Both Cesaire’s “Discourse on Colonialism” and Miller’s “Blank Darkness” imply that African racism, inferiority, and colonialism are constructs of the xenophobic and ethnocentric European mind.
Miller points out that it was the lack of intelligent and accurate African discourse from Europe that failed to produce positive portrayals of
The African discourse produced throughout the centuries stirred the racist notions of certain Europeans and resulted in the excuses that Cesaire presents us with. He points out the justification by a Reverend: “Humanity must not, cannot allow the incompetence, negligence, and laziness of the uncivilized peoples to leave idle indefinitely the wealth which God has confided to them, charging them to make it serve the good of all”. Cesaire also argues that “no one colonizes innocently”, that
Miller pointed out important historical context that I feel Cesaire (although justified) ignores. This leads me to ask certain questions: Is European and white superiority an idea that is embedded into the minds of the Europeans as Cesaire seems to suggest, or is it a constructed ideal that resulted from years of ignorant explorers and misleading accounts, as Miller alludes to?
Although Cesaire beings by saying “it is a good thing to place different civilizations in contact with each other… (173).” This was not a good idea, nor was it successful in a positive matter. This is made evident when Cesaire questions, and then answers, “Has colonization really placed civilizations in contact…I answered no (173)”. The Western colonization’s that took over native lands caused discomfort, and pain. To answer the question mentioned above however, I feel as though both Cesaire, and Miller are correct, and help explain the reason behind Western Colonization. Yes, many would agree that “European, and white superiority is an idea that is embedded into the minds” of the insane people. Yet this thought is embedded because they were taught, and raised to believe that all others that were not White were inferior. This also relates to Miller’s point of view. The ideology of white superiority comes from the past years of “ignorant explorers.” Their beliefs prevailed, and led to this “indefensible” Europe that is now described in the text.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading “Discourse on Colonialism,” it sadden me to read about how the colonized faced “force, brutality, cruelty, sadism, and conflict (177)” by the colonizers. If the colonizers felt they were better, and that “white superiority” was more civilized, what made them act as savages, and treat the colonized in such a horrible manner? This image does not present a positive look towards the Europeans. To watch the natives suffer, and live under the white colonial rule, shows how cold hearted the Europeans were. I feel as though colonial rule not only was an act that responded to “white superiority,” but also a way of showing their strength over the others.
White European superiority is most certainly as a constructed ideal in order for it to work or else the push to colonize may have never started. A nation has to view another as inferior in order to justify their desire to attack and subjugate them. This is what we’ve been saying in class all along; works that portray native peoples as ignorant, pagan savages only to serve to reinforce the mentality that allows them to meet natives with “force, brutality, cruelty, sadism, and conflict (177)”. Why should they treat these incompetent savages in any humane way when they squander the gifts they’ve been given? Cesaire is right in saying that colonization does not equal civilizations meeting each other because the colonizer is not even recognizing the humanity of those they are invading.
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