The European "Dark" ages was not only distinguished as such because of the "lack of knowledge."

"...(T)hey still allowed their houses to run with rats and their bodies and beds with fleas. Fleas were so common that they were regarded almost affectionately as a constant companion to man- certainly fleas and lice, if not man's best friends, might be considered his closest friends- and those who were lucky enough to have the best and warmest clothes often had the most fleas."-from _Dirt_ by European writer, Terence McLaughlin


"...(O)ne of the reasons they were barred from the Holy Kand in the first place, by Saladin, was that every time those flea-bitten, unwashed Europeans went to the Holy Land they spread fleas and ticks and lice."-from _African World revolution_ by John Henrik Clarke


...They never wash, for, at their birth, ugly men in black garments pour water over their heads, and this ablution, accompanied by strange gestures, frees them from all obligation of washing for the rest of their lives."-from _Dirt_ by European writer, Terence McLaughlin




Child Care?

"(T)here is widespread evidence that infant deaths often caused little if any regret or sorrow. Instaed, parents often expressed relief at the deaths of children...dead and even dying infants were ofthen simply discarded like refuse and were frequently noticed "lying in the gutters or rotting on the dung-heaps"...Large numbers of legitimate infants whose parents were still living were abandoned outside churches or foundling homes. Some scholars suggest that as many as half of France duting the eighteenth century were abandoned by intact families. Additional indifference and neglect is evident in the large numbers of infants sent off to wet nurses, despite the well-known fact that such children faced much higher probabilities of death. Indeed, wet-nursing became a hig cottage industry... as families, especially the poor, sent away infants so that the mother would not be tied down by nursing and child care responsiblities*...In truth, these homes were baby barns, crowded with infants. Parents seldom, if ever visited. Deaths were often covered up so payments could still be collected. But staggering numbers of these babies were never seen again. Nor it seem, were they missed."- from _Sociology, by Rodney Stark

*Personal note: THAT NO AFRAKAN! (Check the sig!)

Concerning the Children's Crusades of the 13th century:
"when the Europeans marched more than 100 thousand children across Europe, half of them froze to death during the preceding winter, and when they got to the warm waters of the Mediterranean, in the spring, they sold the other half to the infidel Arab they were supposed to have been fighting"- from _African World revolution_ by John Henrik Clarke

Personal note: Why would you sell your own children to "infidels?" This is reminiscent of the fact that Europeans in during the era of American slavery allowed their children to be nursed by inferior, disgusting, revolting, unclean, black female beast. This is clearly an example of the European rhetorical ethic AND utter DISDAIN for themselves/children.


PEace
Solarus

***Words of Wisdom***

"If it's not about NATIONBUILDING, it's not about ANYTHING."- Dr. John Henrik Clarke

"We are not the victims! We are just fighting forces that we cannot see!"-2001 Sankofa Conference

"You don't have the RIGHT to have free time from your children."-Kwame Agyei Akoto

"It is the worst feeling to hear the call of the drum and not be able to respond."-Solarus

On understanding Afrakan thought:
"it's like explaining astrophysics to a whino, the explanation can't be done like that. when people try to simplify it, they ask the other person to tailor the answers their cultural context. and trying to cater afrikan ideals to european understanding is a REAL sin."-utamaroho