150 BC
I read an article that discussed genetic blending in the Asian Subcontinent. When Alexander the Great died, some of his men returned to Greece and others remained.
The somewhat hidden history of the world involves migrations in the thousands over vast tracts of land that were caused by natural events (floods, famine, etc.) or by other migrations that pushed people. Sometimes they were strictly military campaigns such as Alexanders. Occasionally they were voyagers who sailed to the ends of the Earth (Kennewick Man comes to mind but there are others) for reasons lost in the fog of time.
Viruses moved slowly in history because people moved slowly. When Europeans met with the people of the new world, they shared viruses and nearly wiped out the native inhabitants, who had no immunity. Small pox was possibly the worst, but when you die, whatever you died of would be the worst to you.
We, ourselves are the inheritors of those migrations and campaigns. Today you can hop on a jet and be on the other side of the planet in a matter of hours. And you can travel like a sultan in first class or like sardine, squished with others in the back.
Once, flying in uniform from Asia to the US, I was boarded with immigrants from Asia who were unfamiliar with Western culture or, it would seem, with restrooms. There were a lot of them, sitting together as part of a group. They had special food. A whole fish, presumably cooked, on top of a bowl of rice. As the area became “ripe”, the aircrew moved me up to sit with the sultans in the front out of a sense of compassion for me. I appreciated it. At the same time, I wondered what those Asian country people would think when they landed in their new home, centuries ahead of where they left. New rules, new standards, no rice paddies. Migrations continue, but differently.
Today, I’m on vacation in the tropics, far from the Arizona highlands, hoping that I don’t come into contact with the rapidly migrating COVID-19 virus, hitchhiking its way across the planet.
This reminded me of an article about an ancient village discovered in China. All the skeletons appeared to be Caucasian, and had reddish-blond hair. For some odd reason, China didn't want to acknowledge its existence.
As one science fiction author says, "My ancestors got around a lot."
Frank
People…wada ya gonna do?
Thanks for the post.
Paul L. Quandt
One of those stories that go around in aviation is about airlines taking people to the Hajj in Mecca. Some of the people have never been on an airliner and they've done some amazing things.
One story was a group that started to build a fire in the aisle so they could cook their meal.
Another was some passengers that figured out a way to defecate in their seats and not sit in it for the rest of the flight.
Are they true stories? I always thought so.
Early 1980's in the Portland airport there was a group of Hmongs, presumably refugees. Dressed in their native clothing, they looked completely out of place and were clearly uncomfortable. What a stressful situation for them.
I remember a story told by a glider pilot of the British 1st Paras going in at Arnhem during Operation Market-Garden, and discovering to his horror, that the paras were brewing tea over camp stoves. A bounce from turbulence, and a wood and doped canvas glider could quickly turn into a torch.
We discussed the "Lost Roman Legion" here on the blog about a month ago. The Chinese are coming around because of genetic testing to acknowledge that Europeans did arrive a long time ago and settle there. Are they the descendants of the 9th Spanish Legion who marched off to fight the Parthians? The matter still is open to speculation.
SiG – Travelers from India to the US aboard US airlines were often referred to as "blue feet" because they washed their feet in the toilet bowls and the blue water left its mark.
Larry – I think that was in "A Bridge Too Far", the book, by Cornelius Ryan
The Hmong are an interesting group. They used to import opium from the old country in large amounts for 'religious purposes'. I don't know whether their faith required it but they obtained it and used it within their community. I'm not aware of actual trafficking that they conducted. Primarily the old people, found that it eased the pains that come with age.
Same is true of coca leaf in the Peruvian expat communities.
May have to look for that one.
A month ago I was in the Midwest, helping to move my sister into an assisted living home.
I'm next in line on the generational parade…
Frank
"I wondered what those Asian country people would think when they landed in their new home"
Probably that white people eat bland food and have strange and annoying notions about privacy and personal space. (No one tries to fit in any more. It's all about making the US bend to their shithole standards.) Now if those fish-eaters were brown or black then they would be greeted with open arms by Helpful White People eager to "organize" them politically and to teach them that Americans of the sort that read this blog are racists and that we owe the fish-eaters whatever they want. But Asians, even vibrant ones, are problematic for your typical HWPs: if you average out vibrant Asians with high-achieving ones, then they don't look very victimy at all. On the other hand, if you separate them out then you violate the narrative that ethnicity trumps all. Very problematic for HWPs. Better to import more Muslims, or Africans. Best of all, more Muslim Africans.
Andrew Yang was not considered a minority candidate for president. Asians should be proud of their non-victim status! Asians are not reliably Democrat voters. Most I know vote Republican and that makes them enemies of the woke legions.
May you live independently as long as is humanly possible. When it's time to warehouse me in a death camp, I'll end it early and save everyone the expense.
At some point I'll have to give up my motorcycle – but not yet 🙂
Frank
DON'T give up the scooter. We need to cling to our motorcycles. They scream "freedom" as we ride down the highway.
Actually, I've been looking at the Indian Scout recently.
Frank
We had hired a number of middle-easterners (Yemen particularly) to stack stamping press output.
I had to create a poster for the bathroom to show that no shoes were to be placed on the toilet seats.
Enjoy the beach, don't catch the chicom virus.
Comments are closed.