1/ Thread ๐งต: who is/was civilized?
Before the White man came to "civilize" the Native American they had no jails. They had no locks, because they had no "criminals"
Before the White man came to "civilize" the Native American they had no jails. They had no locks, because they had no "criminals"
2/ They practiced actual justice. If a man committed a corporal crime, corporal punishment was typically given. If a man committed a petty theft restitution was ordered.
3/ If a man committed a dishonorable act he was forced to cut his hair to mark his shame. When his hair grew back, he didn't carry a permanent mark. He was given a fresh start. For certain crimes banishment from the tribe might be prescribed for a specific time period or forever
4/ There was no enforcer or warrior class as every able-bodied man in the tribe participated in "enforcing" justice and defending his people from unjustified aggression (the very concept used by Ancient Greek & Roman republics & the philosophy behind the constitutional militia)
5/ If a man was so poor that he had no weapons to hunt or had no blankets, horse or tipi the other members of the tribe would help him make/acquire these items. Every man needed a bow, spears, etc., to hunt and provide for himself. If he lacked these items, he became a liability
6/ to the group. For this reason others helped him not because they were forced to by an authority, but because it benefitted themselves as well as the other individual.
7/ There was no money, all trading was done through bartering which made fraud very difficult to accomplish.
8/ Because there was no money, a man's worth could not be measured by it. A man's worth was measured directly by his skill at hunting, fishing, ability to provide for his family and his skill as a warrior. He was measured by his contribution to the success of his family & people
9/ Materialism was not a thing, beyond the tools necessary for a man and his family's subsistence
I think we have long confused which group was civilized and which was uncivilized
I think we have long confused which group was civilized and which was uncivilized
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