but rather real people.
I would also recommend Christopher Browning's "Ordinary Men" about a German Reserve Police Battalion and it's role in the Holocaust.
That is a good book; my historiography class was actually talking about it last night. The teacher is a Holocaust historian after all. One day you're a street cop, the next you are an exterminator.
Post a Comment