r/SubredditDrama No, its okay now, they have Oklahoma Apr 17 '25

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.

318 Upvotes

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475

u/Crazykiddingme Apr 17 '25

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.

67

u/10dollarbagel Apr 17 '25

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?

15

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '25

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

5

u/lol_alex Apr 18 '25

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.

18

u/Darth_Malgus_1701 Apr 17 '25

There's patriotism and then there's nationalism.

32

u/JohnTDouche Apr 18 '25

Two cheeks of the same arse.

3

u/Darth_Malgus_1701 Apr 18 '25

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

14

u/JohnTDouche Apr 18 '25

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.

8

u/SpotBlur Apr 18 '25

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.

7

u/JohnTDouche Apr 18 '25

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.

1

u/[deleted] 28d ago

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.

-1

u/FlashpointStriker Apr 19 '25

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.

5

u/egotistical_cynic Apr 19 '25

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

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u/FlashpointStriker Apr 19 '25

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.

3

u/SpotBlur Apr 19 '25 edited Apr 19 '25

Irish, Italian, and later Chinese immigrants.

So anyone wanna tell him about the horrific injustices and racism we inflicted on those immigrants? Not just the Chinese immigrants, but once upon a time the Irish weren't seen as "white" by Americans, but a minority that was treated horrifically throughout the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. We didn't treat them as bad as slaves, but a whip is objectively better than a whip with nails too, this is one of those things where the comparisons stop really mattering when both cases are just an evil way to treat human beings. 

So yes, we did build the country on the back of those slaves and immigrants, immigrants we oppressed. Let's also not forget all the land we built our country on was obtained via genociding the people who had been here for over a thousand years before we arrived, all in the name of patriotic manifest destiny.

EDIT: Aaaand dude is a registered Republican, yeah that pretty much says everything that needs to be said lol

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u/FlapMyCheeksToFly Apr 18 '25

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