Fake anon !ZkUt8arUCU joined in and replied with this 2 years ago, 6 minutes later, 15 hours after the original post[^][v]#1,240,375
Probably not. @1,240,366 (Meta !Sober//iZs)
They were extreme but if you read any of the revolutionaries from colonial territories you'll find pretty similar stories. I can't remember the specific example but Ho Chi Minh wrote about a French landowner who was like woken up from a nap by a Vietnamese person and as punishment she had to stand under the sun holding a heavy rock until she collapsed and died. Belgians were worse but only in degree, not in kind. I can find the specific example later on when I get home.
Anyway, it's hard to see how things like that or the Belgians kidnapping and raping women from Congolese villages until the village men met their rubber quota (the rubber collection process itself being extremely dangerous, unreliable, and unpleasant) was a huge boon for the native populations. Not sure building ports and railways outweighs that, and anyway they certainly could have built the ports and railways without needing all the mass rape, murder, torture, mutilation, and oppression that went along with it.
Erik !AltRitexT6 replied with this 2 years ago, 1 minute later, 15 hours after the original post[^][v]#1,240,377
@previous (Fake anon !ZkUt8arUCU)
I do think being woken up from a nap is annoying. My black neighbours do this sometimes when I'm napping before slimelight.
Meta !Sober//iZs replied with this 2 years ago, 2 minutes later, 15 hours after the original post[^][v]#1,240,378
@1,240,375 (Fake anon !ZkUt8arUCU)
Like I said, the Belgians were fucked up. I don't condone any of the cutting Congolese people's arms off to make the rubber quota.
Fake anon !ZkUt8arUCU replied with this 2 years ago, 13 minutes later, 15 hours after the original post[^][v]#1,240,385
@1,240,377 (Erik !AltRitexT6)
Yeah I'd be a bit cross but a death sentence seems a tad harsh. @previous (Meta !Sober//iZs)
Belgians were the worst of the bunch but the French, Germans, Dutch, British etc. were not great, though obviously some were "better" on average than others.
ChatGuardian joined in and replied with this 2 years ago, 1 hour later, 17 hours after the original post[^][v]#1,240,441
Dear User,
I am reaching out in regards to your thread titled "Colonialism was a net positive." At Minichan.net, we take our community standards very seriously, and your post violates these guidelines.
We have implemented a policy that prohibits the promotion, endorsement, or defense of colonialism due to its vast inhumane and destructive impacts on societies worldwide. This period of history caused profound suffering and has left enduring negative effects on many communities.
By presenting colonialism as a positive phenomenon, your post directly contravenes this policy. Such content is not welcome here, as it can cause considerable distress and harm to members of our community who are personally or historically affected by the brutalities of colonialism.
Consider this a formal warning. Further disregard for our community guidelines, including any attempt to present colonialism favorably, will lead to stricter actions, up to and including permanent banning from our forum.
We encourage you to continue participating in our community, but in a way that respects and adheres to our guidelines and values.
Fake anon !ZkUt8arUCU replied with this 2 years ago, 54 minutes later, 19 hours after the original post[^][v]#1,240,476
@1,240,385 (Fake anon !ZkUt8arUCU)
Found it! I had conflated a bunch of stories on the same page because it's been a few years since I read it, but this was the benefit of colonialism as experienced by the colonized:
Under the title ‘Colonial Bandits’ our comrade Victor Meric has told us of the incredible cruelty of a French administrator in the colonies who poured molten rubber into the genitals of an unfortunate Negress. After which, he made her carry a huge stone on her head in the blazing sun, until she died.
This sadistic official is now continuing his exploits in another district, still with the same rank.
Unfortunately, such odious deeds are not rare in what the good press calls ‘overseas France’.
In March 1922, a customs-house officer at Baria (Cochin-China) all but sent an Annamese woman salt carrier to her death because she had disturbed his siesta by making a noise outside the verandah of his house.
The best of it is that this woman was threatened with the sack from the construction yard she was working on if she lodged a complaint.
In April, another customs-house officer who took the place of the above-mentioned official, proved to be worthy of his predecessor for his brutalities.
An old Annamese woman, also a salt carrier, had an argument with a woman overseer regarding the stoppage of part of her wages. On hearing the overseer’s complaint, the officer, without more ado, took it upon himself to give the carrier two stinging slaps in the face. While the poor woman was stooping to pick up her hat, the civilizer, not satisfied with the slaps he had just given her, furiously kicked her in the lower abdomen, immediately provoking a great flow of blood.
When the unfortunate Annamese fell to the ground M. Sarraut’s collaborator, instead of succouring her, called for the village mayor to carry her away. This worthy refused. Then the officer called in the victim’s husband, who was blind, and ordered him to take his wife away. The poor old woman is now in hospital.
It’s odds on that, like their colleague the administrator in Africa, our two customs-house officers were not worried. They might even have received promotion.
If it was a "net positive", it was only by accident.
Meta !Sober//iZs replied with this 2 years ago, 13 hours later, 1 day after the original post[^][v]#1,240,509
@1,240,385 (Fake anon !ZkUt8arUCU)
I agree none of them meet Current Year standards of conduct. This may surprise you, but few things from previous centuries did!
Fake anon !ZkUt8arUCU replied with this 2 years ago, 17 minutes later, 1 day after the original post[^][v]#1,240,510
@previous (Meta !Sober//iZs)
Surprisingly, Ho Chi Minh was not writing in or for the current year. This example from The Case Against French Colonialism, published in 1924. People before the current year also thought colonialism was barbaric and evil and wrote about its depravity while it was happening. It's not like we only learned pouring molten rubber in someone's vagina was bad in 2007 or whatever.
Anonymous C replied with this 2 years ago, 1 hour later, 1 day after the original post[^][v]#1,240,525
@1,240,476 (Fake anon !ZkUt8arUCU) > If it was a "net positive", it was only by accident.
But it's an unfalsifiable proclamation so really there's no point in arguing about it. There's no way to observe this hypothetical world that was without colonialism
Fake anon !ZkUt8arUCU replied with this 2 years ago, 29 minutes later, 1 day after the original post[^][v]#1,240,543
@1,240,525 (C)
There's no way to view the world wherein I got kidnapped and tortured to death by the cartels yesterday, because it didn't happen, but I am pretty confident in saying that would have been an overall net negative.