Only a few Belgians actually held the machetes that cut off the hands of African rubber workers. Then as now, most of the crimes were done by Africans to Africans. But it was the Belgians who supervised, made the rules, set the cultural/economic/political context. And most Belgians loyally supported their King, who personally owned the Congo and got rich from the hand-chopping.
Any relationship, between any individuals, groups, or nations, where one party has all the power, and the other party has none, will become abusive. Those with all the power, even if they start out with the best of intentions, by a gradual process of moral erosion, will end up as criminals (not in their own eyes, of course, but that will be the judgement of history).
<London has not yet become a homogenous culture.> A huge variety of individual life-styles is compatible with a single Global Culture. The 747 and internet have made the whole planet one neighborhood.
The basis of culture is language. The whole world, beginning with the educated elite of every nation, is learning English as a second language. Thousands of local small languages are disappearing. This may be good, or it may be bad, but it's happening anyway, and nobody can stop it. |
