"Africa's Greatest Civilizations"
To Barb Russell / Facebook / 1021-06-21
In the PBS series, "Africa's Greatest Civilizations," host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. points out that all modern humans descended from Africans. As an amateur anthropologist, I know of most of the discovers that have led to this conclusion.
That would mean that all the slavery and all the racism we see, whether now or in the past, came from Africans.
I don’t say that as an indictment, but to point out the fact that hatred is a human problem and not confined to a single group.
In that respect, in order for bigotry to be successfully mitigated, it must be confronted straight-across-the-board, and not just when it serves a political purpose.
It is because of that political purpose, that we haven’t as of yet achieved Martin Luther King Jr.s Dream.
In his documentary, Gates among other things, discusses the various slave centers in North, Western. and East Africa - again not in terms of condemnation and guilt, but of recognizing that this was the way things were at the times.
From articles I’ve read, slavery was even worse in China and India, and Europeans had nothing to do with that.
From a psychological viewpoint, the main purpose of political blame is to take the spotlight off oneself and cast it on another, so as to draw the onus of guilt away from one’s own failings . It’s essentially projection, along with a host of other psychological defense mechanisms that we use to hide the truth from ourselves.
I believe I’ve mentioned that Orwell’s “Notes On Nationalism.” I feel it’s one of the best examinations of hate.
That would mean that all the slavery and all the racism we see, whether now or in the past, came from Africans.
I don’t say that as an indictment, but to point out the fact that hatred is a human problem and not confined to a single group.
In that respect, in order for bigotry to be successfully mitigated, it must be confronted straight-across-the-board, and not just when it serves a political purpose.
It is because of that political purpose, that we haven’t as of yet achieved Martin Luther King Jr.s Dream.
In his documentary, Gates among other things, discusses the various slave centers in North, Western. and East Africa - again not in terms of condemnation and guilt, but of recognizing that this was the way things were at the times.
From articles I’ve read, slavery was even worse in China and India, and Europeans had nothing to do with that.
From a psychological viewpoint, the main purpose of political blame is to take the spotlight off oneself and cast it on another, so as to draw the onus of guilt away from one’s own failings . It’s essentially projection, along with a host of other psychological defense mechanisms that we use to hide the truth from ourselves.
I believe I’ve mentioned that Orwell’s “Notes On Nationalism.” I feel it’s one of the best examinations of hate.