Colonization - Tumblr Posts
Theodore Herlz, father of Political Zionism: Yeah, it's colonial
Ber Borochov, father of Labour Zionism: Yeah, it's colonial
Ze'ev Jabotinsky, father of Revisionist Zionism: Yeah, it's colonial
David Ben Gurion, founding father of the Settler state: Yeah, it's colonial
Small bean fandom Zionist: Umm, lol, it's literally not colonial???
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Thank you to everyone helping!
Quick rant about African homophobia but the fact that white people will really say "ooh X country hates gay people, they're so backward and barbaric" is incredibly insulting.
As far as Africa is concerned, homophobia can't be disconnected from Christian colonizers. The erasure of queer history can be tied to them and has led to some of the most radical shifts toward homosexuality I've ever seen.
Take Uganda, everyone's favourite homphobic punching bag. Few would believe that Uganda had a gay king. If you've only heard of Kabaka Mwanga through European writings you would believe that he was gay (which the Europeans claimed he gained from the barbaric Arabs) However, some modern Ugandan scholars believe he was bi as he slept with his wives and male pages. The missionaries used this narrative to claim he was possessed by demons leading him to burn Christian martyrs.
While the killing of the martyrs was obviously wrong, the British used his sexuality to undermine his power and colonize Uganda. ( This was around the same time Oscar Wilde was put on trial ) This is just one example of the British weaponising homophobia as they spread it throughout Uganda.
Other examples include the erasure of lesbian marriage in certain tribes and the condemning of male wives and female husbands (given my lack of resources on them, I can't say they were trans but they certainly didn't fit the mold that colonialism forced on them) The fact is that modern homophobia in Africa can be traced back to colonialism and Christianity.
While this does not mean Africa was a woke™ haven, it does show how insidious remarks about it's homophobia can be. With the knowledge that these attitudes have been stoked throughout the past two centuries, it becomes easier to divorce African identity and homophobia. This goes against the stereotype that non-white communities are socially regressive, often having sexist/homophobic structures.
This doesn't absolve any Africans of their homophobia but rather seeks to explain some of it and add nuance to the discussion of LGBT rights in Africa.
TLDR: Colonization erased queer history in Africa. this doesn't absolve Africa of its homophobia but it's necessary to understand the role of colonization in it
when my name was keoko
ahhhh hello hello (not me coming back from the dead to talk about a novel of all things) but i just wanted to get this post out first before giving myself time to breath and enter the social media world again haha.
i think i spent the last few months researching about korea, its history, and just the folklore surrounding the culture. and there's just one book i stumbled on that i thought i had to talk about: when my name was keoko.
set in Korea during Japanese colonization and WWII, this book alternates the POV between a young boy and girl, both siblings, who have not only lost their names but identities as Koreans. it's the most heartwrenching and heartwarming book you'll ever read.
and it's hard, finding a book about Korea colonized. i'm just grateful that this book exists, and I had the opportunity to read it.
so if anyone wants to check it out [and read my long ass grateful/sappy review] go right ahead!
i'm just grateful for this book for existing.
if you don't know, Korea has been colonized by Japan for years, decades even. as a Korean American, there's barely any readings (much less teachings unless you search for them) on this topic; it's also even more difficult to find a novel based on the context of this era.
this era is so, so, important. it is the cause of the strained relationship between the two countries, a consequence that continues to this day. it is an era that all, and I truly mean all koreans remember. colonization has shaped us, but haunted us as well.
I come to Korea, and my grandmother remembers like it was yesterday. my mother lived through the park chung-hee era, under a dictatorship and through the march revolution. so many historical events and issues in Korea that I was never taught as an American, that I could never follow, that i was ashamed to learn.
it just shows the strength that we had. we lived through this. we found ways to fight back. we found ways to preserve our culture - our names, our language, our national symbols.
it's insightful, horrific, intriguing, heartwarming, and tear-jerking. but I'm just so grateful that somewhere out there, this book is piecing together another part of Korean history that is unheard and untold of.
