[Lysrothtuck]

Originally Posted by Love As Arson

First thought: Fuck George Washington

Second thought: American would not exist if it were not for genocide and slave labor.

Third thought: America killed a million Iraqis and has engaged in terror throughout the world.

Just to nitpick, North American natives were primarily killed of by disease, not by genocidal intentions.

[Lysrothtuck]

Originally Posted by StephenYoung

Just to nitpick, that disease was spread by smallpox-infected blankets and clothes given to natives by Europeans.

That's still far from the definition of genocide, unless you're claiming that they intentionally spread disease, which is ridiculous.

What the Europeans did was awful. This doesn't mean we can ignore historical realities to suit our own agendas.

[Lysrothtuck]

Originally Posted by Broken Parachute

I mean, they did try though. Their intention was to take out as many Native Americans as possible. The only thing historians argue is that it wasn't the Europeans who started the spread. Smallpox was already spreading before that, so they just added on to an already growing epidemic.

That's simply inaccurate on two counts. First, it's an extreme generalization to say that "they" wanted to do anything. The European precursor for expansion had dozens or more reasons for doing so, and most had nothing to do with "taking out" Native Americans. Secondly, those that did have blood lust lacked the sophisticated means of intentionally spreading certain diseases. They didn't do it on purpose.