Holy Theft

California’s genocide against Native peoples was just the opening act. By the 20th century, the state had   pioneered eugenics laws   that forcibly sterilized over 20,000 people—mostly poor women of Mexican descent, Indigenous residents, and disabled inmates. These programs, which inspired Nazi Germany’s racial hygiene policies, were funded by the state and framed as “public health.” Victims were told they were undergoing appendectomies, only to wake up   infertile and violated . The throughline? A state-sanctioned belief that  some bodies are disposable . From scalp bounties to sterilization tables, California perfected the art of erasure with a smile. (Source:  HISTORY - California’s Little-Known Genocide )

California’s inaugural governor, Peter Hardeman Burnett, didn’t mince words in 1851:   “A war of extermination will continue… until the Indian race becomes extinct.”   The state legislature bankrolled his vision, paying   bounties for Native scalps   and funding militias that poisoned water sources, burned villages, and sold survivors into slavery. By 1870, California’s Native population had plunged from 150,000 to   under 30,000 —a 80% death rate in 20 years. This wasn’t frontier chaos—it was  policy-written genocide . Today, Burnett’s name still graces schools and streets, while mass graves under shopping malls hold the truth. (Source:  HISTORY - California’s Little-Known Genocide )

When King Leopold II of Belgium took personal ownership of the Congo in 1885, he didn’t just colonize it—he built a   death factory fueled by rubber and blood . His private army, the Force Publique, was ordered to collect quotas of ivory and rubber… or else. The “or else” included: Burning villages  and taking women/children hostage Forcing men into slave labor  chains Chopping off hands  of those who failed to meet quotas—including children Soldiers smoked and  stockpiled baskets of severed hands  as proof of “efficiency.” Result:  10+ million Congolese deaths —a genocide so brutal it inspired Joseph Conrad’s  Heart of Darkness  and remains a blueprint for corporate exploitation. (Source:  ThoughtCo - Congo Free State Atrocities )

J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI didn’t just surveil MLK—they   waged psychological warfare   to destroy him. Agents called King the   "most dangerous Negro in America,"   bugged his hotel rooms to record alleged affairs, and mailed him a   chilling anonymous letter   urging suicide:   "You are done. There is only one way out..."   This was COINTELPRO’s playbook: smear, sabotage, and crush moral leaders who threatened white supremacy. The goal? Provoke King’s suicide or discredit him into irrelevance. Instead, he became a martyr—but the FBI’s legacy of  targeting Black movements  continues today under new names. (Source:  Free Press - FBI’s War on MLK )

From Charleston to Pittsburgh to El Paso,  far-right extremists  have executed the deadliest ideological attacks on U.S. soil in the past decade—yet the FBI still treats white supremacy like a  side hustle instead of a strategic threat . While agencies pour resources into tracking foreign terrorists and leftist protesters, domestic neo-Nazis and militia groups radicalize online, stockpile weapons, and livestream massacres with near-impunity. This isn’t new. The same FBI that  wiretapped and smeared MLK  now downplays the very violence its negligence enables. The result? Body bags in black churches, Jewish synagogues, and Latino supermarkets—while officials call it  "lone wolf"  violence instead of  systemic terrorist ideology . (Source:  Free Press - FBI’s Racist Legacy )

While the world pictures slavery in America’s South, Australia was   shackling Aboriginal men and boys with neck chains   and forcing them into hard labor under the blazing outback sun. From the 1800s well into the 20th century, white colonists and law enforcement routinely: Chained groups of Indigenous people together by the neck  like animals Marched them hundreds of miles  to prison camps or pastoral stations Forced them into unpaid, back-breaking work —cattle mustering, mining, infrastructure—under threat of violence or death This wasn’t “penal labor”—it was  state-sanctioned slavery , designed to dispossess, control, and break Aboriginal communities. Many never returned home. (Source:  The Sun - Aboriginal Slaves in Chains )

When US Marines invaded Haiti in 1915, their first move wasn’t securing democracy—it was   looting the national treasury . Soldiers physically emptied Haiti’s gold reserves, shipped them to New York, and promised   "safekeeping."   Spoiler:   The gold never returned . Instead, it became seed capital for   Citibank’s global expansion , while Haiti spiraled into a century of debt and poverty. The occupation lasted 19 years, during which the US: Reinstituted forced labor  (literally bringing back chain gangs) Censored Haitian press  and executed dissidents Wrote a new constitution  allowing foreign land ownership Haiti never recovered. Citibank’s 2022 revenue:  $75 billion . Haiti’s current debt:  $2.6 billion . Coincidence? (Source:  YouTube - Haiti’s Stolen Gold )

In the 1990s, Bill Clinton forced Haiti to   slash rice tariffs from 50% to 3% —flooding the market with cheap, subsidized US rice that put   30,000 Haitian farmers out of business . Clinton later admitted it was a   "devil’s bargain"   that   "failed everywhere but the US rice lobby’s bank accounts."   But his apology changed nothing: Haiti’s tariffs are still the lowest in the Caribbean, and the country now   imports 80% of its rice   from the same US corporations that killed its self-sufficiency. The kicker? Clinton’s own foundation later partnered with  Riceland Foods —one of the companies that profited from the crisis. Moral of the story:  Neoliberalism says "sorry" while picking your pocket. (Source:  YouTube - Clinton’s Haiti Rice Policy )

In 1893,   US Navy troops invaded Honolulu   to overthrow Queen Liliʻuokalani—not for freedom or democracy, but for   Dole Pineapple’s real estate portfolio . Armed with Colt revolvers and corporate greed, 2,000 white businessmen (led by Sanford Dole) staged a coup while American warships aimed cannons at the palace. The Queen surrendered to avoid bloodshed, but the Dole family still   stole 1.8 million acres   of Native lands—birthing a fruit empire built on theft. The US called it "manifest destiny." Hawaiians called it  "the beginning of our cultural death."  Today, Dole still sells $4.5 billion yearly in stolen-land pineapples, while Native Hawaiians fight for sovereignty. (Source:  HISTORY - Queen Liliʻuokalani )