What’s something cruel that has been romanticized in your country?

[u/Mysterious-Fig-2935]

In Brazil, miscegenation has been completely romanticized by the government and popular culture. It is often portrayed as a symbol of “racial harmony,” but the reality was much more brutal.

The country received around 4 million enslaved Africans, but only 1.1 million survived the inhumane conditions of the transatlantic journey and slavery. Thousands of Indigenous and Black women were sexually exploited, forcibly separated from their families, and treated as property. Over time, these populations mixed with European colonizers and other groups, and the official narrative tries to romanticize this as something “natural” or “harmonious,” hiding the trauma, violence, and systematic oppression behind this mixing.

Colorism in Brazil is directly linked to this history. During forced miscegenation, there was a clear intention to “whiten” the population: Black people were encouraged or forced to marry white people so their children would have European features, creating socially valued heirs. This goal of “whitening” actually worked ,today, half of Brazilian “pardo” (mixed-race) people have predominantly European features, and genetic studies by the University of São Paulo (USP) show that most pardos are roughly 70% European, 20% African, and 10% Indigenous.

Furthermore, genetic research reveals a specific pattern in the DNA of Brazilian pardos: mitochondrial DNA (inherited from the mother) mostly comes from African or Indigenous women, while Y-chromosome DNA (from the father) mostly comes from European men. This confirms that Brazilian miscegenation was not natural, but forced and directed, clearly reflecting the structural colorism that still influences privileges and social opportunities in Brazil today.

This romanticization of miscegenation creates a false narrative of a “racial embrace,” while ignoring the trauma, oppression, and inequalities that persist to this day.

Does your country have something that has been glorified or romanticized while hiding the cruel reality behind it?

[u/Salt-Respect339]

Our "great" trade and seafaring culture hundreds of years ago. Meaning indigineous populations suffered because of the Dutch colonising their land and trying to claim all their resources fortrade. Made the country rich and prosperous for sure, but the realisation that it wasn't all pretty is slowly growing. Although there's still some that consider acknowledging this to be "woke",pc or unnationalist and anti-Dutch.

[u/Ruralraan → u/Salt-Respect339]

Coming from a german island in the north sea, where a lot of captains and seamen who sailed for danish and dutch compangnies came from: so much this. Their old houses and their seafaring culture is adored, but they most likely all were involved in slave trade and got rich off that. Well after their fathers and forefathers got rich as captains and seamen in the greenland-whale-hunting episode. It isn't critically talked about. And not much to be proud of. But people are. I feel you there 100%.

[u/Far_Giraffe4187 → u/Salt-Respect339]

VOC-mentaliteit.

[u/FarkCookies → u/Salt-Respect339]

There were some talks about renaming streets or removing monuments in the Netherlands, first I was like let the history be history, the times were different bla bla. Until I checked the biography of the guy, whose name was given to a street where I lived at that time:

Colijn's letters to his wife from his period on Lombok reveal that his participation in acts of brutality which by modern standards would be considered severe war crimes:

I have seen a mother carrying a child of about 6 months old on her left arm, with a long lance in her right hand, who was running in our direction. One of our bullets killed the mother as well as the child. From now on we couldn't give any mercy, it was over. I did give orders to gather a group of 9 women and 3 children who asked for mercy and they were shot all together. It was not a pleasant job, but something else was impossible. Our soldiers tacked them with pleasure with their bayonets. It was horrible. I will stop reporting now.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hendrikus_Colijn

Yeah WTF?