I think Africa would have been better off without European intervention. It may not have been as technologically or culturally advanced but it would have been less of a shithole, to be sure.
[quote]belligerent wrote:
I think Africa would have been better off without European intervention. It may not have been as technologically or culturally advanced but it would have been less of a shithole, to be sure.[/quote]
Agreed. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that some people still believe that European intervention helped the situation.
[quote]hunterthompson wrote:
to the OP- judging by the responses to this thread, I would look elsewhere for information on African History. This board isn’t really the place to go for anything race related as of late.
and ya not like anything as timeless or as breathtaking as the pyramids ever emerged from the primordial swamp that is africa. [/quote]
I don’t know why he would go to this forum for this type of information. Go to a library, e-mail/call a faculty member at any University anywhere that has expertise in the area, hell, if that’s too much go to wikipedia.
[quote]hunterthompson wrote:
to the OP- judging by the responses to this thread, I would look elsewhere for information on African History. This board isn’t really the place to go for anything race related as of late.
and ya not like anything as timeless or as breathtaking as the pyramids ever emerged from the primordial swamp that is africa. [/quote]
The skyline of New York is breathtaking and a tribute to the Spirit of Man. The pyramids are a tribute to pain.
[quote]belligerent wrote:
I think Africa would have been better off without European intervention. It may not have been as technologically or culturally advanced but it would have been less of a shithole, to be sure.[/quote]
Bringing law and order (esp from the British) was a true blessing to Africa. When you find savages making potions out of human hearts and proceed to stop that, that’s a good thing. Building railways and bringing in doctors to replace witch doctors is a good thing.
Ever see the end of the movie ‘Roots’? Alex Haley’s character has to sit and listen to a Mandinka priest rattle off the history of the tribe BECAUSE THEY DIDN’T WRITE!
Its just too bad that Europeans didn’t stay in Africa. Who knows, it might look like Germany or Ireland today, instead of Hell (Robert Mugabe style).
Ok, Ok, off topic a lil but I have to get this off my chest.
Have you all seen the ad campaign on tv called “Nothing But Nets?” They want you to send money to help “cover Africa in Nets” to protect against Malaira. You donate $10 to buy a net that covers an Africans sleeping area. Am I missing something? I’m not trying to make fun of a serious problem, but this seems like that dumbest fucking solution that they could think of. What happens if they leave the netted area? I know mosquitos are heavy at night but as soon as the sun sets and until it rises you would have to stay inside the fucking net to be protected. I must be missing something…
It’s probably the cheapest, most practical way to protect a huge number of people. I guess you’ve never been in a place like that - it’s a fine netting that covers you while you sleep, when you’re likely to get eaten alive, given that it’s night and the air is still and you’re vulnerable, etc. It works quite well, actually.
Speaking of Africa I found a cool website on African Bodybuilders. www.ntpowerhouse.com They got some big boys on there.
[quote]triple-10sets wrote:
As I sit back and look at the history of the world it seems as though the country of Africa wishes to live life in its purest form without all the un-natural man-made devices, and capitalist mentality. I believe without Americans and Europeans having captured slaves and taking over the diamond trade, it would be one of the best countries in the world !!!
By that I dont mean economically, I mean environmentally and alot higher life expectancy then they currently have. I know much of Africa’s early history has been lost, but if anyone has anything that might further educate me on the country I would appreciate it. [/quote]
Higher life expectancy?
You mean being eaten by a Lion? Continual tribal warfare? Attempted genocide of entire tribes? Rampant HIV disease that did not come from the western countries? Unchecked disease?
Oh yeah, what a utopia!
[quote]dk44 wrote:
Ok, Ok, off topic a lil but I have to get this off my chest.
Have you all seen the ad campaign on tv called “Nothing But Nets?” They want you to send money to help “cover Africa in Nets” to protect against Malaira. You donate $10 to buy a net that covers an Africans sleeping area. Am I missing something? I’m not trying to make fun of a serious problem, but this seems like that dumbest fucking solution that they could think of. What happens if they leave the netted area? I know mosquitos are heavy at night but as soon as the sun sets and until it rises you would have to stay inside the fucking net to be protected. I must be missing something…[/quote]
Dude, I’ve been in South America during the height of mosquito season. Trust me, I WISH someone would have sent me a fucking net.
