>From my brief exposure to American history, I seem to recall that the current American Indian was not the first inhabitant of North America. The story as I remember it, was that when the current Indians came to NA, they found indigenous peoples and anhillated them. A small remnant of this population supposedly outran their pursuers and made their way to an island somewhere off the south coast of Argentina. When the white people came to NA they did virtually the same thing but with different consequences.
I don't agree with how the American Indian has been treated, but if my history is correct, I would have to say that what goes around comes around in regards to this situation, but I am not fully aware of the facts. An unfortunate fact about human history is that the strongest, and usually the most ruthless, survive, while peaceful and progressive societies such as the Inca, get destroyed. It's a shame, but I cannot foresee a day when society becomes colour blind or enthnically ambiguous ;-[ On Jul 28, 12:06 am, Don Johnson <[email protected]> wrote: > I think you are both right. It's the genetic/environment debate all > over again. Our instinct is to distrust the different; fear the > unknown. In several dialects of the American Indians the word for > 'stranger' was the same as for 'enemy.' However, the tribes that > overcame this prejudice and recognized that the European conquerors > weren't going away and couldn't all be killed lasted the longest. It > really is sad how badly we as a country ended up treating these > Nations. The Cherokee(of which I'm a descendant) and Iroquois come to > mind. The more militant tribes like the Comanche and Apache have > pretty much been wiped out. > > Your example of kids not being racist is a good one. There was a > documentary done years ago interviewing and intermingling > Palestinian/Muslim kids with Israeli/Jewish kids. All done with > permission from parents of course. They were good buddies while kids > but when interviewed years later as young adults they both sang a > different tune. Affected, of course, by the environment they were > raised in. > > Speaking of race it probably deserves it's own thread but many people > refuse to talk about it for fear of being labeled racist. In today's > world it is a huge insult. The threat of being seen as 'racist' has > become a weapon wielded ever more frequently by some. It really seems > ironic to me in many ways because policies such as affirmative action > seem to assume that certain minorities are incapable of achieving > without preferential treatment. So just because they are Latino or > Black or women they are somehow less able to succeed. I find this > horribly condescending and see no evidence of this stereo-typing in > the real world I live in. I agree it is different for women but not > necessarily more difficult. There are advantages along with the > disadvantages. > > Of course, not being a minority, I really don't know their > difficulties. I base my opinion on what I see. When I read about > hardships certain minorities find themselves in it's almost always > easy for me too see how they SHOULD have acted or prepared to bring > about a better result. Sadly, in too many cases, they are seen as a > victim and rather then them changing their MO they spend their energy > crying racism. This hardly seems beneficial. That's my two cents > anyway. > > dj > > > > On Mon, Jul 27, 2009 at 7:47 AM, deripsni<[email protected]> wrote: > > > I believe most people are racist because of environmental conditioning > > rather than something inherent. Black and white children have no > > problem playing with each other, until they are torn from their > > unbiased existance and injected into a racial one. I love instinct, > > and I guess I was reflecting that the requirements to use them seem to > > have dimminished as we become more advanced as a society. > > > In my life, most events have been predictable, or at least > > foreseeable. Most of my reactions are based on human conditioning > > factors rather than pure instinct, implemented as it is in the face of > > something entirely new. Sure this happens, but many potential events, > > such as getting mugged, have been considered and therefore some pre- > > determined plan of action is considered. Media saturation has removed > > a lot of the shock value that many would normally feel when witnessing > > something threatening or bizarre for the first time. Today, all one > > has to do is turn on CNN to review a wide range of horrific and > > outlandish events that we need to somehow prepare for, or at least > > accept in some way. > > > Nonetheless, viva istinto! > > > On Jul 27, 7:27 am, "[email protected]" <[email protected]> > > wrote: > >> Loads there are loads of them. > > >> It is instinctive to be racist. That is it is normal to fear thoes > >> fellow from the other valley with their weird ways and be on guard > >> whenever you encounter them. > > >> All good stuff, perhaps 500 -600 hundered years ago, nowadays not of > >> much use, and should certianly be done away with. And yet, well we > >> still have them out there, and when you listen to their concerns(read > >> excuses) you'll see that they are not reasonable. > > >> People that are racist are not reasonble, thier thoughts re: those > >> fellows from the other valley, are purely instincive ones. > > >> On 27 July, 12:04, deripsni <[email protected]> wrote: > > >> > I accept your opinion but could you give me an example of a common use > >> > of instinct by humans? > > >> > On Jul 27, 6:50 am, "[email protected]" <[email protected]> > >> > wrote: > > >> > > Opps don't know what happend there but I'll try again. > > >> > > I would say tha the opposite is true, that the majority of us act not > >> > > on reasonable well thought out grounds but on instinct. > > >> > > On 26 July, 13:54, deripsni <[email protected]> wrote: > > >> > > > I enjoy instinct for sure, and think of it as an inherent