Elitist Ignorance

OK, so here is one that has been driving me buggy for years. My friend and I touched on it briefly, and I've spoken to a few other folks over the years about it. Never went into any real detail. My point of contention? The over-seers of the educational system. The elite over educated with more initials after their name than the alphabet, gazing precipitously down their noses at those of us without the mental capacity to comprehend their very existence, let alone have a conversation of any substance. Absolutely chock full of their own supposed superiority, and privileged are we they deign to cast a glance upon. My first impulse is to punch them in their smarmy face, but I'm an adult and I cant do that anymore.

Many are familiar with the absolute incredible array of misinformation fed to our children in modern day educational facilities. The crap that is taught, simply with reference to First Nations culture, is mind boggling. I read some of this collected horseshit and I'm not sure if my reaction should be one of physical sickness, disbelief or humor. I understand “to the victor goes the luxury of writing history” but at least a shadow of truth, some reference to actual occurrences, you think would be included. Add to this garbage can of misinformation the overwhelming lack of any historical knowledge by as many, if not more, of our younger up and coming. Lies perpetuating lies perpetuating lies. It appears each generation is worse than the last. “Whats wrong with this country?” is a question I often hear. Duh. What do you think the end result is going to be, has to be, with generation after generation lying to each other?

By now most should have realized the information processed and fed is completely inaccurate. Columbus was never in this country. He certainly wasn’t a great man. Washington is not the father of my country. I choose not to deify a man who attained his rank through rape and murder. Andrew Jackson is, without a doubt, one of the most hated men in Indian Country, right alongside George Armstrong “mister ego” Custer. Yes, the Lakota stomped his arrogant ass. Yes, the Lakota took the American flag, in battle, and to this day, as far as I understand, have never given it back. Abraham Lincoln, at the time he signed the Emancipation Proclamation, also condemned 38 Dakota warriors to the gallows. There is good and bad, and both sides should be shown. Not painted over to make it appear the Americans were simply doing what they had to in order to create a civilized world for “good christian men and women” out of a harsh, hostile environment ruled over by ignorant savages and heathens. What perspective do you think this teaches of First Nations People? Anyone descended from these men and countless others just like them should be ashamed. Anyone perpetuating this racist nonsense should be ashamed. You have nothing to be proud of.

One point of interest that simple annoys the hell out of me is the continued representation that, until colonization and the coming of the superior race, indigenous peoples were ignorant savages with zero comprehension of construction techniques or social skills. Continuously depicting indigenous peoples as animals, many times less than animals. If it were not for the coming of the conqueror we would have never been saved. Elitist arrogance of the nth degree. Simply defies all logic. How, if we were so uncivilized, have we managed to survive for eons, much longer than academia accredits? Based on that logic, this continent and many others would have been barren of all human life long before those proclaiming Manifest Destiny ever got here.

Another thorn just as annoying, indigenous people didn’t have the wheel. Really? And this crap is to this day being taught in some of the most prestigious schools. No one ever kicked a rock and watched how it rolled? No one ever looked to the sky and saw the sun was round? Legends refer to the circle and things of circular form. According to accepted and taught presumption we were much to ignorant to figure out how to use it. Disregard something as evident as Mayan mathematics. No, we were simply dumb asses, the penultimate Gomer. Well golly! How absolutely arrogant and utterly dismissive of a people older than imagination. Tantamount to saying to your grandfather, hell your great grandfather, didn’t know a damn thing. You have all the answers, and they should bow before you, build an altar and pay homage to your superior intellect. Its a good thing you were born or they would never have survived to be...your freaking grandparents! Petulant children who assume they know it all already.

Here is an argument that makes a little more sense. What indigenous societies didn’t have was the axle. Why? Because they figured out it was unnecessary. Think about this. Acquire a stone, circular and of significant size and weight. Flint napping was and still is a skill possessed by the most if not all indigenous people. How hard is it to apply that skill to a larger surface? Like a rock weighing a ton or two? Make it round, then cut down a tree. Yes, indigenous people knew how to fell trees. They also knew how to adze and plane, creating a flat surface. Burn an indentation into that flat surface, deep enough to create a socket for the two ton stone you just made into a ball. Now you have a flat surface sitting on a ball. Now you are able to put stuff, like other huge rocks, on this flat surface. With ropes. Yes, indigenous people made ropes. With this apparatus and a few people, you can drag the load anywhere. The concept is used today in pens. A uni-ball. Able to turn, roll and spin in every direction. What would an axle be needed for? From World Mysteries I quote,

“One of the strangest mysteries in archeology was discovered in the Diquis Delta of Costa Rica. Since the 1930s, hundreds of stone balls have been documented, ranging in size from a few centimeters to over two meters in diameter. Some weigh 16 tons. Almost all of them are made of granodiorite, a hard, igneous stone. These objects are monolithic sculptures made by human hands.”

Try it. Place a Popsicle stick on a marble. Do you see? Do you see? If ever there was a statement that illuminates the depth of total arrogance expressed by the overly educated and self absorbed, “they didn’t have the wheel” does so perfectly. In vibrant color and deafening in scope.

Here is another one. "How did they get the lines so perfectly straight with no computers?" Lasers, dipshit. But indigenous societies didn't have lasers. Really? What is a laser? In its most basic terms, a laser is a beam of light reflected from a mirrored surface. Ever hold a piece of glass to the sun? Notice that little beam of light? The same one many of us used to cook ants. Do I really need to go into explicit detail? One huge difference between society then and society now? We didn't weaponize every damn thing. The goal wasn't to kill the adversary. The goal was to shame him. Easy to die. Much harder to live humiliated. Counting coup.

Continuing to spoon feed the young erroneous misinformation only ensures the following generations will be just as confused, just as stereotypical, just as intolerant. What response do you think this engenders when they learn the truth? I know I was pissed off. I have spoken to many young people, and their reaction is always the same as mine when they discover everything they were educated about holds as much water as a sieve. Invariably, the reaction to having been lied to their entire scholastic life leaves them feeling betrayed. Admit the mistakes, teach the mistakes and maybe, just maybe, the next generation wont make the same mistakes.

Any ability to effect change must always begin at the beginning. A hole is the only thing I am aware of that starts at the top. And it works its way down. Isn’t it about time we stopped digging holes, and started at the beginning. From the children, and teach them the truth. Both sides of the equation, not simply the one that makes a few appear superior to the many. Give indigenous peoples the credit they so richly deserve for accomplishments they achieved. Recognize the many contributions made, by societies that existed long before the Doctrine of Discovery. If it weren’t for indigenous culture, and their monumental accomplishments, self proclaimed “advanced society” wouldn’t exist.