butchniqabi:

i hope this makes sense but i always get kinda uncomfortable when people talk about colonization and put a huge emphasis on the accomplishments of the people who were colonized as if that’s the reason they shouldn’t have been subject to colonization. like when talking about sustainable farming practices or gender equality some folks still have this gross mindset, kind of like “these people shouldn’t have been colonized because they meet MY standard of a progressive society”. there are always people who won’t meet that standard and while it is important to talk about the history and culture of precolonial societies its so uncomfortable to see us to zero in on the ways these societies are “better”. like maybe my ancestors weren’t kings, maybe they weren’t agriculturally savvy, maybe their accomplishments wouldn’t impress an outside audience but no matter what they did not deserve to be enslaved and have their nations and land decimated. yall get me??