Killing sparrows led to famines in China

Post by scythe » Wed, Apr 12, 2023, 8:42 PM UTC

andrewflnr wrote: post #15

scythe wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Practically no other event in human history comes close to the ecological and cultural destructive impact of the early colonial period in the Americas. But because of that, it should not be used as a yardstick for anything else. "It's not the worst thing ever" is a poor defense of anything.

On a similar note, there's a danger of comparing "the early colonial period in the Americas", a 300-400 year period containing many distinguishable catastrophes, to anything not of equal scale. It's kind of like comparing an apple and a whole apple tree.

Post by jabits » Wed, Apr 12, 2023, 8:43 PM UTC

hidroto wrote: post #38

Brybry wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To add to this, the disease carrying mosquito species like aedes aegypti and aedes albopictus are invasive species in the Americas. These mosquitoes do some pollination but given that they're invasive it probably wouldn't be a big deal to wipe them out. Also, invasiveness is true of a lot of pests in North America: the American cockroach isn't American, it's from Africa. Brown rats, red/fire ants, and wild pigs are a…

a complication to eradicating a invasive species is when that species has replaced a native species ecological niche. getting rid of it at that point may cause more problems then it solves.

Post by pvaldes » Wed, Apr 12, 2023, 8:49 PM UTC

scythe wrote: post #11

abudabi123 wrote: post #8

How does the targetting of the sparrow species for annihilation in China compare to the post-Columbus ongoing deforestation in the Americas's? Xi does have the ecological health of the environment on his policy priority list which is a change from previous leadership driven by slavery to economic devop. There are documentaries on little birds by the sea. They have their place.

Practically no other event in human history comes close to the ecological and cultural destructive impact of the early colonial period in the Americas. But because of that, it should not be used as a yardstick for anything else. "It's not the worst thing ever" is a poor defense of anything.

Post by dang » Wed, Apr 12, 2023, 9:14 PM UTC

hintymad wrote: post #21

And whoever publicly even doubted the decision of Mao was labeled as right-wing who spread misinformation, or counter-revolutionaries who sabotaged the great socialism movement. Maybe there is some truth in the question: who's the arbiter of information?

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Apr 12, 2023, 9:30 PM UTC

hintymad wrote: post #52

nawgz wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That sounds like an unfalsifiable claim. Do you have any evidence supporting it, or are you "just asking questions"? Edit: I deserve to have been downvoted, I have misinterpreted the context of "right" in the parent post and they have educated me with articles in turn

Oh my god, are you serious? Or I just naively assumed that the dark history of China back in the 50s and 60s are well known? The Great Leap Forward. The Anti-Right Campaign (BTW, “right” in Marxism terms are akin to the left in the western world). The Four Cleansing Movement. The Campaign to Eliminate the Four Pests… Millions of people died of hunger and millions more lost their civil rights for decades! People who q…