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The Americans were just as bad as Germans/Japanese in WWII


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Accurate in broad strokes - no soldiers are saints (and little-known fact: the Allied navies had a far worse record of atrocities than the Axis navies). But completely misses the difference between the individual actions of soldiers that are criminalized (as in the Allied armies), and the systemic encouragement of atrocities (as in China or Russia).

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Attributing the the same sort of malice to Colonial America as you would to Nazi Germany is absurd, especially since you're using it as an example that is historically unique to it's time period.

 

The truth is that the entire world worked that way during this era, which aptly begins with the "Colonial Period" in world history. You can't make the argument that America should have been hundereds of years ahead of global moral transitions without arguing for a bizarre revisionist version of American Exceptionalism.

 

Well, you can, but that would be a terrible argument.

Edited by TakeYouToTasker
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Attributing the the same sort of malice to Colonial America as you would to Nazi Germany is absurd, especially since you're using it as an example that is historically unique to it's time period.

 

The truth is that the entire world worked that way during this era, which aptly begins with the "Colonial Period" in world history. You can't make the argument that America should have been hundereds of years ahead of global moral transitions without arguing for a bizarre revisionist version of American Exceptionalism.

 

Well, you can, but that would be a terrible argument.

No, I think you are wrong. People are people. Japan and Germany in the 1930's were acting the way the west was in the 1600's through the 19th century in many ways. All those Indian Wars happened for a reason. If you asked an Apache in 1860 what he was fighting for, would it be much different from what a Russian peasant would have said in 1942? It was all about expansion. Heck, Germany was trying to catch up to us, and Japan was expanding so as not to fall behind as they saw it. Not saying its exactly the same, but many similarities

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No, I think you are wrong. People are people. Japan and Germany in the 1930's were acting the way the west was in the 1600's through the 19th century in many ways. All those Indian Wars happened for a reason. If you asked an Apache in 1860 what he was fighting for, would it be much different from what a Russian peasant would have said in 1942? It was all about expansion. Heck, Germany was trying to catch up to us, and Japan was expanding so as not to fall behind as they saw it. Not saying its exactly the same, but many similarities

 

!@#$ you for making me say this.

 

You're right.

 

Seriously, !@#$ you, you !@#$ing !@#$.

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No, I think you are wrong. People are people. Japan and Germany in the 1930's were acting the way the west was in the 1600's through the 19th century in many ways. All those Indian Wars happened for a reason. If you asked an Apache in 1860 what he was fighting for, would it be much different from what a Russian peasant would have said in 1942? It was all about expansion. Heck, Germany was trying to catch up to us, and Japan was expanding so as not to fall behind as they saw it. Not saying its exactly the same, but many similarities

 

Why don't you tell us why all those "Indian Wars" happened? While you are at it, explain what a Russian peasant would have said in 1942 that was similar to what an Apache would have said in 1860. Now why was Germany trying to catch up to us and do tell us why Japan was expanding so not to fall behind us? Have fun.

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Why don't you tell us why all those "Indian Wars" happened? While you are at it, explain what a Russian peasant would have said in 1942 that was similar to what an Apache would have said in 1860. Now why was Germany trying to catch up to us and do tell us why Japan was expanding so not to fall behind us? Have fun.

\

 

Isn't that a lot of writing?

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He's not right. Not at all.

 

He's judging historical norms of the 1750s-1850s through the moral lense of the mid-20th Century.

 

That's just silly.

 

Silly how? So you are saying that, for sake of argument, an Indian killer in 1850 isn't as bad as a murderous Nazi in 1940?

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Silly how? So you are saying that, for sake of argument, an Indian killer in 1850 isn't as bad as a murderous Nazi in 1940?

That's correct. Just like slave owners of the 1800's aren't despicable, as they would be today; and totalitarian Royalty of the 1300's who ruled by the Divine Rights of Kings, or Egyptian Pharaohs aren't to be judged by the same modern standards we use to condem the recently deposed junta in Mayanmar.

 

You can't judge individuals based on a moral code that wouldn't come into existance for another 100 years.

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That's correct. Just like slave owners of the 1800's aren't despicable, as they would be today; and totalitarian Royalty of the 1300's who ruled by the Divine Rights of Kings, or Egyptian Pharaohs aren't to be judged by the same modern standards we use to condem the recently deposed junta in Mayanmar.

 

You can't judge individuals based on a moral code that wouldn't come into existance for another 100 years.

Many people didn't care what the Nazis were doing in 1940 and

But many people in 1850 deplored what was happening to the Indians and didn't approve of what happened.

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Silly how? So you are saying that, for sake of argument, an Indian killer in 1850 isn't as bad as a murderous Nazi in 1940?

 

Was a settler killer who burned white men, women and children at the stake after opening up their bellies and scalping them any worse than a murderous Nazi? Explain your prior statements re Russian peasants, Apache Indians, Germany and Japan or just go away.

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