this post was submitted on 08 Mar 2025
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Sure but we don't have christians or Jews decapitating teachers for showing pictures, or otherwise trying to impose their beliefs and customs on others. I mean, we had quite a few Christians like that, but we mostly fixed the issue when we hung dozens of priests. The left remembers this fondly, while you can't say anything negative about Islam without being called a bigot.
I‘m not sure that’s covered in French history books but you butchered the living shit out of somewhere between 400,000 and 5.6 million Algerians and that’s just one example. There are millions, if not tens of millions of victims of French colonialism. You’ll say it’s a long time ago but there are enough people alive in France who still remember and miss having colonies. You did that in the name of "civilizing savages". The Belgium, British and Germans did the same under the guise of "civilizing" them and teaching them Christianity. You’re just spreading right wing narratives here.
Western education generally does a piss poor job covering colonialism. Most British folk exit their public education system having a cursory understanding of it which really says something.
Yes I did learn about colonialism in school. I don't get your point though. I should personally be ashamed, and tolerate people teaching their little kids to light girls' hair on fire, because of colonialism? How is that different from demanding every Muslim to apologize for terrorist attacks?
My children are half-cambodian, just this week my 7yo was told to go back to her country by some asshole kid at her school. The normalisation of the far-right and the prospect of a RN presidency is a huge concern for me, as is the fact that the left calls me a racist when I mention the very real Islam-related issues I personally encountered.
I think it's more about having the capacity to understand nuance and context from both sides. The legacy of European colonialism isn't your personal responsibility, but the ease with which many Europeansl dismiss ANY responsibility for it while still enjoying the wealth and privileges it created for them AND actively supporting the heirarchies left in its wake is dangerously tone-deaf. I agree with your perspective on having conversations that don't dehumanize Muslims while still pressuring the community to hold itself accountable, otherwise state action will do it for them. But tbh ignoring history and crying "it wasn't me, I shouldn't feel bad" is short-sighted and how y'all got here in the first place.
That's not what I'm saying. Sure there are a lot of people like that in France and in Europe. Still, France gives billions of euros each year to developing countries, and welcomes quite a few refugees. This very post is about France and others fighting for the rights of Palestinians. As it should.
But you know what's equally short-sighted? Saying that Islam is totally harmless, and that white people are the cause of all problems. And honestly, that's the vibe I'm getting from these answers.
Your last post did ask if you should feel personally ashamed for the history of French colonialism so I was responding to that in particular. Maybe you meant it rhetorically but I didn't perceive it that way so I figured I'd share my thoughts.
I do disagree with your final point, but I can clearly see I have a much different perspective on the West than you, so I won't dive into that. Ill simply mention that whatever vibe you think you're getting from these comments may be a good catalyst for you to critically think about how these narratives make you feel and why that is so, since it seems that you're frustrated over some perceived threat to your belief system. If anyone is arguing in absolutes than I wouldn't invest much energy into their arguments, but from where I'm looking I don't see much of that; just people engaging in good-faith discourse about very complex subjects.