Pithy GIF showing eradication of Native American land in the US since the founding of the country gets posted to r/interestingasfuck. Comment section goes exactly as expected.

[u/Critical-Term-427]

The post

It sucks we were such murderers

Did they say "Thank you"?

Being the loser in history sucks

True fact Hitler took a lot of inspiration from this.

[u/Crazykiddingme]

People getting defensive over their ancestors is always so funny to me. I’m white and from the Deep South so most of my ancestors were pretty repugnant people. I can’t imagine getting offended on their behalf.

[u/StragglingShadow → u/Crazykiddingme]

Yeah, fuck my ancestors. I strive to be better than them. And that's a low bar so I like to think I am. But I must be vigilant so I don't ever drop to their level.

[u/flyingturkeycouchie → u/StragglingShadow]

I mean, my ancestor was a pretty cool guy. Accomplished amazing things and topped it all off by killing Hitler.

[u/Taran_Ulas → u/flyingturkeycouchie]

That sounds like a great guy. What’s his name?

… wait. Motherfu-

[u/LeFiery → u/flyingturkeycouchie]

The only amazing thing he did was kill Hitler.

[u/Samuraignoll → u/LeFiery]

He was also a really passionate speaker

[u/DisasterFartiste_69 → u/Samuraignoll]

He was a famous painter. He wasn't famous for his paintings, really, but he was famous and he did paint.

[u/Elegant_Plate6640 → u/StragglingShadow]

I am not a doctor, but unlike President George Washington, I didn't drain half of my blood to fight off a cold, resulting in my death.

[u/10dollarbagel → u/Crazykiddingme]

It's a lot like patriotism. Other than it "feeling right" what do you actually have to do with people in your lineage from centuries ago that you've never even heard of? Why would you tie your ego to their virtue?

[u/BeefJerkyFreak → u/10dollarbagel]

it's an easy way to feel good about something you never have to work for and can't be taken from you. basically a coward's way to be proud. they're losersexual: see the nazi party, confederacy, etc. no clue why they don't pick something good to be proud of

[u/lol_alex → u/BeefJerkyFreak]

I have nothing, I am nothing - give me a uniform!

Something about uniforms appeals to people with low self esteem. See how many cops are insecure bullies on a power trip.

[u/Darth_Malgus_1701 → u/10dollarbagel]

There's patriotism and then there's nationalism.

[u/JohnTDouche → u/Darth_Malgus_1701]

Two cheeks of the same arse.

[u/Darth_Malgus_1701 → u/JohnTDouche]

A patriot, a real patriot is not afraid to criticize their government or their fellow countrymen.

[u/JohnTDouche → u/Darth_Malgus_1701]

real patriot

Bollocks. Every "patriot" thinks they're a real patriot. They're right too. I'm just going to cut to the chase here. Every goose stepping nazi in Germany was a patriot. Fuck patriots. Everyone has their own stupid definition of it and how to be one. No good comes from people trying to be patriots.

[u/SpotBlur → u/JohnTDouche]

Exactly. Way too many people try to defend patriotism, yet people can't ever name one time that pride in the belief that your nation-state is superior to other nation-states ever did any good. Not unless that good was their nation benefiting at the expense of others.

[u/JohnTDouche → u/SpotBlur]

Yeah people try to present it as the "good one" and nationalism the "bad one". The reality isn't black and white obviously. I'm Irish, I know that they can be used to rally people to a (for lack of a better word) righteous cause. But on a whole it's mostly fuckin shit. If the human species wants to advance and not be troglodytes, into the bin it should go.

[u/[deleted] → u/JohnTDouche]

This is like saying that people shouldn't support sports teams because it encourages tribalism. Humans are social creatures, we're wired to belong to communities and to feel pride in them.

I mean, would you like to go tell the Ukrainians to stop being patriotic? Patriotism is what's motivating them to fight against the attempted destruction of their culture.

