WTF Moments

[Rojixus]

That's right, don't you think the Europeans would've benefited from knowing about sterilization and pasteurization?

 

[Ghrakh]

That's right, don't you think the Europeans would've benefited from knowing about sterilization and pasteurization?

If you lived in filth then yeah.

 

[sojourner]

Yes, I thought so too. However, if the Indians had only known about the germ theory of disease, they wouldn't have been gullible enough to accept those blankets. They should've cursed themselves for living in such ignorance.

If they had that knowledge then they probably would have been more technologically advanced than the europeans. The cultural contamination would most likely have been reversed with native americans showing up on the shores of Europe with "blankets" to hand out.

 

[Rojixus]

Yes, I thought so too. However, if the Indians had only known about the germ theory of disease, they wouldn't have been gullible enough to accept those blankets. They should've cursed themselves for living in such ignorance.

If they had that knowledge then they probably would have been more technologically advanced than the europeans. The cultural contamination would most likely have been reversed with native americans showing up on the shores of Europe with "blankets" to hand out.

Then in that scenario, the Europeans should've cursed themselves for living in such ignorance. Knowledge is power, if you don't have the knowledge, you wont have the power. If you don't have the power, you don't deserve a say in your own fate.

 

[DonIago]

^Wow. Imperialism and Manifest Destiny in a nutshell.

 

[Rojixus]

So be it, call it what you will but the point still stands: it is not love that makes the world go round or money for that matter, it's power, pure and absolute.

 

[iguana_tonante]

^ Are you sure you don't want to replace that funny scribble with a good old crux gammata?

 

[Rojixus]

^ Are you sure you don't want to replace that funny scribble with a good old crux gammata?

Well aren't we being clever today!

To be clear, are you talking about the swastika or this?

 

[sojourner]

Either one works.

You really don't understand the reason behind the prime directive do you? It's not about power. It's about diversity. I suggest reading about the pitfalls of monopolies and why a healthy market needs competition.

 

[Rojixus]

Either one works.

I don't know, the swastika has already been done to death and the second one is a little gaudy for my tastes....

On to other matters, I'm sure someone as clever, original and witty as you has heard of Godwin's Law?

You really don't understand the reason behind the prime directive do you? It's not about power. It's about diversity. I suggest reading about the pitfalls of monopolies and why a healthy market needs competition.

I agree whole-heatedly, competition is absolutely vital for continued existence. This is why it is not good for cultures to remain isolated. If they can't compete with rival cultures, do they really have a right to exist? Should people live in ignorance and barbarism simply because it is their native culture? Any healthy society needs competition from other cultures; if the native culture can't survive, the culture was clearly flawed and needed to be abolished.

 

[sojourner]

Oh no, I am much to ignorant to have heard of Godwin's Law. I also just heard about Rick rolling in another thread. can you explain it for me?

And I'll just point out you invoked it with the swastika reference.

Your still not getting it. Who sets the standards for "ignorance and barbarism"? The japanese thought europeans were ignorant barbarians when first encountered.

Competition in rival cultures is good, yes. Extermination by a far superior culture is a waste. Destroying a smaller culture by absorbing it's people into a larger one is missing out on the opportunity to learn from them as they develop. Which is the whole reason for the Prime Directive in trek.

 

[iguana_tonante]

Well aren't we being clever today!

I'm clever every day.

 

[Rojixus]

Who sets the standards for "ignorance and barbarism"?

Why, the winners of course!

absorbing it's people into a larger one is missing out on the opportunity to learn from them as they develop.

If they had anything worthwhile to learn, they wouldn't have been wiped out. From the episodes of Star Trek I've seen, the PD was more about letting people live nasty, brutish, and short lives all in the name of "cultural diversity" or just apathy.

 

[Alrik]

My WTF Moment is the direction that this thread has taken. Wow, really?

 

[sojourner]

Well good luck with that. Can't get much more short sighted.