My Experience with History as a Second-Generation Immigrant in the West
I’ve been thinking a lot about how history is taught in Western public schooling. There is a strong focus on Egypt, Rome, the Crusades, Greece, British industrialisation, the French Revolution, the American Revolution, modern Western dominance, the War on Terror, Tsarist Russia, communism versus capitalism, and then repeated emphasis on World War One, World War Two, and the Cold War through books, films, and political discussion. In many Western contexts, World War Two and the Holocaust are treated as central moral and historical events, and migrants are often expected to emotionally engage with them as well for the crimes to humanity.
This is understandable given the scale of the tragedy. At the same time, when topics such as African colonisation, Palestine, Native American history, or Aboriginal Australian history are raised, the reaction can sometimes feel dismissive or uncomfortable. People may respond with jokes, discomfort, or statements like," what have africans done for history", “that is politics,” “why should I care,” or “I am not responsible for my ancestors.”, "They should be thanking us we modernized many of them out of huts". or " African history doesnt matter", " who cares about an ancient kingdom (unless Ethiopia, then it's suddenly we love them due the Judeo-Christian ties and coffee)", or "we're conquering and it's war" or i say my favourite country is kenya and i get "why id never go there"or " do you think all cultures are equal they ask"....
It's like the more I get older and go travel to Africa myself, or ask the questions outside the textbox, I see my code and I remember these comments and the anglo descent and European kids who were my friends in majority eventually became like there conservative dads or even more conservative moreso due to migration issue which afflicts most right wing voters in the west or economical motives many of them generational housing empires. I really was idealistic and friends with people of all creeds, or how nasty some kids of all creeds were to me for no reason when my nation was mentioned. It's like there's a social hierarchy and black isn't it. That difference in reaction can feel like some histories are treated as universal and deeply important, while others are seen as optional, political, or less legitimate to discuss. That creates frustration for people who feel their own histories of suffering are not given equal recognition. There are also broad generalisations in public discourse about Muslims being problematic globally, not assimilating, or having fixed attitudes toward other groups.
You feel the lateral discrimination from other minority groups and teachers specifically asking your point of view. But I get older and I understand Jews are not in unison with Christians in Israel, so it does not even make sense to speak as though they are a single unified bloc, which is a common issue in Christian Zionist narratives in the west. There are also reports of tensions, including hostility between some religious groups in contested spaces, but these situations are complex and vary widely depending on context.
Jews desecrate churches and symbols of Jesus across the litani river. They make zero sense. An orthodox Jew sees muslims as noahides, it's not all bad, and we didn't kill 6 million of them in Europe recently Christians and a certain secular party did, but i was always perceived as the antagonist of ideals when Jerusalem was mentioned in the textbook because of the current land disputes.
It is also important to recognize that Orthodox Jews, secular Jews, Christians, and Muslims all hold a wide range of political views. Many Orthodox Jews oppose aspects of Zionism, many Christians disagree with Israeli government policies, and many Muslims separate religious identity from political actions taken by states or movements. The reality is far more complex than a simple division of “us versus them” or “good versus bad.” or " the barbarian and clannist to the evolved Europeans" A key issue in all of this is how uneven historical empathy can be. Some events are deeply embedded in education systems and collective memory, while others are minimised or treated as controversial to even discuss. That inconsistency is what many people notice and struggle with when comparing different histories of suffering and power.
Do you have any alternative or interesting stories about how history is taught from your lens in your country? and whether as you got older do you have more gripes with it?
I understood the motive to achieve a civic nationalism of shared national identity similar to the napoleon's revolutionary ideals. The Roman mentality that "nothing matters but Rome" was rooted in a profound, almost fanatical devotion to the state, res publica. Or the Obama Yes We Can or trumps Make America great again. I suppose when in Rome do as the romans. But I feel the effects of it now in my late 20s to those who don't read for themselves i guess why i bring it up they still scoff, smirk and giggle when my ethnic country is mentioned. I used to think adults were wise but now I see many are just big babies with a skill to succeed within capitalism and it doesn't mean you necessarily understand the world.