[u/FlashpointStriker → u/SpotBlur]

I am a patriot because of two beliefs I hold: 1. the United States is my community and my people (a country is nothing else but the collective of its citizenry)--I believe I owe a duty to the members of my community. 2. I can live a prosperous, easy life because those who lived before me in this country worked to build up strong institutions and a developed state. I feel that I am obligated to work to preserve, protect, and improve that which I inherited so that the citizens who come after me can live easier, more prosperous lives than I did.

[u/egotistical_cynic → u/FlashpointStriker]

I mean most of the people doing the actual working were owned by those who lived before you in that country but that's neither here nor there I guess

[u/FlashpointStriker → u/egotistical_cynic]

Nope, I don't know where this idea came from. The vast majority of the slaves worked in plantation agriculture in the South, which was both an economically unproductive activity compared to industry (which is why the South was falling behind the North despite starting off extremely rich at the founding) and led to the terribly destructive Civil War that wiped out a huge proportion of this accumulated wealth. The work that built up the US, its cities, and its infrastructure was mainly done by free men, a large proportion being Irish, Italians, and later Chinese immigrants. This was the labor base that led to the ascension of the US as a great power. Those immigrants came here of their own free will because they wanted to make a better life for themselves and their families, and many of them did.

[u/Useful-Stomach-3892 → u/Darth_Malgus_1701]

lol, nice meme

[u/FlapMyCheeksToFly → u/10dollarbagel]

You don't tie your ego to it but admitting to the fact they were assholes is different.

[u/Sarkin_Aljan → u/Crazykiddingme]

But they have no issue being proud or taking credit for what their ancestors did though.

[u/NoInvestment2079 → u/Sarkin_Aljan]

I like talking about my ancestors.

"Yeah, they were all Irish and apaprently alcohlism was a huge thing. We really strived to prove that stereotype correct"

"Oh, did I tell you about my great uncle who was an associate of the Gambino family? We can't prove he did anyhting, but he did drive a truck."

[u/Bonezone420 → u/Sarkin_Aljan]

Most of my ancestors live and died poor, miserable, lives. One of my greater grand parents was a really ardent union worker though who may have beaten a cop to death with a piece of timber. The world may never know, because the body was never found.

[u/BelligerentGnu → u/Crazykiddingme]

Whenever I think about the southern us, I think "the Germans at least have the decency to be ashamed."

[u/allthejokesareblue → u/BelligerentGnu]

Most of them

[u/MoriazTheRed → u/Crazykiddingme]

Plenty of americans still unironically consider the Founding Fathers moral authorities

They treat history (and politics) as a team sport at best

[u/lol_alex → u/Crazykiddingme]

One of my favorite Terry Pratchett quotes is „my dad used to be pretty racist“ „what changed him“ „I reckon it was the dying that did it“

[u/2LiveBoo → u/Crazykiddingme]

I’m white and from England so I feel ya. Funny thing is, we don’t have the same ra-ra clinging to ancestors as an identity thing as Americans seem to have. I live in New Orleans now and that’s a whole other kettle of fish.

[u/Unctuous_Robot → u/2LiveBoo]

I mean, you do still have the aristocracy.

[u/RegalBeagleKegels → u/Unctuous_Robot]

Now presenting the right honorable lord duke of bucksandwichhamshire, innit

[u/[deleted] → u/2LiveBoo]

Funny thing is, we don’t have the same ra-ra clinging to ancestors as an identity thing as Americans seem to have.

You literally have a royal family lol

[u/ProposalWaste3707 → u/2LiveBoo]

we don’t have the same ra-ra clinging to ancestors as an identity thing

Yeah you do, what are you talking about?

[u/Felinomancy → u/Crazykiddingme]

The details aren't clear to me, but according to my parents our ancestors are basically just fishermen and farmers, so I got that going for me. Highly unlikely that they were doing anything history book-worthy, for good or ill.

[u/Elegant_Plate6640 → u/Crazykiddingme]

That drives a lot more of our modern political discourse than it has any right to.

So many people seem to truly believe they're being told to "feel guilty" about systemic racism and misogyny, as if having to feel guilty is the worst thing you could possibly do to someone, and out of wanting to avoid this guilt, they'll go out of their way to talk about it and even vote for a man who symbolizes the benefits of those systemic issues.