human > >> > > > attribute that is not used any where near to the extent of its > >> > > > capabilities. The molding of our lives through strict admonition & > >> > > > pre- > >> > > > determined activity, combined with a visual bombastment of stimulii, > >> > > > has led to an existance mostly void of instinctive requirements. > >> > > > Smart > >> > > > aren't we? > > >> > > > On Jul 26, 8:46 am, deripsni <[email protected]> wrote: > > >> > > > > Mind if I check your incisors before I accept that handman job? > > >> > > > > On Jul 26, 8:23 am, rigsy03 <[email protected]> wrote: > > >> > > > > > Excellent! The instinctual approach to life makes it all worth > >> > > > > > while- > >> > > > > > unobstructed by regimens, locked-up thoughts, dead > >> > > > > > relationships, etc. > >> > > > > > Both science and the arts have high expectations and their > >> > > > > > followers > >> > > > > > can be- but not always- quite stuffy and boring- each group > >> > > > > > maintaining order by agreeing with one another on matters of > >> > > > > > procedure, taste, etc.//I always warn a new dentist that I bit > >> > > > > > the > >> > > > > > finger of my dentist quite hard when I was 15- it didn't draw > >> > > > > > blood, > >> > > > > > however! :-) > > >> > > > > > On Jul 26, 6:13 am, deripsni <[email protected]> wrote: > > >> > > > > > > Do we need to "settle" all issues? I do not know how I get > >> > > > > > > goosebumps > >> > > > > > > from a mere thought, but does that mean I should not relate > >> > > > > > > the event > >> > > > > > > that led to the little critters spreading like army ants up my > >> > > > > > > back > >> > > > > > > and down my arms and legs? The cause of the event may be a > >> > > > > > > nature > >> > > > > > > rush, the sharing of love, or some other spine tingling > >> > > > > > > emotional > >> > > > > > > occurance. Although many debates are "science versus religion" > >> > > > > > > where > >> > > > > > > finding the 'truth' is the holy grail, I feel our main goal as > >> > > > > > > human > >> > > > > > > ants should be emotional bliss. Expressions of Joy have their > >> > > > > > > own > >> > > > > > > language. They don't require ratification, explanation, or > >> > > > > > > resolution, > >> > > > > > > and ants are not invited. > > >> > > > > > > Ants are the perfect example of evolution with it's head on > >> > > > > > > straight. > >> > > > > > > The problem is, an ants head is used for collecting and eating > >> > > > > > > food, > >> > > > > > > PERIOD. Ants activity is instinctive, as you have pointed out. > >> > > > > > > Would > >> > > > > > > you trade in your imagination and joy of conversing for the > >> > > > > > > sake of > >> > > > > > > it, for a perfectly organized and structured society where you > >> > > > > > > have > >> > > > > > > one defined role? When you build your cities there would be no > >> > > > > > > need > >> > > > > > > for pools, playgrounds, or psychiatrists? I'd take the > >> > > > > > > disorganized > >> > > > > > > rubble of human life, with all of its ups and downs, over the > >> > > > > > > predictable repetition of ant life. Of course, there is always > >> > > > > > > the > >> > > > > > > dentists office that makes one wish that they were born an > >> > > > > > > ant. ;-] > > >> > > > > > > On Jul 25, 12:09 pm, archytas <[email protected]> wrote: > > >> > > > > > > > In a study released online on July 22 in the journal > >> > > > > > > > Proceedings of > >> > > > > > > > the Royal Society: Biological Sciences, researchers at > >> > > > > > > > Arizona State > >> > > > > > > > University and Princeton University show that ants can > >> > > > > > > > accomplish a > >> > > > > > > > task more rationally than our – multimodal, egg-headed, > >> > > > > > > > tool-using, > >> > > > > > > > bipedal, opposing-thumbed – selves. The key in this > >> > > > > > > > 'rationality' is > >> > > > > > > > that ants don't know much and thus achieve rather speedy > >> > > > > > > > collective > >> > > > > > > > decisions. We distract ourselves with all kinds of dross > >> > > > > > > > like > >> > > > > > > > religion outside science and endlessly discuss irrelevance in > >> > > > > > > > rationalisation long after we have decided to ignore > >> > > > > > > > evidence that > >> > > > > > > > doesn't suit us. In the science versus religion debates we > >> > > > > > > > should > >> > > > > > > > have noticed long ago that some people make money out of the > >> > > > > > > > activity > >> > > > > > > > and that if we engaged ourselves in creating peaceful > >> > > > > > > > societies > >> > > > > > > > something else would matter rather than talking about stuff > >> > > > > > > > we can't > >> > > > > > > > settle. > > >> > > > > > > > On 25 July, 15:09, deripsni <[email protected]> wrote: > > >> > > > > > > > > No spirit energy then? > > >> > > > > > > > > On Jul 24, 3:42 am, Don Johnson <[email protected]> wrote: > > >> > > > > > > > > > I'd say we are worm food but I learned from watching CSI > >> > > > > > > > > > it is more > >> > > > > > > > > > accurate to say we are beetle food. That show used to > >> > > > > > > > > > be pretty good. > > >> > > > > > > > > > dj > > >> > > > > > > > > > On Thu, Jul 23, 2009 at 1:39 PM, <[email protected]> > >> > > > > > > > > > wrote: > >> > > > > > > > > > > There is Science ad Culture. But, as you believe in > >> > > > > > > > > > > only one or the other, > >> > > > > > > > > > > every culture has the belief of a higher being, that > >> > > > > > > > > > > is unless you believe > >> > > > > > > > > > > nothing, and we return to dust or whatever. I'm > >> > > > > > > > > > > simply saying, there used > >> > > > > > > > > > > to be a very big division in what scientists and the > >> > > > > > > > > > > "religious" (don't like > >> > > > > > > > > > > that word, > > ... > > read more »- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. 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