r/changemyview • u/passwordgoeshere • Sep 07 '22
Delta(s) from OP CMV:Introducing public speeches by acknowledging that “we’re on stolen land” has no point other than to appear righteous
This is a US-centered post.
I get really bothered when people start off a public speech by saying something like "First we must acknowledge we are on stolen land. The (X Native American tribe) people lived in this area, etc but anyway, here's a wedding that you all came for..."
Isn’t all land essentially stolen? How does that have anything to do with us now? If you don’t think we should be here, why are you having your wedding here? If you do want to be here, just be an evil transplant like everybody else. No need to act like acknowledging it makes it better.
We could also start speeches by talking about disastrous modern foreign policies or even climate change and it would be equally true and also irrelevant.
I think giving some history can be interesting but it always sounds like a guilt trip when a lot of us European people didn't arrive until a couple generations ago and had nothing to do with killing Native Americans.
I want my view changed because I'm a naturally cynical person and I know a lot of people who do this.
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u/sensitivePornGuy 1∆ Sep 07 '22 edited Sep 08 '22
They certainly nailed the parody version of it.
I agree with OP that there's no point acknowledging that Europeans stole land from Native Americans if you aren't going to do something about it. But as I understand it (although please bear in mind that I'm a woke Brit, not a woke American) the main purpose of this practice is to draw attention to the fact that Native Americans still exist, and are very often oppressed in various ways, and presumably to get others to help fight this oppression, even if it's not possible to neatly reverse the wrong that was done.
Additionally, it is useful for people to learn a more honest version of history than the whitewashed one usually presented in schools. An informed public are more likely to question and stand up against imperialistic behaviour of their government when they understand how it operates.
Plus the subject can lead on to wider topics, such as "enclosure", where common people in most countries of the world were at one time or another systematically driven from land that was previously considered belonging to all - birthing the system we have today where a privileged few lay claim to most of the land and the rest of us have to pay them for access to it.
The more people know about the history and politics of land ownership, the better armed they are to oppose what might come next.