Bro how the ruck do you some how hate very real life social justice cause yet somehow try to claim Adam was rights for wanting to take more radical action towards fighting systemic in oppression lmao, frankly I shouldn’t be giving you the attention you so obviously crave
First of all, we all crave attention. The only difference is that I don't post behind the 'anonymous' tag.
Second of all, I 'hate' certain social justice causes because those causes are flawed. For example, Natives hate colonialism but happily take advantage of its benefits. Natives claim that colonists eradicated local culture but it does not occur to them that, maybe, hot water and agriculture are better than scalping and getting cholera from one bad bathe in the river.
However, I am cynical enough to recognize that whatever the cause one supports, radical action is the only true method of revolution.
Ultimately:
Unrelated to world building but encapsulating all the above, the very concept of religion—what most people typically conceptualize when they think of this word (won’t say all bc I don’t exist in anyone’s head but my own, but this concept of “religion” is pervasive globally due in large part to Christian missionary activity)—
is a conservative, Victorian, white, academic framework, and when we use the term “religion” to discuss any spiritual practice or experience, we are casting that framework and colonizing unique cultural perspectives and experiences with white Victorian academic principles in order to discuss it. This was done specifically to be able to analyze different beliefs, practices, rituals, experiences, and meanings, on those terms and as such, is a domineering and oppressive way to discuss spirituality, belief, and frameworks of reality outside of white Victorian academic principles.
@learnedfoote on X generously shares and discusses his research on this.
the thing folks living in Christian dominant cultures gotta realize is that even if you’re not Christian, your basic understanding of religion and spirituality and morality is still being filtered through a Christian lens. your very concept of what religion is and does is filtered through that lens.
"What's something you think of when you think *insert state/developed english speaking country other than Britain*?"
"*random thing*"
"What's something you think of when you think of Hawaii?"
"Colonialism"
fifteenfathomscounted: I get that Native Americans are upset, I get it. That being said, this country would NOT be what it is today if the actions of our past were not taken
bitterbitchclubpresident: What do you mean by that
kingjaffejoffer: They mean that Native Americans should feel grateful that 90% of their population was exterminated because the remaining 10% get to live in poverty on reservations while everyone else gets to enjoy Starbucks and Amazon Prime and pretend our military isn’t terrorizing the rest of the world so we can live in a protective bubble of ignorance.
In Vancouver, a Catholic Church was defaced in direct response to the discovery of the mass grave at the Kamloops Indian Residential School. Graffiti demanding that the church “Release the Records” called out the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, who both operate the church and operated the Kamloops Indian Residential School, as well as almost half of all residential schools across Canada.
In Six Nations territory, it was the Anglican Church who operated the Mohawk Institute Residential School from 1831-1970. On June 12, a suspected arson significantly damaged an Anglican church on the territory. While no one has publicly claimed the action, many community members assumed that the attack was connected the current scrutiny of churches and their role in residential schools.
- Canadian Tire Fire #3
Non-native fishermen have destroyed and stolen thousands of dollars worth of fishing equipment owned by fishermen of Sipekne'katik First Nation. (You know I’d really like to know where are all the people crying over how vandalism in protest might as well be cold-blooded murder now.) This comes in addition to forming blockades and threatening to ram boats. Businesses across the province are denying services to Mi’kmaq in support of these terrorizing acts. Online, people are sharing horrible threats. It is blatant racist violence and discrimination, and the fishermen/media continues to call our people the lawbreakers.
“The gear that we were collecting was what was in violation of the law,“ Sproul said. "There’s nothing more to show that fishermen have the true, just, lawful position here than the fact that we conducted that activity yesterday and nobody stopped us.”
The fact that the RCMP have done jack shit to stop the non-native fishermen destroying Mi’kmaw lobster traps has painted a very clear picture. It’s the same picture that’s been hanging on the wall for centuries, and surprise surprise, flowery talk of #reconciliation doesn’t change that. And the quote above is a perfect example of how fully aware these fuckers are of their privilege.
Anyway someone should tell Sproul that a) the Mi’kmaq have the legal treaty right to hunt, fish and gather for a moderate livelihood, b) the traditional lobster season for our people is in September and October, and c) that the only people breaking the law here is his ignorant ass and his cronies.
