Americans, do you ever feel guilty about living on the land stolen from the Natives?

Totally fine with it.

We are not the ones who perpetrated these crimes, so no.

I wish I could transport you OP to 1830 for a dose of 1830 reality. Right into the frontier. Right into the middle of things. Then perhaps you would understand 1830 and why things were done when they were done. 2019 is a very safe and clinical vantage fro which to cast your judgement, cupcake, but grossly skewered and ill-informed.

I never feel guilty about things for which I was not personally responsible. If I had had a hand in it directly, then yes probably. Do you feel guilty about the invention of automobiles? They are heavily polluting the earth. You should be ashamed for them being invented back then. Asshole.

Legally, the Native Americans were in posession of land, but did not own it. Settlers established the initial ownership.

Never

Doctrine of Discovery

If I were to feel guilty about it (which would be pretty silly), I would have to have proof that my ancestors were directly involved in it somehow. My family were all northerners, located within Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire, and as far as I know, they were here long after the land was taken away from the natives. I do not feel guilty about being a white man because nobody in my family ever owned a slave or was responsible for anybody losing their hand or property. While later generations became successful financially, older generations were working class, usually in factories or the restaurant business. White privilege? I've never had it.

Nope. I feel sad in general that it happened that way when I read about it, but I didnt ask to be born here, nor did my parents. And my ancestors came here waaayyy after that all happened anyway, but even if they didn't, what do their actions have to do with me? Not like i was around to stop them.

No. I did not have any ancestors living in America at the time. And even if I did, I doubt I'd feel guilty. My ancestors are responsible for themselves, I'm responsible for myself. I am not "tainted" by anything they did, even if some of my DNA has the same sequence as theirs.

[quote]But the settling of places like America and Australia happened more recently and is so well documented that it's hard to just ignore it.

What a strange thing about which to be self-righteous and morally superior.

The recent colonial history of the European powers, especially the one that stole land from the Celts, that lasted well into the 20th century reflected a brutal oppression of those indigenous people.

And, if you consider that it occurred during a more modern era during which land acquisition through war had been largely abandoned, one could argue that it was even worse because they actually knew what they were doing and did it anyway.

OP, what country are you from? I am sure we can find some morally objectionable acts carried out by your own ancestors for you to feel guilty about.

It’s silly to feel guilty about something you personally had no hand in. My ancestors all came to America 200 years before the Revolutionary War, so I don’t get to say it all happened before my people got here. What happened was awful, and that Doctrine of Discovery horseshit (which is racist and imperialist on its face) certain doesn’t excuse it. But what can I do? Move back to Europe? Where in Europe?

I will add that there is such a thing as collective karma. While I don’t feel personal guilt, I feel guilt on behalf of the nation, for this and many other atrocities we have committed.

Sorry, I’m R13, not R12.

My ancestors were Spanish settlers who stole land from Native Americans in New Mexico. I have a little bit of guilt. But, I get annoyed with other descendants of Spanish settlers who don't acknowledge the awful shit their ancestors did to Native Americans. In New Mexico, Native Americans have fought to remove statutes of Spanish conquistadors and that has led to some conflicts with Hispanics who want the statues kept up.

OP man has ALWAYS been cruel and greedy.

Did the First Nations ever feel guilty about stealing land from Bison, Buffalo, Bear, Wolves, etc?

Isn't this the case for Canadians too?

No. Fuck off.

[quote]My ancestors all came to America 200 years before the Revolutionary War

Wow. Can you imagine? They were here before it was “America”! I would love to trace my lineage back that far.

This is why he won.

The US more than made up for that by giving the Natives the right to open all those fabulous casinos!

OP where are you from?

Never understood the use of the word stolen. Conquered. Yes. Stolen? Nah.

Prior to Europeans arriving, Native American tribes often fought with each other. Some groups would force other groups out of certain areas.

OP is a troll, clearly.

A coward, too, since he drops this turd in the punch bowl then vanishes when asked to ID himself and to defend what he wrote. More fun, I guess, for him to sit back and watch others trash him. What kind of person gets on off on that?

How can I feel guilty when part of my genetic makeup is in fact Mohawk. That and the knowledge that property is in essence theft.

Both sets of grandparents came to America in the early 1930's, so no.

Hell no

Nope, never.

I don't believe guilt carries from generation to generation, Troll OP. That makes no sense.

Much of the current politically-correct revisionism is a sleight of hand, a hidden agenda that goes like this: 1. Shut up. 2. Give me your stuff. "I want what you stole. Gimme." That's all you need to remember, kids. I WANT WHAT YOU HAVE AND I WILL HAVE IT.

I don’t feel guilty but I do acknowledge that I am a beneficiary of horrible behavior. Yeah, I never forced any natives off my land, I just let somebody else’s ancestor do it and I reap the benefits.

We still do the same, only now it’s for cheap electronics and diamonds and clothes and processed food, not land. And it still sucks, and I still benefit from some horrific human rights abuse. We can acknowledge it and try and do better.

I’m not saying we have to give it all back and live in mudhuts somewhere undeveloped, but we shouldn’t just shrug and say “I didn’t do it, so it doesn’t matter”.

Do you think the Chinese elite feel bad about colonizing Africa?

R33, or more succinctly, it means, "I'm too lazy to work, and I want 'free stuff'."

All I know is some white people are buying into very flawed logic whose brokering agents want them stripped of wealth and power. Guilt is being used as lever to extract your gold fillings.

I didn't do it, so it doesn't matter.

Kind of, OP, but I'm not Caucasian, so less so.

That said, I kind of wish that if any European power was going to colonize places like Latin America, it should have been the British. The Spanish did a terrible job. The portuguese, too.

