In a message dated 3/10/1999 12:53:06 PM Eastern Standard Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
<< Nicole is totally right, but I do think that in the "information age" the
US has taken the lead in cultural anhilation. That is the time frame I was
referring too. Maybe the US was just completely founded and framed on the
ideals of a bunch of European conquerers. >>
Heather,
I don't negate the role of the U.S., but it is not the leading cultural
annihilator alone. All of over the world, there are struggles of oppressed
people going on against countries other than the U.S. It is to the advantage
of other western nations to isolate only america and try to get all fingers to
point at it, because of their own issues. Currently, the EU and the U.S. are
battling in the WTO over banana issues - the U.S. charges that the EU has
unfairly monopolized banana exports from its former colonies - which the
Europeans consistently do on a worldwide scale, they practice a stringent form
of neocolonialism to continue to exploit the resources of their former
colonies, making sure to keep prices low for them to buy, to ensure particular
crops - not food crops for the people of those nations but those for export -
to maintain debt payment levels. There are also pollution issues, exploitation
of natural resources, suppression of indigenous cultures, etc.
There is a whole mass of issues about "third world" countries and such
exploitations - and the u.s. is not the prime on each one.
What instead happens is that the U.S. competes with the European nations in
these areas, it seeks to get markets for its products, it seeks access to
resources traditionally dominated by former colonizers, it posits itself as
the "alternative" to former colonizers - a newer, better, stronger alternative
to Europeans that had to form an EU to survive and maintain power that they
were unable to be as successful at as individual nations. They are weakened by
u.s. competition for world power and by the rebellions of their former
colonies. Recently, Rwanda - angered by revelations of french involvement in
the genocide, changed its official language to english. Countries like France
are extremely xenophobic when it comes to anglo-saxons and especially angered
(more than a bit of arrogance at play) at the advances of the U.S.
France itself wrought tremendous cultural destruction in Africa and maintains
a neo colonial strangle hold. Economic treaties, again must note the MAI,
reveal that the France, the EU has some highly exploitative ideas - a
continuation of hundreds of years of world exploitations.
If the U.S. disappeared today, those countries would continue and increase
their exploitation.
It is dangerous for us, for any non-western nation to be so fooled into seeing
only one danger - in effect listening to the voice behind them to look out for
the american attacker approaching while the European attacker is making a
deeper wound with the knife they already have in the back of the non western
nations - and the one they have in the stomach...
Those of us Americans concerned with such issues, should not fall victim to
our willingness to criticize the actions of our own country in agreement with
those of other countries who are either ignoring or supportive of what their
own country is doing to the world.
Australia is a glaring example. What have the Australians done to the
Aborigines? What do they continue to do? Right now, a quick check of political
issues there reveals some strong voices against oppression against the
Australians - not the Americans. And during the indigenous people's rights
conferences of last year, it was mostly the Canadians and Australian faulted
for their cultural annihilation. Apartheid? So much damage that cause in south
africa and in the neighboring countries - that was not created by America.
Boers are not American.
On a consistent basis, all over the world, I hear from, read of, oppressed
populations and there voices don't only single out America. What we do hear
complain the loudest about america are the other western nations feeling
threatened.
Because of our lack of worldwide media coverage in the U.S., we don't get to
hear or read as much as we should on the general news about the issues of
exploitation of other western nations. Even with the Iraq issue - America
bombed, but France leads the way in wanting to continue supporting Saddam
Hussein because it wants oil. Any outraged at the bombing voiced by France is
just because it (1) has anti american issues (jealousy) and (2) it wants oil
Franz Fanon is the most excellent read on the exploitative agenda of the
French, which is in firm place and moving forward today.
Nicole