Sharing this link again, as it is a very well compiled doc: Ways to support Sipekne’katik First Nation, and resources to educate yourself and share with others. Financial support for supplies is especially helpful right now.
Found on Facebook (Moneyless Society)
On “Dead” Cultures and Closed Spiritual Practices: Why Colonialism Is Still A Problem.
Let me start this by saying that, as far as my knowledge of Paganism and Polytheism as a whole goes, I’m what the internet witch community calls a “Baby Witch”. I’m stating this out of the gate because I know there will be lots of people, including witches who have more experience on the craft than me, who might decide to ignore what I have to say based on that fact alone, stating that I’m not knowledgeable enough to give my opinion about this.
Here’s the kicker: I’m a ‘baby witch’, yes, but I’m also a twenty-six year old Venezuelan woman. I’m an adult. I’m Latina. I’m a Christian-raised Pagan,but I’m also a Latinoamerican woman over all other things including that. I grew up on this culture, these are my roots. It is because of this background than I’m writing this post today.
Looking through the “Paganism” and “Witchcraft” tags of this website, I’ve seen a few posts throwing indigenous deities and spirits’ names around on lists alongside deties of open cultures. Yes, you can know better by doing your own research and not going by what just a random Tumblr user wrote on one post (as I hope its the case with everyone on this website), but the fact that pagan beginners are still getting fed misinformation is still worrisome to me.
There’s nothing like reading a so-called expert putting Ixchen (Maya), Xolotl (Nahuatl) and Papa Legba (Vodou) on the same damn list as Norse, Hellenic and Kemetic deities and tagging it on the tags aimed at beginners who might not know better to truly ruin your morning. I’m not mentioning user names here: If you know then you know.
To quote @the-illuminated-witch on her very good post about Cultural Appropriation:
“Cultural appropriation is a huge issue in modern witchcraft. When you have witches using white sage to “smudge” their altars, doing meditations to balance their chakras, and calling on Santa Muerte in spells, all without making any effort to understand the cultural roots of those practices, you have a serious problem.
When trying to understand cultural appropriation in witchcraft, it’s important to understand the difference between open and closed magic systems. An open system is one that is open to exchange with outsiders — both sharing ideas/practices and taking in new ones. In terms of religion, spirituality, and witchcraft, a completely open system has no restrictions on who can practice its teachings. A closed system is one that is isolated from outside influences — usually, there is some kind of restriction on who can practice within these systems.”
A counter-argument I’ve seen towards this when someone wants to appropiate indigenous deities and spirits is to use the “dead culture” argument: Extinct cultures are more eligible for use by modern people of all stirpes. It is a dead culture and dead religion. It would be one thing if some part of the culture or religion was still alive, being used by modern descendants, but the culture died out in its entirety and was replaced, right? They were all killed by colonization, they are ancient history now, right?
Example: “If white people are worshipping Egyptian deities now, then why can’t I worship [Insert Aborigen Deity Here]?”
To which I have two things to say:
Ancient Egypt’s culture was open and imperialistic, meaning they wanted their religion to be spread. This is why Kemetism is not Cultural Appropriation, despite what some misinformed people might tell you. Similar arguments can also be made for the Hellenic and the Norse branches of Paganism, both practiced by people who aren’t Greek/Norse.
Who are you to say which cultures are “dead” and which are not?
Religious practices such as Vodou and Santería certainly aren’t dead, not that it keeps some Tumblr users from adding Erzuli as a “goddess” on their Baby Witch post, something that actual Vodou practitioners have warned against.
Indigenous cultures such as the Maya and the Mapuche aren’t dead, despite what the goverment of their countries might tell you. The Mapuche in particular have a rich culture and not one, but two witchcraft branches (The Machi and the Kalku/Calcu). Both are closed pagan practices that the local Catholic Church has continuously failed to assimilate and erase, though sadly not for lack of trying:
“The missionaries who followed the Spanish conquistadors to America incorrectly interpreted the Mapuche beliefs regarding both wekufes and gualichos. They used the word wekufe as a synonym for ideas of the devil, demons, and other evil or diabolical forces. This has caused misunderstanding of the original symbolism and has changed the idea of wekufe right up to the present day, even amongst the Mapuche people.”
