Imperialism is the ruling control or domination of foreign land, resources, and people through military might, financial might, and / or cultural influence and diplomacy.

Colonialism is a type of imperialism. It involves the formation of imperialist occupied colonies on foreign land to take possession of the land while forcing the native people to give the land up. An example is the US “giving away” fertile land to white settlers in order to take over the territory while forcing the Indigenous peoples onto smaller and smaller reservations that lacked resources.

Imperialism is a broader term and can include colonialism but doesn’t have to. For example, the US might wage war against another country for oil but not create colonies of Americans living in that country – that is imperialism but not colonialism. If the US were to wrest ownership of Greenland from Denmark and send Americans over there to live and occupy the land, that would be colonialism.

We will never understand our current circumstances if we think they exist in a vacuum. Everything that exists today has been built by what has come before. The systems in place were created by imperialists, therefore we have to study those imperialists and their tactics in order to understand how to resist current systems of oppression. Ancient history isn’t so ancient. It is right here and now.

Assuming that you know what you’re talking about when you’ve been raised by an imperialist system, educated by an imperialist system, and propagandized by an imperialist system is the height of imperialist privilege. This is true even if you hold marginalized identities in the global north because you still have the privilege to not know. You don’t need to know because you’re not suffering from this issue in the global south.

The truth is that you are suffering from this issue, you just don’t know how, and your global north privilege has prevented you from having the curiosity to find out.

Even if you’re been trained by racial justice trainers in the grassroots, guess what? They’ve also been raised by an imperialist system, educated by an imperialist system, and propagandized by an imperialist system. Their marginalized identities don’t prevent their perception from being skewed just like yours is. That creates an imperialist echo chamber that reinforces imperialist narratives under the guise of “racial justice”. That “racial justice” might be fine when looked at from a western-centric lens, but it is insufficient and incomplete when looked at from a global lens.

In order to understand racial justice from a global perspective, you have to listen to decolonial Indigenous voices in the global south. I am an Indigenous brown woman whose family is from India. I’ve learned from my elders and other global south Indigenous voices my whole life. I’ve traveled through the world and researched many patterns of imperialism. I’ve experienced the struggles of the global south and learned the tactics those Indigenous communities use to resist imperialism. That Indigenous wisdom is far beyond what you will find in a western-centric racial justice training.

You don’t know what you don’t know. Be brave and find out. You will be surprised at how ignorant your “well-informed and educated” mind actually is. You will be shocked at how uncritical your thinking actually is. That is what global north and western privilege looks like. That is what bigotry looks like. Don’t you want to know how you are perpetuating imperialism?

I advise you to find out.

1. You will never view the world the same way again.

2. You will open yourself to decolonial possibilities you never knew existed.

3. You will learn how to notice subtle manipulation tactics from those in power – tactics that you never noticed before despite all your experience organizing.

4. You will not be as easily fooled by anyone’s propaganda.

5. You will understand your colleagues, clients, friends, and family better than you ever have before, leading to improved relationships with deeper trust.

6. You will go deeper into your personal healing journey, increasing your sense of identity and grounding.

7. You will likely make changes to your self-care practices, the media you consume, and the entertainment you engage in, because you will see how that is helping or hindering you.

8. You will likely educate your children differently.

9. You might have conversations with family members that you never considered having before.

10. You might research your own lineage in new ways, connecting with blood ancestors you never knew existed.

11. You might connect with nature differently, developing your awareness of how you are part of nature.

12. You might develop the courage to speak up for yourself as well as others.

13. You might consider different decisions for your work and / or business. This may translate to more abundance because improved integrity attracts ethical and loyal clientele and work colleagues.

14. You might let go of toxic relationships that enforce imperialist narratives.

15. You might learn to love yourself in ways you never have before.

16. You will be ahead of the curve in free thinking with most lagging behind. As such you will be noticed and respected as a deep thinker.

That narrative has been taught to you by imperialists to excuse their own violence. It is not actually true. I will prove it to you over the course of this education.

Be brave and step into this space to understand how wrong that narrative is.

If you go to Washington DC, you will see Greco-Roman architecture everywhere. That is no accident. The imperialists who colonized North America and created its governments were well aware of the centuries long success of Greco-Roman imperialists and they consciously emulated them. The whole world is affected by this emulation everyday without even realizing it. In this course, we will go into detail on the many ways US imperialists emulated the ancient Roman empire and how that still affects every aspect of our lives today.

Imperialism predates communism by well over 1800 years. That means that there have been people fighting imperialism for a lot longer than people who believe in communist or Marxist ideology. So no, anti-imperialist does not mean “communist”, although communists may call themselves anti-imperialists.

Why are there trigger warnings around this course?

The term “trigger” is psychological terminology. It means when something is said, or happens, that activates a memory of a previous trauma. Activating such traumatic memories within an individual can cause that person to re-experience the feelings they experienced during those real life traumas. It can be very painful and distressing.

Colonial trauma is not an easy subject to discuss. We will delve into many painful histories and those stories may trigger memories and emotions within each of us due to our own experiences. This can happen even in people who are not Hindu.

If we are warned beforehand that this might happen, it helps us navigate such feelings individually should they arise. It also helps us be better able to support each other if triggers occur in others. It can also help us to set up support systems beforehand, such as friends or therapists we can process with outside of class, or we might attend class with a colleague or family member who can be our support buddies during the process.

The presence of trigger warnings indicates the power of this education. This is not about gratuitously shocking or upsetting people, this is about addressing long unaddressed traumas that need to be brought into the light so they can be healed.

Hurt people can hurt people. Healed people can help others heal.

There is no solution to any of our triggers as a society without healing, which is the whole point of doing this course. We must understand what has happened so that we can heal from it.

That is why there are trigger warnings: So that we can engage with difficult healing education in the safest and most supportive way possible.

The common discourse on this topic is that the world is full of child sex abusers so we must simply lock up random predators. It’s a losing strategy because it doesn’t address the fact that so many predators never get caught. Nor does it stop the cycle of CSA from continuing.

Meanwhile, when we trace child sex abuse through history, it becomes clear that CSA is a tactic of imperialism and as such, needs to be fought in many ways beyond locking up random perpetrators.

We have to study the roots of this problem because that is the only way to create lasting solutions that will defend children now and in the future. It is also a way for us to address our own traumas and interrupt cycles which leads to deeper societal healing. Such healing is the solution because it prevents the repetition of cycles and cultural norms.

This topic is usually misunderstood. Even most social justice advocates only speak of it in a surface way that doesn’t explain the actual depths of violence.

There’s nothing worse than a victim being grievously harmed and not even realizing where the harm is coming from. It’s even worse when the victim participates in harming their own people, because they have been brainwashed to not understand the violence.

This grievous harm of cultural appropriation has gone unaddressed for too long and that is why time must be dedicated to understanding it and dismantling it at the root.

You need this education and you will not find it anywhere else.

I encourage ages 14+ only.

From age 14 and onwards, this course will benefit all. Teenagers, students, workers, parents, elders, all are welcome.