slowmutant wrote:
I agree with everything ummMar said in his last post. But that bit about human sacrifice on this continent some 400 years ago, is that referring to the white Europeans or the Indians? When I think of human sacrifice I think of the Aztecs, who vanished from this part of the world much more than 4 centuries ago. They were the original South American Indians, and their religion involved mass murder and ritual human sacrifice in the context of religion.
They Aztecs are still around, they came late, from the north, were called the Chichimec.
In the Flower Wars, captives were taken, their lives given to the gods, and their bodies eaten.
20,000 is the largest number. The Europeans killed hundreds of millions.
5,000,000 were burned at the stake in Northern Europe, by the European religion.
Witch burning and hanging continued. It ended about 1800.
Since then at least a hundred million have died in European wars, plus the people they exterminated for living where they had always lived, speaking their own language, and having their own views.
Since 1500 the Europeans seem to be trying to kill everyone on earth, themselves included.
It is thought to be some Psycholgical response to the three waves of Black Death that almost exterminated them.
They could do nothing, were told it was the "Will of God," so they took to worshiping death.
"Plague European" is the term most used. Death became their god, and after the last wave of Plague passed, they spread their god over the world.
Having been "Chastised By God" they became the chosen people, the survivors of Plague and Smallpox, and took on God's Work, of cleansing the world.
The view from the other side is diseased pirates showed up, slaughtered all who came in contact with them, and spread their diseases.
There was no, "Greetings from the King of Spain, England, we are happy to meet you."
It was an age of murder, genocide, looting, slavery, the European Way.
Europe grew rich on pillage, and then warred with each other over the pirate spoils.
Their final war, WWII, broke the Colonial System, and most of the world's people have become free to find their own way. Like Algeria throwing out the French, or Vietnam, it left the country in ruins.
In a generation of self rule they recovered, education, health care, food supply, income, are all up. It was just in time for cell phones, computers, and the Post Colonial Age is off to a good start.
China has passed the US as the world's largest manufacturer. The Middle Kingdom is back.
While the Europeans are still pushing guns, bombs, and Moral Superiority, the rest of the world is dealing from respect for local culture, fair trade, and mutual aid.
All religions seek to produce the best humans, but starting with humans, it is not going to always work.
No single case shows all. Yes, men take wives, some marry them. Then there was the Austrian that grabbed an eight year old off the street and kept her in his celler for ten years, Is this the common Austrian practice?
There was a German, kept his daughter in a celler, had children by her, and raised them to adults in the celler. Is this a common German practice?
Regretfully, world over, many wives are treated as less than human. Some wives treat husbands as less than human.
I am with the faction that thinks you need a License to drive a car, have to learn, take tests.
A marriage license has no educational part, no test, but should.
To have children should take extended education.
Most of the problems on this planet are caused by the failures of the last generation raising the next.
27 Aug 2008, 12:56 pm
his?