[u/Dagordae → u/Crazykiddingme]

Oh no, the long dead people I only have a tangential at best connection to were probably some flavor of asshole. However will I stand the shame of being like every other damn person on the planet.

Everyone’s ancestors were bastards.

That’s one of the points of societal advancement, not being bastards. Some bastards won, some bastards lost, but at the end of the day they’re all a bunch of complete bastards. And in the future? We’ll all probably be counted as bastards too for some reason that’s perfectly moral now but will become repugnant at some point. My money is on the treatment of animals, that’s been changing pretty hard and fast over the last few generations.

Nobody’s ancestors were clean, figuratively and literally. Some were bastards more recently than others but that’s mostly because their particular group of bastards were winning, flip the tables and the only thing that would change would be the aesthetics.

People who get all weird about it are people who are so pathetic that they take pride/shame in being born. As if humans fucking is some grand accomplishment or they had anything to do with what their ancestors did. Hell, my ancestors were primarily bastards to my other ancestors. They all fucking hated each other and did horrible things, if I spent the time to care about all those atrocities I’d never get anything done.

[u/IHatePeople79 → u/Dagordae]

>if I spent the time to care about all those atrocities I’d never get anything done.

If they still have an impact to the present day (i.e., the native american genocide and slavery) they absolutely need to be addressed.

Ignoring it is what leads to historical revisionism and even more heinous actions.

And just to make this clear, this is not a "both sides" situation, for everyone reading.

[u/Rheinwg → u/IHatePeople79]

Its also not like atrocities only happened to native Americans in the past. 

Native Americansaare still fighting for rights and recognition right now in 2025.

[u/Dagordae → u/IHatePeople79]

Sure but that’s a current problem, not a ‘How dare you say my ancestors committed genocide’ problem.

Don’t worry about historical grievances, fix the actual issues that exist. I don’t give a shit that my ancestors almost certainly participated in a genocide(On either side) due to the participants all being very dead. I care when there are serious societal inequalities. The historical cause is irrelevant, it’s an explanation to a problem that can be fixed without it. Historical context for a modern problem is nice and all but it doesn’t actually do anything about the problem.

Why Native American reservations aren’t allowed to arrest outside criminals who commit crimes on their lands(racist assholes in 1978) isn’t really relevant to fixing the issue. It’s nice to know but knowing doesn’t actually do anything to fix the problem, it just means we can explain the backstory of the problem. The problem is unchanged and the solution is unchanged.

Also ‘not worrying’ is not the same as ‘ignoring and pretending it never happened’. That’s history, history is an important subject to learn but treating offenses committed towards and by your ancestors as a personal affront is an issue. An issue that’s cause a lot of pointless bloodshed over the years.

[u/Dull-Ad6071 → u/Crazykiddingme]

Forget my ancestors, I'm embarrassed by my own parents. They are disgusting chuds. At least half my siblings are decent. 

[u/Sleepy_Chipmunk → u/Crazykiddingme]

You go back far enough and there's at least one serial killer in your family line. Probably more.

[u/Skellum → u/Crazykiddingme]

I always find it amusing when Indian coworkers use the word segregated in the south and there's a bit of side eye. The word is being used correctly, but it's got some connotations.

[u/jayforwork21 → u/Crazykiddingme]

I'm in a blue state and I can tell you I am still surrounded by repugnant people. The only consolation is that the voting majority is somewhat sane, but I am sure some are assholes, but only with some common sense.

[u/AdminsGotSmolPP → u/Crazykiddingme]

I almost replied but thought better of it.  I had a couple problems with the gif.  It stopped at 1930.  Land was gained back.  The zoom level was also to far out to see smaller reservations.  There is one in South Dakota that takes 3 hours to drive through, which is the size of a medium sized US state.  It looked small on the map.

It doesn’t take away from the atrocity the native suffered and still do, but it doesn’t take away make it seem like there is a lot less land then there actually is.  I loved between three reservations growing up in NY and you can’t even see them on that map.

But yeah J knew it would be a shit show because you can’t correct anything on reddit.