This idea that the conquistadors were somehow more morally enlightened is such a racist rhetoric. For you to even imply that the destruction of Aztec culture was in any way a moral good is something so disgusting and straight-up racist. I’m so tired of people spinning this to try to make the conquistadors the “good guys.” When you talk about non-white cultures, try to be more critical about what you say, and please never suggest that a people being colonized was a morally good thing.
I don't believe that the conquistadors were morally enlightened, or that they were the "good guys." Nor do I think that the destruction of Aztec culture was good; in fact I think it was a great tragedy. It's rather puzzling to me how you read an article that is far more sympathetic to the Aztecs than most depictions of them, comparing their philosophy to that of the Greeks, and infer that I hold those opinions!
But yes, human sacrifice is bad. The fact that this practice stopped is good, and this is true even if that came with bad things, like colonization. I know where your frustration comes from, I also see those online debates about the Aztecs and the Spanish in which people annoyingly praise the latter as if they rid the world of a great evil, but if that frustration leads you to uncritically consider all of Aztec civilization as 100% good, I think you're the one who should be more careful and nuanced when talking about non-white cultures.
As I’ve been studying utopian thought I’ve frequently brushed up against this very thing, what counts as classical wisdom? Thank you for putting some words to that fine line and for finding ways to share the fringes around it!
This idea that the conquistadors were somehow more morally enlightened is such a racist rhetoric. For you to even imply that the destruction of Aztec culture was in any way a moral good is something so disgusting and straight-up racist. I’m so tired of people spinning this to try to make the conquistadors the “good guys.” When you talk about non-white cultures, try to be more critical about what you say, and please never suggest that a people being colonized was a morally good thing.
I don't believe that the conquistadors were morally enlightened, or that they were the "good guys." Nor do I think that the destruction of Aztec culture was good; in fact I think it was a great tragedy. It's rather puzzling to me how you read an article that is far more sympathetic to the Aztecs than most depictions of them, comparing their philosophy to that of the Greeks, and infer that I hold those opinions!
But yes, human sacrifice is bad. The fact that this practice stopped is good, and this is true even if that came with bad things, like colonization. I know where your frustration comes from, I also see those online debates about the Aztecs and the Spanish in which people annoyingly praise the latter as if they rid the world of a great evil, but if that frustration leads you to uncritically consider all of Aztec civilization as 100% good, I think you're the one who should be more careful and nuanced when talking about non-white cultures.
As I’ve been studying utopian thought I’ve frequently brushed up against this very thing, what counts as classical wisdom? Thank you for putting some words to that fine line and for finding ways to share the fringes around it!