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Who in history (either present or in the past) do you think has had the biggest positive impact on humanity? (lemmy.world)

submitted 8 months ago by Aurelius@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 8 points 8 months ago (1 children)

One of these is not like the others. Gandhi is polarising at best in India, and just kind of a nice brown guy strawman in the West.

[–] Anticorp@lemmy.world 3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Why is he polarizing in India?

[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 7 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

As I understand it: Too tolerant and Westernised for Hindutva people, too mystical and obscure for progressives. When they made the biggest statue in the world, it was chosen to be of his colleague Vallabhbhai Patel.

As for why he's not the cartoonified nice guy he's often made out to be, well, I could talk about a number of issues, but this quote on how far he would take pacifism is pretty shocking:

Hitler killed five million [sic] Jews. It is the greatest crime of our time. But the Jews should have offered themselves to the butcher’s knife. They should have thrown themselves into the sea from cliffs.....It would have aroused the world and the people of Germany.... As it is they succumbed anyway in their millions.

[–] Anticorp@lemmy.world 3 points 8 months ago

I figured that was the answer. Thanks for sharing. As for the quote on the Holocaust, that's rough man. I guess I see his perspective, since what he did worked for him and India, but it sounds so ridiculous and callous to those of us who do not share the perspective.

I have never been a pacifist, but I understand its value and respect those with the strength to utilize it. It does take strength too. I can't imagine enduring what pacifists have endured throughout history. Even here in the United States, I love MLKJ's message, but I identify with Malcom X's perspective more personally.