My favorite professor ever introduced me as an undergrad to the concept of “impossible history” – histories that can not exist, even though they happened. His example was the Haitian Revolution. The Haitian Revolution cannot exist within the logics of capitalism, imperialism, and white European dominance. Enslaved black people liberating themselves without the help of “friendly whites?” A tiny island in the Caribbean, with an army of the aforementioned former slaves, defeating multiple global superpowers? Impossible! So this cannot be allowed to have happened. Haiti must be economically victimized forever, moreso even than other former slave colonies in the Caribbean, just so that we can point to it and say “look, how sad,” so that no one gets to see Haiti’s very existence as the triumph it is. We teach extensively about the American and French revolutions, but only mention in passing the Haitian Revolution which occurred at the same time. Most college courses on Latin American history exclude Haiti even if they cover the rest of the Caribbean. The Haitian Revolution was impossible, a dangerous fantasy that just so happens to have actually happened. So it must be forgotten, the name of Haiti must be made synonymous with poverty, ignorance, and suffering, while never mentioning that those are all the products of 200 years of political and economic warfare and subterfuge against the island, beginning with the presidency of Thomas Jefferson!! Because we cannot have anyone thinking that even the most poor and downtrodden people. when united and organized around a common cause, can make history and change the world for the better
This is the thesis of Michel Trouillot’s book, ‘Silencing the Past’. I am sure that’s where this professor got this from.
Yep! Sorry, I just wrote this post as a ramble and didn’t expect it to spread much. The professor who relayed this to me is Alexander Aviña, a fantastic historian of Mexican radicalism who teaches at Arizona State now
OOF! OOF! how does FIFTEEN POINTS of DAMAGE TASTE?!
jesus a year later and i’m still floored by attention this got
ty everyone for sharing and leaving sweet comments 🙏 i’m going into my senior year of animation which means my school-provided toonboom licence is done n gone some time next year. if you wanna give me a hand snagging a perpetual licence so i can keep making horseshit like this i got a ko-fi to take donations!
for real, though, why do recipes consistently tell you to use less herbs and spices in than you should. fuck your “two cloves of garlic,” fuck your “half teaspoon of cinnamon,” and you can absolutely go to hell with your “dash of black pepper”
I’m pretty sure that the only time I’ve ever actually managed to overseason food was when working with balsamic vinegar, which is the most overpowering motherfucker of a sauce known to man
i appreciate the energy and anger in this post, which is righteous and just
Don’t assume malice. Assume ignorance. Life is easier, the world is kinder, and you can educate. Actual malice is pretty rare, I find.
Always remember Hanlon’s Razor–”Never assume malice when incompetence will suffice as an explanation.”
That’s said, never forget Fred Clark’s Law, either: “Sufficiently advanced incompetence is indistinguishable from malice.” There’s a certain point at which ignorance becomes malice–at which there is simply no way to become that ignorant except deliberately and maliciously.
This second one. Ignorance, once brought to the attention of the ignorant, becomes malice when they refuse to change. Ignorance is okay but willful ignorance is not.
