Strange Doings in New York

There can be no real doubt that the white colonialists who took over sub-Saharan Africa in the 19th century and earlier had a civilizing influence there -- but mentioning that is pretty taboo these days. So how the heck did mention of the fact get into a New York Regents High School examination? We may never know but it did. The questions in the exam concerned asked students to describe how Africa benefited from imperialism. Students were given historical passages to read, then asked to comment:

"On the exam, students were asked to read Lugard's account of British projects in Africa like digging wells and building irrigation systems, then to "state two ways British imperialism would benefit Africans."

Next up was a passage from Lugard's "The Dual Mandate in British Tropical Africa," from 1922. It described British efforts to end the slave trade and reduce famine and disease.

Source

Delicate African students were reduced to tears by such talk. It is sort of encouraging that a bit of history sometimes peeps through the propaganda, though.

Update:

A reader thinks I was not tough enough above! He writes:

"Seems to me you missed the most important point of the story from a tongue tied perspective - the fact that people were denouncing the questions. You make the story sound like good news when it's really about bad news".





A Different Holocaust Denial

As many Jewish writers do, I deplore the criminalization of holocaust denial. Free speech issues aside, it just makes it look like the deniers have something important to say. It now looks like the first holocaust of the 20th century -- the killing and expulsion of vast numbers of Christian Armenians from Muslim Turkey during and after World War I -- is getting the censorship treatment too.

The French parliament is debating a law this week that would ban denial of the Armenian holocaust. Some other countries already have done so. There is not the slightest doubt about what the Turkism Muslims did to the Armenians but the Turks quibble over whether it was "genocide" and say the Armenians "provoked" it -- just as some people say that the Jews provoked Hitler's treatment of them.

There is a Turkish commentary on the matter here. The Armenian view is given here. Latest news report here




Hate Speech or Fact Speech?

The Turkish nationalists who took power in Turkey immediately after World War I did not like non-Turks very much -- and the Armenian genocide is the best known evidence of that. Other ethnic minorities got a very rough time too however but we are not supposed to mention that.

But Jenny Mikakos, a Greek member of an Australian parliament (in the State of Victoria), has just applied a bit of Greek passion to the matter and mentioned the persecution and expulsion of the Greeks in Turkey at that time.

As a result she has been accused of hate speech towards the Turks. For once I agree with Mr Lefty on the matter: If what she said is a fact, it's not hate speech. Mr Lefty has more details. I also have a bit more to say about the matter on Australian Politics.