this post was submitted on 01 Jul 2023
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Apologizing for your forbears actions is strange to me. Colonialism had many bad results and effects, but it also brought about many incredibly positive changes and advancements. It’s not a black and white issue.
If by "brought about positive changes", you mean that it's allowed colonial powers to enrich themselves enormously while draining their colonies of wealth, leaving millions to starve and destabilizing regions for generations, then yes perhaps you're right. The argument you used could be applied in exactly the same way to justify slavery. The positive changes here always favour the oppressor, never the oppressed.
It seems that many forget that the US started as a Dutch colony. New York was called New Amsterdam until it was taken over by the British and then called New York. The thirteen colonies were British colonies.
The thirteen colonies eventually won their independence from British due to help from the natives and the French. The thirteen colonies didn’t want to enrich Britain, which was in debt from the French Indian War. The colonies became the beginning 13 states of the United States of America. The USA is a product of colonialism, and the USA is a great place.
I know it’s fashionable to shit on the USA. Especially amongst progressives, which makes sense because they want to see change, so it’s in their best interest to point out areas of improvement. We need this obviously. But the USA is also a great place, and we should acknowledge that from time to time.