Posted on 04/07/2006 2:19:00 PM PDT by blam
I've read a couple of Jared Diamond's books and find him a bit to PC for my taste.
bump
Today there are just 200,000 Pygmies scattered amid 120 million blacks. This fragmentation suggests that Pygmy hunters lived throughout the equatorial forests until they were displaced and isolated into small groups by the arrival of black farmers.
Of course, when white displace a population, we shot, infected, etc. For some reason there is no mention of how the blacks displaced the Pygmies. Perhaps they had a great big Kwanzaa feast, sung songs, and then the Pygmies eagerly volunteered to move off into the forests.
A differing view of one small aspect of this article: http://www.namibian.com.na/2004/february/letters/042319AAD2.html
Good article -- you never know what kind of gems will turn up at FR.
You hit the nail on the head. Jared makes a lot of sense about many things, but his verbs when describing the movements of white peoples are derogatory, whereas when describing the movements of non-white peoples they are objective.
I doubt hunter-gatherers "displaced" by blacks or Malays enjoyed the experience much more than those who were displaced by whites.
Diversity? TRANSLATION= conflict,genocide,INhumanity to the 'other.'
Complexity? TRANSLATION= conflict,genocide,INhumanity to the 'other.'
Funny you say that.
There's an article in this month's Discover Magazine titled: Are We All Asians? Anyway I couldn't find it on the net so I asked SunkenCiv if he could, this article was as close as he came. The article suggests we have an Asian origin.
I will answer my own question...
Because "THEY WON" whatever struggle, either the other side didn't fight back or whatever.
If you think that Islam has not taken note of this and you are not prepared to retailiate... buy a prayer rug (which is one of the big BOOMS I see on the horizon, but I will not participate).
Weaklings and Pacifiers KMA
TT
The author's statement that "European colonists shot, displaced, or infected many of them, and the survivors interbred with Europeans" is a bit dissonant. And, the complete absence of Islamic, Arab slave traders is suspect as well. I suppose he's lumped them under "white" to avoid muddying his false dichotomy.
The big boom released all that DNA and all those species unfolded.
.
He starts with the result and writes to reach the objective.
And it ooks like he is paid five cents a word, unless the word is "Diverse" or "Diversity", in which case there is a five Dollar bonus for each.
Reading this pithy article was like sprinkling buttery flavored salt on stryofoam, and using it as popcorn. It tasted like it, the texture was close, but somehow left one feeling hungry and empty for content.
He starts with the result and writes to reach the objective.
I didn't sense any political agenda in this particular article. Did I miss it?
I agree with you about Jared Diamond, his conclusions are at times questionable, pushing some of his arguments a bridge too far in my view, and his exposition is very much PC. So far as this article though, I think it's an excellent overview of African demographics, but doesn't feature anything I didn't already know. That's not a bad thing - I enjoyed reading it and anyone who hasn't studied the history of Africa should get a lot of good info from it.
Mr. Diamond makes wonderful points, and I like his writings. I agree, he gets a little too PC, but still he makes some great points. I loved the whole analysis of the continents on an east-west axis vs. north-south axis in his Guns, Germs, and Steel.
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