My 8th grade history told me it can be very dangerous to judge the past by modern morals/standards. Can someone explain this to me? I read Wikipedia’s page on presentism and I kind of understand it but at what point does it become dangerous. I was having a conversation with a co worker about Ota Benga and the 1904 worlds fair and i felt he simplified the argument that people were terrible and it was horrible what happened. I get he had a sad story and ending but from what i also read he seemed ok and happy with meeting everyone at the fair. I’m not sure what my real question is other than what are the dangers of looking at and finding understanding to historical events/practices of the past from a modern perspective. I know hitler and slavery are commonly used examples. Thanks!