For context, the Wefuke are the Calcu’s equivalent of the Familiar, as well as reportedly having more in common with the Fae than with demons anyway.
This and other indigenous religions are Closed because it is wrong for foreigners to just come and take elements from marginalized groups whom are still fighting to survive and that they weren’t born into. To just approppiate those things would be like spitting in their faces, treating them and their culture like a commodity, a shiny thing, a unique thing to be used like paint to spruce up your life or be special.
I know some of you are allergic to the word “Privilege”, but on this situation there really ain’t a better word to explain it. You weren’t born here, you don’t know what it is like, you are only able to see the struggle from an outsider’s point of view.
If a belief or practice is part of a closed system, outsiders should not take part in it. And with how many practices there are out there which are open for people of all races, there is really no excuse for you to do it.
Why Colonization Is Not “Ancient History”
If you have kept reading all this so far, you are probably wondering “Ok, but what does Colonization has to do with any of this?”
The answer? Everything.
With the general context of culture appropriation out of the way, let me tell you about why the whole “dead culture” argument rubs me the wrong way: Here in Venezuela, we have a goddess called Santa Maria de la Onza, or Maria Lionza for short, whom’s idol statue I have been using to illustrate this little rant. If you happen to know any Spanish, you might recognize the name as a derivative of Santa Maria, aka the Virgin Mary, and you are mostly correct: Her true indigenous name is theorized to have been Yara.
And I say “theorized” because it is a subject of hot debate whether she was really ever called that or not: Her original name, the name by which she was adored and worshipped by our ancestors, might have been forever lost to history.
That’s the legacy of colonization for you: Our cultures were stolen from us, and what they couldn’t erase they instead tried to assimilate. Our ancestors were enslaved, their lands and homes stolen, their artwork and literary works destroyed: The Maya and the Aztec Empire were rich in written works of all kinds, ranging from poetry to history records to medicine, and the Spaniards burned 99% of it, on what is probably one of the most tragic examples of book burning in history and one that people rarely ever talk about.
People couldn’t even worship their own gods or pass their knowledge of them to their children. That’s why Maria Lionza has such a Spanish Catholic-sounding name, and that’s why we can’t even be sure if Yara was her name or not: The Conquistadors couldn’t steal our goddess from us, so they stole her name instead. Catholics really have a thing with trying to assimilate indigenous goddesses with the Virgin Mary, as they tried to do the same with the Pachamama.
On witchy terms, I’d define Maria Lionza as both a deity and a land spirit: Most internet pages explaining her mention the Sorte mountain as her holy place, but it is more along the lines that she is the mountain.
You’d think that, with Venezuela and other Latinoamerican countries no longer being colonies, we’d be able to worship our own deities including her, right?
As far as a lot of Catholics seem to think and act, apparently we are not.
The Catholics here like to go out of their way to shame us, to call us “cultists”, to ostracize us, with a general call to “refrain from those pagan beliefs” because they go against the Catholic principles. Yes, the goddess with the Catholic-sounding name, a name she happens to share with a Catholic deity, apparently goes “against Catholic principles”. You really can’t make this shit up. (Linked article is in Spanish)
This is just an act of colonization out of many, of not wanting to stop until the culture they want to destroy is gone. Don’t believe for a second that this is really their God’s will or anything like that, they are just trying to finish what years of enslavement and murder couldn’t. They might not be actively killing us anymore, but they still want us dead.
So no, colonization is not some thing that has long passed and now only exist on history textbooks: It is still happening to this day. It is by treating it as old history that they can keep doing it, and it is by pushing the narrative that our indigenous cultures are “dead cultures” that they try to erase our heritage.
Because we are not dead. We are still here, we are alive, we have survived and we’ll keep on surviving, and our gods and goddesses are not yours to take.
¡Chao! 🐈
Environmental Scientist Jessica Hernandez
Jessica Hernandez found her way to conservation science and environmental justice through her grandmother — and her knowledge about the natural world, accumulated over generations.
