• AllonzeeLV@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    It’s extremely disingenuous and intentionally misleading that our introduction of the Native Americans to young children is portrayed as peaceful and kind when the headline of European immigrant relations with Native Americans is genocide. It would be better to say nothing about them than to leave the opposite impression of what actually happened until they’re older.

    It would be akin to young German Children being taught about Adolf Hitler: Staunch Animal Rights activist until they’re older. Sure, I guess he was, but it would be obvious what the goal of leading with that factoid is.

    The goal of early social study books highlighting that is to instill “America Yay” ideas in kids heads, a vestige of the whole manifest destiny we did nothing wrong narrative. We are a nation built on foundations of genocide and slavery. That is overwhelming reality. But many, particularly conservative Americans, would prefer that be expunged from our national identity so they can feel better about our history, which is the basis of their war on CRT.

    • BlanketsWithSmallpox@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      I don’t think that’s true at all nor what they teach in numerous areas. Ymmv depending on your school district and how racist your rural school or suburbian city is though.

      Regardless, your point of contention was literally with the First Thanksgiving mythos. It’s like saying the Christmas Day Soccer match in WW1 or whatever isn’t true because there was a war between every nation happening. Absolutely not. It’s one point of goodness which should absolutely be taught. Because humans do vastly more good than bad.

      Humanity trudges on with or without the doomers every generation since even before Jesus the Apocalypticist.