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Post by gillianlaird on Jul 4, 2024 19:31:54 GMT
With the knowledge that anomie is defined as the "disintegration or disappearance of the norms and values that were previously common to society," it seems that the American government tried to push this onto the Native Americans. In trying to seemingly manipulate the Native Americans into choosing the American way of life over their own culture, it appears like they were trying to force anomie onto an entire group of people. I've often wondered why this was the case. Perhaps selfishly felt it would be easier for them to force the Natives into assimilating to their culture instead of having to do so themselves. Does anyone else have any ideas?
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Post by reluedders on Jul 7, 2024 23:10:44 GMT
I agree, but I have a bit of an issue with the idea of what was previously common to society. In 1 area, where something is common, others might not agree. I'm not justifying the treatment of Natives, however, I'm sure that people who were pushing the "American" way of life believed that their norms & values were right, just as the Natives did. I think this has become a huge issue in our society today... asking others to get rid of their own values for another set of values. There has to be a way for everyone to understand that 1 way has benefits & drawbacks, and so does another way. Maybe we all need to learn about other values & norms, and come up with our own conclusions, but not pushing them on others.
Maybe I'm just rambling... waiting for the storm to roll in.
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Post by connorswauger on Jul 10, 2024 2:39:51 GMT
I definitely see what you mean Gillian. There were some that were forced and it really snowballed because anomie has always been there. Imagine the natives children that were put in these new schools and grew up learning English alongside other English speaking children who were white and then having to come home and still feel like an outsider. There were also efforts to convert the natives to Christianity. With the assimilation effort there was a huge effect, not just from the initial actions but the fractures along the way between natives within their own families because at that point they may as well have been strangers to each other. I think their strategy for assimilate the natives was to indoctrinate children in hopes that their past and cultural practices would sort of fizzle away.
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Post by gillianlaird on Jul 10, 2024 14:35:31 GMT
I agree, but I have a bit of an issue with the idea of what was previously common to society. In 1 area, where something is common, others might not agree. I'm not justifying the treatment of Natives, however, I'm sure that people who were pushing the "American" way of life believed that their norms & values were right, just as the Natives did. I think this has become a huge issue in our society today... asking others to get rid of their own values for another set of values. There has to be a way for everyone to understand that 1 way has benefits & drawbacks, and so does another way. Maybe we all need to learn about other values & norms, and come up with our own conclusions, but not pushing them on others. Maybe I'm just rambling... waiting for the storm to roll in. I absolutely agree with this. The idea of coexisting has almost died out in many regards. Everyone seems to thrive off of the idea that one set of beliefs is right over another, which only causes more division amongst society. Clearly this is a tale as old as time considering the topic of anomie and the Native Americans, etc. The only way forward, I think, is for members of society to accept that more than one belief system/way of life can be right. |
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Post by dianarmartinez on Jul 10, 2024 18:35:05 GMT
With the knowledge that anomie is defined as the "disintegration or disappearance of the norms and values that were previously common to society," it seems that the American government tried to push this onto the Native Americans. In trying to seemingly manipulate the Native Americans into choosing the American way of life over their own culture, it appears like they were trying to force anomie onto an entire group of people. I've often wondered why this was the case. Perhaps selfishly felt it would be easier for them to force the Natives into assimilating to their culture instead of having to do so themselves. Does anyone else have any ideas? Situations like these happen due to lack of interests or lack of wanting to learn about other cultures. Also, people do not like change, it is conflict between groups. However, one of them is forced to change and the other groups is not wanting to be be comprehensive. |
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Post by Rylee Wenzel on Jul 11, 2024 0:54:16 GMT
Hi Gillian! I think that maybe by trying to get them to "choose" to assimilate it would make them feel better about themselves in a way. Obviously what the American Government did to the Native Americans was horrible and I don't want to diminish that. But it seems that by assimilating the children into American culture, they assumed the parents would follow suit to make it easier for all of them. It is weird to think about the fact that the Americans could not just decide to live with the Native Americans in a co-habitual way.
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