The only opinion that should matter is that of the people the artifacts belong to.
“It’s safer with us” is an excuse that’s been abused by colonizers and raiders for too long.
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greenskye@lemmy.zip 1 day ago
What’s the opinion on certain high risk countries where there’s a high likelihood of the artifacts simply being destroyed? If I remember correctly ISIS and other similar organizations have burned or bombed several historical sites before.
But_my_mom_says_im_cool@lemmy.world 21 hours ago
merc@sh.itjust.works 14 hours ago
The only opinion that should matter is that of the people the artifacts belong to.
Which people? The government? So in Afghanistan it’s up to the Taliban? If you don’t trust that the government of a country represents the will of the people, then how do you determine what the people want?
And, again, which people? Is a totem pole in a museum in Canada the property of the Canadian people? Or is it something that belongs to the Haida people, and it doesn’t matter what other Canadians want? If it is up to the Haida, it is up to the Council of the Haida Nation, or is it up to the band the original artist belonged to?
What about a Tatar artifact found in Donetsk? Who gets control over that? Is it the Russians since they occupy Donetsk? The Ukrainians because they used to occupy it? Do you have to study the blood of various Ukrainian people to figure out who has the most surviving Tatar DNA?
0x0@lemmy.zip 10 hours ago
If you don’t trust that the government of a country represents the will of the people, then how do you determine what the people want?
You mean most governments?
greenskye@lemmy.zip 19 hours ago
What if some of the locals want it taken away for protection, but the government wants it destroyed?
There’s no clear ‘owner’ in many cases. I think it places where it’s uncertain, then we should prioritize saving the artifacts over the ones that seek to destroy them.
pugnaciousfarter@literature.cafe 16 hours ago
You will never be able to get everyone to agree on anything and you can’t hold a referendum for every artifact.
So as far as responsibility goes, barring edge cases, it should be left upto the government to decide, as they represent the people.
There’s no clear ‘owner’ in many cases.
Just return it to the country where it was taken from. And I don’t think there are many cases where ownership is vague, most are pretty plain and clear.
then we should prioritize saving the artifacts over the ones that seek to destroy them.
That’s not on you, that’s on their original keepers. Otherwise you are propagating colonial era crimes and justifying them by arguing in bad faith.
P.s.
- Museums are notorious record when it comes to maintaining artifacts, especially the British museum.
- They also do less than what’s needed to discourage artifact smuggling.
KittyCat@lemmy.world 16 hours ago
In many cases there is no owner, they’re from a completely separate culture that happened to occupy the same region in the past.
pugnaciousfarter@literature.cafe 16 hours ago
Many cases
Source: my ass
makyo@lemmy.world 1 day ago
We have to be extremely wary of people who cite that because it’s so easily used as a justification for artifact theft and can have deep roots in racism.
nexguy@lemmy.world 1 day ago
That’s the question. Where is the line between racism and artifact protection?
lath@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Presumably somewhere between racism and artifact protection.
toast@retrolemmy.com 23 hours ago
If you’re suggesting a daring heist at the Smithsonian, I’m in!
MeowZedong@lemmygrad.ml 1 day ago
Much like the theft of historical artifacts by the UK et al, ISIS was the result of decades of imperialist meddling by the US. Maybe just leave things be and let the locals work out what they want to do with their land, their people, and the artifacts on it. Offering assistance without strings attached is good, interventions are bad.
It’s like offering to help your neighbor with their yard: it’s acceptable to offer to lend them your mower, but it’s not acceptable to dig up everything on their property, replace it with grass sod, and spray it regularly with herbicides because you didn’t like the look of their local fauna and are afraid the dandelions and clover would spread to your lawn after your first intervention.
greenskye@lemmy.zip 1 day ago
Who do you recognize as the authority to make that decision though? If the locals are currently ruled by a terrorist group or Nazis or whatever, do they get to decide? What about the locals that disagree with the government currently in power?
And an answer of ‘if we just didn’t needlessly meddle’ might be the ideal, but it’s ignoring the realities that we have meddled and some countries are unlikely to stop doing so. We have to accept the world we have not the one we wished we had.
MeowZedong@lemmygrad.ml 5 hours ago
Unless whatever group is in power has expressed that they wish to destroy those artifacts, I would prefer to work with whatever government there is to not only transfer the artifacts back, but help them setup whatever infrastructure is required to maintain them, including training of staff in their care.
Your bias is exactly the same on that led to those artifacts being stolen. It can be summed up as “these are savages, how can we trust them with their own things?” The West stole these artifacts and in many cases destroyed other artifacts or defaced historical sites to take them in the first place. It’s chauvinistic to continue this cycle. Give them back, try to make things right, and if things get destroyed, that’s just how it goes. It wasn’t the West’s to take in the first place. More progress is made by working with people than pearl-clutching. This is accepting the world as it is and trying to make it better all at once.
vorb0te@lemmynsfw.com 1 day ago
Adults have the right to make their own mistakes?
lath@lemmy.world 1 day ago
At the expense of everyone else?
vorb0te@lemmynsfw.com 14 hours ago
Sadly yes. It’s difficult to accept it. But yes. Like a brother who can make his descisions. Offering help is always an option.
m532@lemmygrad.ml 1 day ago
ISIS works for usa, so, the answer is kill all yanks
ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca 1 day ago
Museums should participate in cultural exchange, if a museum feels under threat then they have channels they can trust to protect their artifacts until they can be returned
merc@sh.itjust.works 14 hours ago
If you run a museum in Afghanistan and are afraid that the Taliban is going to execute you unless you destroy some blasphemous statue, are you going to risk your life to send the artifact to the British Museum, or are you just going to destroy it? Yeah, some heroes will definitely risk their lives, but most won’t.
ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca 7 hours ago
Better than nothing
merc@sh.itjust.works 2 hours ago
The alternative isn’t “nothing”, it’s getting precious cultural artifacts out of high risk countries where there’s a high likelihood of the artifacts simply being destroyed.