The UK birthed America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand. Not unimpressive.

Replies like r38 illustrate that many Americans lack the capacity for nuance. This is demonstrated on the other side by people on "woke Twitter" who refer to themselves as "settler colonialists" and opine about how breathing in and out on native lands is unforgivably problematic.

White guilt is a guilty pleasure. The cuntescence of self aggrandizement.

r39 isn't wrong

Smarter, more adaptable, willing to share. Now step up.

If op is a Brit, seriously shut the fuck up about guilt about taking things that aren’t yours.

As far as your stupid question goes, no.

OP is a Jamaican Brit. Probably big and sexy, has dreads and a deep voice. And she's a bottom, of course.

Is the human race supposed to feel guilty for evolution and social progress? The Darwinian battle for Survival of the Fittest is never-ending.

I don't feel guilty since it's so far removed from my life. I do think about it sometimes, and how it's weird that we killed them, took their land, and then took so many of their words for marketing, sports teams, place names and all that.

I still feel bad for the Australopithecus afarensis, r46

I do wonder how homo sapiens treated other sapiens. Neanderthals, etc. I can imagine the brutal genocide we committed against them.

We did something similar to indigenous peoples of the Americas, but with diseases, more advanced weapons, and trickery like bullshit treaties in some cases.

We do the same to other primates today (genocide of orangutans for palm oil, mass murder of gorillas in central Africa — google for pics if you want — it's a thing).

The world is a fucking evil, horrible place. The best we can do is to be kind to everyone — other species included — and alleviate others' suffering.

No. They had a good run.

It was the Brits who "stole" the land in North America and Down Under in the first place.

OP, Please let me tuck you in with a special blanket.

The Native Americans conquered one another as much as we did them. Who knows how many would have even been left had we not settled the land. The Aztecs, though in Mexico, sacrificed more members of their own tribe for ritual than any conquistador.

I feel guilt about the horrific and abject treatment of the Chinese immigrants who were brought here to build the transcontinental railroads in the late 1800s. Completely inhumane, many died, and then, once we were through them, barred future immigration of Chinese people.

*through WITH them

Yer bad, r52, lol.

I don't believe in collective guilt or collective punishment so the answer is no. It is thinking like that which leads to atrocities being committed like the Indian Removal Act.

Don't indigenous people still club baby seals for fur in Canada?

R57 Now that IS something to feel guilty about.

"Legally, the Native Americans were in posession of land, but did not own it. Settlers established the initial ownership."

That's the stupidest right wing talking point I've ever heard.

Owning something is different than possessing it, in legal terms, r59

Just imagine the outcry if the DeSoto automobile was still being produced.

How could anyone not feel sorry for murdering the ancestors of someone who looks like this:

Oh my, I think I'm in love.

Do colonizers feel guilty for raping,mass genicide or murdering in other countries. You answer that first OP

An my culture was kidnapped and held hostage...probably by some of your ancestors. I have zero guilt about the behavior your ancestors helped develope

R60, I understand that, as I'm a lawyer. But it's still a bullshit argument.

I think it's fantastic to realize the grave wrongs man has committed throughout history - none worse than events like the Trail of Tears - and learn from those wrongs. Try our best to not make the same mistakes again.

But guilt? No. That's a waste of energy and serves no function other than perpetuating a victim mentality.

Very many Native Americans were mercenaries for hire and they'd murder, rape, pillage for the highest bidder, whether for the Brits, the French, the Spanish or as a freebooters -- irrespective of ideology or agenda. They were a fiercely warring people who could scarcely be kept from each other throats and were only too happy to be paid for their activities. And that is the real history of the noble savage, darlings.

I'm a fuckin' native. I was fuckin' born here. My parents were fuckin' born here. I hate the way our government has treated them, and I support changing that, but I have none of that "collective guilt" Christians love to embrace once a week.

Shut up and give me your stuff.

Eldergays? What was going through your mind when you were sailing with Columbus and saw a Native American for the first time? Tell us about it.

No, because it wasn't stolen, it was bought.

And while you're at it, do you ask the Hopi who took the land from the Pueblo, or the Aztec who murdered thousands of Mayans how that is any different?

It's like black lives matter only if a white cop kills them, when blacks kill blacks (which accounts for almost all the black murdered) strangely it doesn't bother anyone of color.

R71 He was hot, so I made him my houseboy.

R72 Settle down Kelly Anne.....

R72, it wasn't bought. Stop that bullshit.

That said, it's done. No one is alive who was victimized by it. All land was stolen from someone.

We can only do better moving forward, and there are plenty of opportunities (despoiling the environment, killing wildlife, etc.).

Agree with R59, that argument is disgusting

I didn't steal anything from anyone and I am not any more responsible for what happened to the Native Americans than I am to the African slaves.

What happened to the native people around the world at the hands of mostly Europeans was horrible but since I had no hand in it, I feel no guilt.

There is no such thing as 'stolen land'.

Me heap sorry me smack ‘em on coco

Yes, we’re all guilty of being advantaged because someone in the past was disadvantaged. Give more to charity if it makes you feel better. I’m sure the Darfur orphans will appreciate it.

Has anybody here ever hooked up with a native?

A native what? Ohioan?

I'm more upset trans people never go the recognition they deserved for spurring the American revolution and winning WWII.

The Indians were not good shepherds of this land, so they lost it fair and square

r83 = Alok

Do you feel guilt, OP? If you’re English then it was your forbears who invaded the Australian continent in the 18th century and annexed the land from its custodians.

As a cis white male, I feel guilty just existing.

- Joe "Woke" Biden

Would you like a ladder to get down off your high horse, there, OP?