It's cliched, but I think a lot of it is due to people's lack of understanding and appreciation for history; people view history as "the past," failing to really think about the fact that every single person throughout history lived in "their equivalent of 2020" ... in other words, no "ancient" people ever thought of themselves as anything other than the most advanced, tolerant and *post-historical* people yet to walk the Earth. Our basic evolutionary instincts led rise to things like tribes and even nation states in an effort to provide at least those "closest to us" with a better life, often with the absolute necessity that someone loses out. I think there is a balance that can be struck where we might acknowledge that we shouldn't "steal land just because we can" anymore, but once you start putting pressure on entire countries or ethnic groups to apologize for a past they had no part of, it's a really dumb and quite slippery slope. The US could conquer Central America tomorrow, but we don't; and we shouldn't. However, just because our varied European ancestors took land from technologically inferior previous inhabitants doesn't mean we have to go back to the drawing board taking pride in literally anything about our current country. Do we live on "stolen land"? Of course ... honestly, the most that should be done about that is maybe some government-sponsored programs to try to better the lives of Native Americans in our country ... everything else is just a big fat "eye roll."
I think the "stolen land" canard is very revealing about the mentality of the activist left. I know most lefties aren't like this, but there is a very condescending attitude among the white left towards people of color in general. You never see them complaining about Germany taking land from France, or Sudan taking land from Egypt, but when the conflict is between a white country and a nonwhite country they suddenly take issue with it. It's like they see wars between European countries as wars "between equals," whereas a war between whites and nonwhites is somehow "not a fair fight."
It's a very patronizing worldview. And again, I know the majority of left-wingers and even activists don't think like this. But this sort of attitude is pretty common in places like college campuses. I think it stems from the same faux-liberalism that makes people say "No, you shouldn't criticize Islam, you'll just radicalize more Muslims"-- as if Muslims are so fragile that we must protect their delicate egos, otherwise they'll start blowing themselves up.
Well yes because race (which de facto includes groups like Muslims) is reified as 'the' category of difference in the US whereas a French American vs. German American, or Egyptian vs. Sudanese is not. These categories' significance is all socially constructed. And sure, the left plays a role in doing this, but so does the right.
