Unfortunately, this unusual tameness was used to their disadvantage: as Darwin notes, men "frequently killed them in the evening, by holding out a piece of meat in one hand, and in the other a knife ready to stick them."
this post was submitted on 21 Jun 2025
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chapotraphouse
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A part of the Christian imperialist worldview, the idea that 'Man is above animal and they were created by God to be used as Man sees fit', has been the cause of endless horrors. Without this human-supremacist view they would treat other people better too, even if their enemies were 'subhuman', if they had compassion for animals.
It makes me think of the connection between 'masculinity' and eating meat in the West. It's seen as effeminate to eat vegetables or be vegan, this idea helps reinforce a worldview centered on violence and exploitation.
While it's true that Christian imperialism is environmentally destructive, hunting species to extinction predates both Christianity and white people. Every continent suffered mass extinctions pretty much the moment the humans set foot there for the first time.
The invention of agriculture provided a huge material impetus to destroy predator populations and as far back as the neolithic revolution humans conducted the mass burning of forests and wild habitat to clear room for farms.
Yes, it starts with civilization in general. But Christian imperialism sure sent it into overdrive.
With the advent of agriculture and domestication of animals, humans began to believe that they hold dominion over nature. Perhaps that was inevitable. But it's that worldview that has us hurling down a path of irreversible climate change that may lead to our (and others) extinction.