• BartsBigBugBag@lemmy.tfOP
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    1 year ago

    The noble Savage trope is itself a racist trope that came out of colonial Europeans bigoted beliefs that indigenous could not possibly be civilized, and thus that any seemingly civilized points made by an indigenous person were actually made by Europeans as a critique of their own culture. Look into Kandiaronk and Lahontan. There is mountains of proof that not only did Kandiaronk exist, but that he directly participated in debates with the European governments that colonized the area he was from. There is Absolutely no evidence that any of what Kandiaronk said was anything other than his own words, yet the noble savage myth allows Europeans to claim that he couldn’t possibly have done so. So, no, I don’t think this is noble savage stuff, and I think the noble savage myth serves primarily to prevent meaningful critique from coming from outside of the dominant hierarchies by infantilizing indigenous people.

    On your other point, I agree to a point.

    Your comments reminds me of MLKs talk of the white moderate, who prefers the absence of tension to the presence of Justice. Many people will choose not to “rock the boat” to keep “peace”, rather than stand up for Justice and create Peace. It is very important we do not stand on the side of moderation in the face of injustice. I’m sorry to hear no one stands up to those people in your group. I would also leave a group in that situation.

    • CorruptBuddha
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      1 year ago

      The noble Savage trope is itself a racist trope that came out of colonial Europeans bigoted beliefs that indigenous could not possibly be civilized, and thus that any seemingly civilized points made by an indigenous person were actually made by Europeans as a critique of their own culture. Look into Kandiaronk and Lahontan. There is mountains of proof that not only did Kandiaronk exist, but that he directly participated in debates with the European governments that colonized the area he was from. There is Absolutely no evidence that any of what Kandiaronk said was anything other than his own words, yet the noble savage myth allows Europeans to claim that he couldn’t possibly have done so. So, no, I don’t think this is noble savage stuff, and I think the noble savage myth serves primarily to prevent meaningful critique from coming from outside of the dominant hierarchies by infantilizing indigenous people.

      Regardless of what Kamdiaronk said I don’t think it’s right to stereotype indigenous people right here right now.