How Racist Hierarchy created a people that don't actually exist in America, Anglo Saxons!
In both the United States and Great Britain, there has been a historical tendency to idealize Anglo-Saxon heritage as a model of European whiteness. Whiteness is a modern, colonial invention. It was devised in the 17th century and used to provide the logic for genocide and slavery. Its main use is to perpetuate a myth of racial superiority based on levels of skin pigmentation (melanin). Ironically lack of melanin is directly related to low birth numbers in populations! Teddy Roosevelt, prior to his presidency, embarked on the 1898 U.S. invasion of Cuba with Edmond Demolins' manifesto, "Anglo-Saxon Superiority," which espoused racist views. During the 1920s, the Anglo-Saxon Clubs of America advocated for segregation and promoted the exclusion of individuals not of pure "Caucasian" descent. Concurrently, an Atlanta Baptist minister professed, "The Ku Klux Klan is not fighting anybody; it is simply pro Anglo-Saxon." Meanwhile, in 1943, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill confidently questioned, "Why be apologetic about Anglo-Saxon superiority, that we were superior, that we had the common heritage which had been developed over centuries in England and had been refined by our constitution?"
In April 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives’ America First Caucus published a seven-page policy platform claiming that the country’s borders and culture are “strengthened by a common respect for uniquely Anglo-Saxon political traditions.” On social media, jokes about a return to trial by combat, swordfights, thatched roofs, and other seemingly Anglo-Saxon practices quickly gained traction. Why you may ask? Because he Anglo-Saxon myth perpetuates a false idea of what it means to be “native” to Britain. Though the hyphenated term is sometimes used as a catchall phrase to describe the dominant tribes of early England, it’s historically inaccurate and wasn’t actually used much prior to the Norman Conquest of 1066. The name didn’t even originate in England: Instead, it first appeared on the continent, where Latin writers used it to distinguish between the Germanic Saxons of mainland Europe and the English Saxons.
The Anglo Saxons considered the Picts, the remaining melanated Europeans, as their historical foes, often depicted as a group known for painting themselves blue during battles. While this practice was true during warfare, it is inaccurate to assume that they lived their entire lives in blue paint. The consistent portrayal of the Picts in blue paint may have been a way to conceal their naturally darker skin tone, which reflects the ancestral identity shared by many Scottish and Irish individuals of Celtic descent, who were referred to as "Blacks" by the Anglo-Saxons in the ancient era of the 1100s.
Here's an interesting blurb about Author Robert E Howard on his Wikipedia page relating to ancient cultural racism:
Attitudes Main article: Character of Robert E. Howard
Robert E. Howard's character, personality, and perspectives are crucial for comprehending Howard as an individual and his collection of works. Insights into his beliefs are drawn from recollections of acquaintances, his existing letters, and interpretations of his writings. Debate surrounds Howard's stance on race and racism. While he occasionally held views aligning with the prevalent notion of certain races being inherently less advanced, there was also an evident sense of empathy rather than disdain for those deemed to have been disadvantaged by birth, notably portrayed in the Solomon Kane tales.
Robert E. Howard, the author of the Conan the Barbarian pulp fiction series that became cultural icons in the '60s and '70s, often used race as a shorthand for physical traits and motivations. He sometimes invented racial characteristics, perhaps for brevity's sake. Howard's writings primarily focused on the clash of cultures rather than on racial groups. He believed that victories in such conflicts were always temporary. As Howard aged, his views evolved due to various influences, leading to the creation of more sympathetic characters from minority groups, including black characters and Jews, in his later works. Notable among Howard's works regarding his perspective on race are "Black Canaan" and "The Last White Man."
Howard took pride in his Irish heritage during a period when the Irish were viewed as an unwelcome minority. He deliberately identified with this minority, and many of his characters share an Irish background to some extent, including the ancient figures Kull and Conan, who are part of ethnic groups that would eventually evolve into the Celts.
Migration due to climate impacts can vary from voluntary mobility as an adaptation strategy to forced displacement due to life-threatening risks. In the coming decades, millions of Americans may relocate to avoid wildfires, rising sea levels, extreme heat, and drought. At the same time, many migrants may enter the nation for similar reasons. Climate migration is expected to significantly alter the country, with tens of millions relocating to evade rising seas, intense heat and humidity, devastating floods, wildfires, and severe droughts. In the future, the United States may become vastly different, perhaps unrecognizable, in terms of population diversity, a change that seems inevitable due to our global dependence on profits from petrochemical industries.
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