You have never experienced a fucking WALL of mosquitoes before, I guess.
They eat right through Off spray like it isn’t even there. By the end of the day, I had a film of mosquito repellant stuck to me that had to be scrubbed off. They sell the shit in little corner stores like we see toilet paper here in America…entire aisles dedicated to mosquitoes.
[quote]Headhunter wrote:
I think also that the State Department advises that Americans don’t travel to any country in Africa (though I can’t confirm that). Yikes!!![/quote]
I have 2 friends who have both been to Africa.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
They eat right through Off spray like it isn’t even there. By the end of the day, I had a film of mosquito repellant stuck to me that had to be scrubbed off. They sell the shit in little corner stores like we see toilet paper here in America…entire aisles dedicated to mosquitoes.[/quote]
A picture which sticks in my mind from an article on Malaria in National Geographic. An I.V. bag full of blood, covered from one end to the other with mosquitos.
They were trying to suck the blood out of the freaking bag !
-cool I found it:
second to last picture.
[quote]Gkhan wrote:
Professor X wrote:
They eat right through Off spray like it isn’t even there. By the end of the day, I had a film of mosquito repellant stuck to me that had to be scrubbed off. They sell the shit in little corner stores like we see toilet paper here in America…entire aisles dedicated to mosquitoes.
A picture which sticks in my mind from an article on Malaria in National Geographic. An I.V. bag full of blood, covered from one end to the other with mosquitos.
They were trying to suck the blood out of the freaking bag !
-cool I found it:
second to last picture.[/quote]
That’s about what it was like. I was worried the entire time we might catch some disease. They literally attack you. It is nothing like we have here even on our worst days. When the sun goes down, watch out. Smoke keeps them away to some degree which was the only way we enjoyed ourselves. I might be buying some nets just out of sympathy.
What is sad, I learned from the article, was they were making great strides in eradicating Malaria, then the money ran out, and we’re right back where we started.
So they have to stay under the net from sun down to sunset?
Once again, wasn’t trying to downgrade something serious, just think there are better solutions.
[quote]dk44 wrote:
So they have to stay under the net from sun down to sunset?
Once again, wasn’t trying to downgrade something serious, just think there are better solutions.[/quote]
Use of malaria nets as part of a wider strategy saves many, many lives. It’s not a downgrade, it’s one of the most effective tools used to fight malaria, and whenever it’s ignored the toll is obvious.
Dawn and Dusk are the peak times to get chomped on by Mosquito’s. So it is very effective in preventing Malaria. In Asia the only times I get stung are at night in bed.
[quote]Headhunter wrote:
I think also that the State Department advises that Americans don’t travel to any country in Africa (though I can’t confirm that). Yikes!!![/quote]
The list of countries for which the DOS has issued travel warnings can be found here:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_1764.html
Travel alerts are here:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_1766.html
Only 1/3 of African countries can be found on either list. State Department warnings are usually exaggerated anyway, which is good because I’ll be headed to the Democratic Republic of Congo in about a month.
Ok I thought it was just some scam to make some moron rich by using a “fake” cause. Didn’t mean to hijack the thread.
Will to Power: you are right, I went to the Nothing but Nets website and its all part of a large strategy.
[quote]triple-10sets wrote:
As I sit back and look at the history of the world it seems as though the country of Africa wishes to live life in its purest form without all the un-natural man-made devices, and capitalist mentality. I believe without Americans and Europeans having captured slaves and taking over the diamond trade, it would be one of the best countries in the world !!!
By that I dont mean economically, I mean environmentally and alot higher life expectancy then they currently have. I know much of Africa’s early history has been lost, but if anyone has anything that might further educate me on the country I would appreciate it. [/quote]
Certainly you can make the argument that colonisation helped lead to horrific incidents such as the Rwandan Genocide by creating arbitrary national boundaries and replacing traditional structures of authority with systems destined to failure.
Furthermore, industries such as daimond mining certainly create jobs where the quaity of life is abysmal. Anyone doubting the destructive nature of European colonization should read a book called “Leopold’s Ghost,” which describes the horrors wrought by the Belgians in Central Africa.
However, I think it’s pointless to try to envision an Africa left devoid of involvment by other civilizations because only a fool could possibly believe that the resource-hungry global economy we have today would leave an entire resource-laden continent untouched.