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permaculture - Re: plants DB - indigenious

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  • From: "georg parlow" <georg@websuxxess.com>
  • To: "permaculture" <permaculture@franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: plants DB - indigenious
  • Date: Tue, 1 Jan 2002 16:53:37 +0100


hi flick:

you wrote:
> We whitefellas do all want, want, want and we want it

> yet to meet an Indigenous person who evangelises about Aboriginal
> culture

> It's hard having to confront one's own cultural baggage, especially when

i agree and resonate with you on the issues of cultural dominance, greed and
exploitation. but why is whitefella dominant? Guns, Germs, and Steel: The
Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond
(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0393317552/qid=1009898173/sr=1-1/ref
=sr_1_75_1/002-7174170-6581606) was quite a revelation to me. as a biologist
he looked at it scientifically (methodically, by historical evidence, and as
unbiased as one can be), and clearly answered: it is not because of genetic
superiority. but quite as clear came up: it is not because of special
greediness, cruelty, or any other ethical inferiority either. all societies
of all races have been equally ruthless as soon as they got a chance to
dominate. and they all did so whenever they got a chance, with all the nasty
details right down to genocide, be it whitefella, blackfella, redfella,
yellowfella or anyotherfella.

so i am afraid the attitude you can observe in todays indiginous people is
simply a result of the fact, that at present they are the dominated (read:
raped, killed, exploited, colonized, dislocated, etc.etc.) ones, and not the
other way around as in: they are dominated because they are so
non-dominating.

i myself found this even harder to stomach than the cultural baggage - it is
the baggage of our species.

georg






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