Maria de Jesus, a member of southern Mexico’s Zapotec community, showed her granddaughter how to tend the family milpa, the plot where they harvested beans, corn, squash, medicinal plants and even grasshoppers. She led Hernandez on hikes through the mountains surrounding her house, explaining how plants and animals interact in the local ecosystem. “She instilled in me the kinships that we carry on as Indigenous peoples,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez grew up in South Central Los Angeles, the daughter of Indigenous immigrants from Mexico. As a child, she frequently visited her mother’s native Oaxaca. “The community that we had that went beyond humans, to include the animals and the plants.” When Hernandez went to graduate school to study ecology, she thought the wisdom passed on from her ancestors would be seen as an asset. But to her surprise, she was humiliated for it.
“The professor asked me, ‘Is this Jessica’s theory? Where is your citation?” Hernandez recalls in Fresh Banana Leaves: Healing Indigenous Landscapes Through Indigenous Science, out this month.
Hernandez, 31, is an environmental scientist at the University of Washington and an outspoken critic of Western conservation movements, which she says often ignore or co-opts Indigenous science and sideline the communities who have produced that knowledge.
“We’re often seen as areas of expertise rather than experts ourselves,” she said. “We’re seen as research subjects rather than researchers.” In writing Fresh Banana Leaves, Hernandez said she hopes to bring attention to the ways Indigenous science has preserved ecosystems for generations.
Western science has always had a narrow lens, said a professor at the University of Washington and one of Hernandez’s PhD advisors. “What [Hernandez] has always been able to do is look past that.”
The scientific method may be built on data points, but Indigenous knowledge is also built on observations. It’s just packaged differently — not in academic papers, but in stories. “People are drowning in the data,” said the PhD advisor, but that data doesn’t always translate to practical solutions.
The conservation movement has a long history of sidelining Indigenous peoples and discounting their ecological expertise. When the United States established its national parks system, ultimately setting aside some 85 million acres of territory, it forced Native American tribes from lands they’d stewarded for millennia.
Park monuments still bear the names of men who advocated for the genocide of Indigenous peoples or carried out massacres themselves. Native groups are advocating for the monuments’ removal.
Instead of honoring those responsible for genocide, Hernandez said she’d like to see monuments to those who preserved the lands for millennia. A growing body of evidence demonstrates that Indigenous peoples are the most effective stewards of the Earth. Though they make up just 5 percent of the global population, they protect some 80 percent of its biodiversity, according to the World Bank, and biodiversity on Indigenous-managed lands often exceeds that of protected areas. Indigenous peoples with titles to their land tend to have the most success at preserving lands, research has found.
Western researchers and companies also have a long history of co-opting Indigenous discoveries — like traditional medicines. Some scholars estimate the market value of pharmaceuticals derived from Indigenous medicine to be in the tens of billions.
Permaculture is another field that borrows heavily from Indigenous practices, Hernandez said.
Hernandez wants to see environmental organizations, governments and the descendants of settlers reckon with their anti-Indigenous histories and elevate Indigenous voices. “It’s like peeling onions. There are so many layers that we have to undo,” Hernandez said. “The first layer is the history that has been silenced or hidden for so many years.”
For her part, Hernandez is using her credentials — and her large social media following — to bring Indigenous science and voices into academia. “I look at the knowledge that my parents and grandparents held, and I always say they know more about the environment than any professor I have ever had in my career. Indigenous peoples don’t necessarily need a bachelor or a doctoral degree for their knowledge to be valid.”
Last fall, Hernandez taught an Introduction to Climate Change course that included lessons on Indigenous land stewardship and discussions on the ways that Indigenous women are impacted by climate change.
She hopes she can bring a new generation of Indigenous thinkers into the conservation field — while reminding students to look beyond the ivory tower for climate solutions.
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The US Military in Hawaii
The killing of Palestinians is still going, boycotting is still going
@amal.jamaludin
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE WATCH THIS!!! ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE ASIAN OR YOUR COUNTRY HAS BEEN COLONIZED!!!!