This is a monumentally abridged and most likely inaccurate in the details, retelling of a slice of unthinkable history. Nothing new here. My conscience compelled me to publish it.
My European ancestors were outstanding and very brave mariners. I have been at sea in storms – but not in a wooden vessel under sail power. It was not an adventure to be bending over the railing puking my guts out while getting drenched with cold seawater.
Our navigation was almost done completely by electronic means. And more importantly, many had gone before us. Not so for my European ancestors. So Kudos to them for accomplishing that great feat.
Eventually, they found dry land, disembarked and claimed a miniscule piece of land for living. Land that was already inhabited by human beings. No big deal – we had firearms. In most cases, the natives were gracious and willing to trade for our sparkly but worthless stuff.
We started arriving in ever-increasing numbers and settling on the land without regard to who was here first. This eventually resulted in more and more negative physical encounters.
Because the religious beliefs of my Christian European ancestors prohibited many useful acts against other persons, the natives had to be “dehumanized”. And so they were. After that was done, the way was clear for: murder, mass murder, rape, torture, kidnapping, slavery, starvation, theft of any and all property (especially including real estate). Whatever my Christian Europeans wanted to do to other Human Beings was done with impunity and even accolades. All without that inconvenient, pesky threat of burning in hell for eternity. Very handy indeed.
My forebears have gone completely unpunished (and largely unapologetic) for unthinkable crimes against humanity, far worse than for what many Nazis and Hideki Tojo would hang.
My thoughts, more and more, are about the stories of the land that my existence is overlaying.