Re: European Vigor/Native woe

Russ Bulluck (lrbulluc@unity.ncsu.edu)
Thu, 18 Nov 1999 21:24:51 -0500

European settlers have dominated most cultures they have encountered (with the
exception of some tropical cultures). It's had as much to do with the diseases
they bring as the ideology they had. Read "Ecological Imperialism. The
Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900" by Alfred W. Crosby. The book has a
good deal to say about the "spread" of Europeans across the continents like a
disease (in fact smallpox was one of the big reasons Europeans were able to
colonize so many locales).

I think in this time of thanksgiving, we need to remember that the United States
is a vast collection of cultures and peoples. And no one group is more
important than the next. . . In fact, without the whole, the parts lose their
power. (You know. . . "United we stand, divided we fall.")

Just my two cents. . . Russ

Hugh Lovel wrote:

> Dear Sanet Readers,
>
> A week or so ago in connection with foreign species such as kudzu and water
> hyacinth which have proven spectacularly suited to new environments in
> America I made mention of the "vigor" of my European ancestors who pretty
> thoroughly overwhelmed my Native American ancestors (I have both). I was
> roundly criticised by one reader for some of the things this European
> "vigor" implied. Since I am neither ignorant nor unaware of the history on
> both sides of the Atlantic I'd like to post this tribute from our Georgia
> Greens List to European peoples' dominance once they invaded this continent.
>
> I'm certainly not saying this dominance was fair, nor am I wringing my
> hands about it. It is what it is, and I think it deserves a good look. If
> we want the future to be better than the present we need to consider the
> present realities without flinching.
>
> Best,
> Hugh Lovel

--
Russ Bulluck
Ph.D. Candidate
Department of Plant Pathology
North Carolina State University
PO Box 7616
Raleigh, NC  27695-7616


http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/plantpath/Personnel/Students/webpage.htm


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The soil population is so complex that it manifestly cannot
be dealt with as a whole with any detail by any one person,
and at the same time it plays so important a part in the soil
economy that it must be studied.
--Sir E. John Russell
The Micro-organisms of the Soil, 1923
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