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Comment by Marha01 | Hacker News Reader

Colonizing space is progress.

Yeah, how is that mars colony plan going realistically. have they figured out the bits about how humans are going to survive in a toxic irradiated environment for months on end? I want it to happen, but I honestly havent heard much from spacex about it other than we have to be allowed to develop cheap rockets. There's a lot more involved in a journey to mars than just cheap launch costs.

It’s not binary. We can colonize space without granting that right to a monopoly. Or doing it a way that creates a cloud of projectiles around the planet

The word 'colonization' has become rather toxic, though. Maybe we need a new word for occupying barren planets where there's no native life being displaced?

Not toxic unless you subscribe to the lefts redefinition of the term. Most people wouldn't be here if we didn't colonize the new world.

The indigenous populations probably would.

Its highly unlikely that an indigenous population would adopt the colonizer's term. If you look at demographics of those who use that definition of term its mostly people of Anglo-Saxon decent. And its the same people who are living on stolen land.

they were also going around killing each other and ripping out hearts from living people as sacrifices, so given enough time they would have done the same thing.

and they would have been 100x more brutal.

Two wrongs….

What world do you want to live in? A monopoly where a corporation can decide who lives and dies? Because that’s effectively what you are arguing for up and down this thread.

My ancestors on my moms side pioneers in covered wagons that settled the west. My ancestors on my dad’s side were Amazonian natives that lost most their tribe to disease and ranchers driving them off their land. It’s important to learn from history so as to not repeat it. It might feel like the lefts critique of history is toxic unless your family dies from a repeat of that brutality.

I fully agree history is important to be known for the premise of not repeating it. But the narative is that 10 generations later depending which side you were on, that somehow your to blame and you owe the losing side something.

The stolen land meme is a good example. My parents in 60s migrated to the u.s and in no way am I to blame or responsible for what occored just because of where I live.

Do I feel bad for what happened? Absolutely. But those were nethanderal times where everything was primitive instinct. Its not the world we live in today.

I agree the narrative of blame is harmful and perpetuates that same pattern.

I also have to point out that the effects of that history persist and affect this generation. Lots of financial effects still affect our society.

No-one is “colonizing space”, you’re just being conned by a man who figured out he can make a lot of money by convincing people that such fantasies could be real.

The US spends up to $4 billion a year just to keep a few people alive on the ISS. And they can’t stay there too long because it’s too dangerous to their health. The idea that we’re going to “colonize space” in the foreseeable future is laughable.

Sending robots to space is still a form of building presence there. Not every colonist has to be a human. In fact, they are probably coming last, into pre-prepared positions and bases.

Why do you believe that is at all relevant?

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