"We" Can Colonize Anyone, Right?

Like many of you I'm sure, this past weekend I had the absolute joy of seeing Avatar. If you haven't had the chance to, I will join with the norm reaction YOU HAVE TO SEE IT!!! It is an amazing film. The colours, imagery and incrediable fantsy charcaters and creatures, remarkable! Even the 3D gives it more bonus points than it needs. But today in class during the discussion of colonialism and Pound's reading about Columbus in the Carribbean, I couldn't help but think of Avatar. For the plot line of the movie, is very much what we are talking about. Humans land on this unknown planet, and for resources, start destroying and killing. These "blue people" are seen as wild animals, savages, when really they have such a unique way of living as one with the forest and the animals. Yet, they are "other" they are "different"- clearly because they are big and blue. They still compose "human" traits like communicating, shelters, families, friends, religion, emotions etc. Yet, they are not like the humans, so its all irrelevant. When their main home is torn down, I won't lie that I shedded a tear. And today in class when Pound read the story about the tribe being slaughtered and wiped out, I felt that same feeling. That serve emotional sympathy, that is so impactual yet, no where near what it could feel to be that "other" and because you are different, you are destroyed. Because I'm a white female. I will never know anything close to what that feels like. To have your home ran sacked and ripped down. To have your children stolen, or murder. All because of your "Difference". These things may no happen today, but it is important to note that it did happen some time ago, when colonialism occured. When these violent, disgusting actions were seen as "control" and taming savages. Watching that movie, and listening to the reading today, made me so upset to picture everything in my life, the way I live day to day, being ripped away from me...