[Bryan C.]

Does anyone think there will ever come a time when ethnic groups will not have to try to "catch up" with the predominant (white) race?

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Name : Bryan C., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 20, City : Knoxville, State : TN Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Floyd L.]

Whites may be in some ways dominant, but they are not predominant - a big difference. The efforts of other ethnic groups are, or should be, not to 'catch up' with whites but to overcome the devastation of white domination, which, over the last several centuries, has been something of an earthly scourge and significant handicap to much of mankind. The exploitation and abuse attendant to this domination are undergirded by an apparent sense of racial superiority and of being, therefore, pre-ordained to inherit and use the world's resources and its non-white peoples to feed that presumed superiority. As long as any degree of white domination is sustained at the expense of, and to the detriment of, other groups, there will and indeed should continue to be active efforts to overcome it.

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Name : Floyd L., Gender : M, Age : 59, City : Memphis, State : TN Country : United States, 

[CC19338]

I think it is a human thing. For the longest time, the Chinese thought they were in the center of the world. They were xenophobic, etc. The point of the Boxer Rebellions was to keep the Westerners out.

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Name : CC19338, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Asian, Age : 19, City : Kingston, Ontario, State : NA Country : Canada, Occupation : College Student, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Floyd L.]

It is a white thing. And it is time to face up to it. It will continue to be so until the very unlikely event of some non-white group coming along and behaving as whites have behaved worldwide. This is quite unlikely, because the drive for domination and hegemony that has characterized white behavior for most of the millennium has been propelled by a uniquely white presumption of genetic superiority and, most importantly, a belief, shaped and fed through their religions that whites are pre-ordained to inherit all of the earth as a means of supporting that presumed superiority. Thus the attitude "What is mine is mine and I will keep it, and what is yours is mine if I can get it, and I will get it through any means possible," which so many see as characterizing white behavior. No other group has displayed such behavior so consistently for so long, nor has any displayed the precursor attitudes of genetic superiority and pre-ordination seen in whites. Historically, that the Chinese once may have seen themselves as centering the universe is not at all unusual for a people with limited or no contacts with the outside world, but the Chinese not only did not infer from that a justification for domination and hegemony; they in fact built a wall around themselves, effectively precluding the possibility.

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Name : Floyd L., Gender : M, Age : 59, City : Memphis, State : TN Country : United States, 

[John K.]

Floyd, I think you need to check your history regarding the Chinese. As I recall, the Chinese have always assumed a genetic superiority over other cultures. The Great Wall was nothing more than a large-scale equivalent of a medieval moat. In other words, it was for defensive purposes that did not in any way preclude invasion of other lands. Modern Chinese philosophy certainly includes justifications for domination and hegemony ... ask Taiwan, Japan or South Korea if you doubt that fact. Also, there are a number of examples of African empires that sought to expand back in the period before European colonialism took control of everything under the sun.

As a side note, I will admit that I agree with your conclusions about religion playing a part in the assumptions of manifest destiny. However, I wonder if you tred a little too closely toward racism when you generalize about the behavior and motivations of all "white" people. There are a number of "white" ethnic groups that were treated just as badly, if not worse, as non-whites throughout history. To ascribe the actions of culturally dominant European powers to all "whites" simply cannot be justified.

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Name : John K., Gender : M, Age : 26, City : Cranford, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Chemical Engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

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