fantoozie

Your last post did ask if you should feel personally ashamed for the history of French colonialism so I was responding to that in particular. Maybe you meant it rhetorically but I didn’t perceive it that way so I figured I’d share my thoughts.

I do disagree with your final point, but I can clearly see I have a much different perspective on the West than you, so I won’t dive into that. Ill simply mention that whatever vibe you think you’re getting from these comments may be a good catalyst for you to critically think about how these narratives make you feel and why that is so, since it seems that you’re frustrated over some perceived threat to your belief system. If anyone is arguing in absolutes than I wouldn’t invest much energy into their arguments, but from where I’m looking I don’t see much of that; just people engaging in good-faith discourse about very complex subjects.

I think it’s more about having the capacity to understand nuance and context from both sides. The legacy of European colonialism isn’t your personal responsibility, but the ease with which many Europeansl dismiss ANY responsibility for it while still enjoying the wealth and privileges it created for them AND actively supporting the heirarchies left in its wake is dangerously tone-deaf. I agree with your perspective on having conversations that don’t dehumanize Muslims while still pressuring the community to hold itself accountable, otherwise state action will do it for them. But tbh ignoring history and crying “it wasn’t me, I shouldn’t feel bad” is short-sighted and how y’all got here in the first place.