The White Man's Burden
I thought the parody of the White Man's Burden published in the New York Times 1900 , was interesting because it may have struck a chord with individuals that supported Imperialism . It reflected truth .
The truth was that imperialism was not necessarily beneficial to the people in foreign countries but rather beneficial to the White American imperialist.It showed the downside of imperialism that it is not always euphonious . For example "And don't forget the factories on the benighted shores " and "throw in a few diseases to spread in tropic climes" . These are depictions of actual phenomenons occurring through imperialism . Men of European descent often exposed natives of foreign countries to diseases such as small pox
The truth was that imperialism was not necessarily beneficial to the people in foreign countries but rather beneficial to the White American imperialist.It showed the downside of imperialism that it is not always euphonious . For example "And don't forget the factories on the benighted shores " and "throw in a few diseases to spread in tropic climes" . These are depictions of actual phenomenons occurring through imperialism . Men of European descent often exposed natives of foreign countries to diseases such as small pox
posted by Anonymous at 10:58 PM
1 Comments:
Yes the parody does raise some serious criticisms. At the same time, the spreading of disease was not an intended part of U.S. expansionism. Colonizers were just as likely to die of diseases that they found in tropic climes, such as Malaria. Of the many sins of Imperialism, it is hard to blame the europeans for carrying germs.
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