Places do not torture, enslave, and rape. People do. I am not interested in absolving or shifting blame, but rather in deconstructing the fascist ideologies used to justify these behaviors. In the case of American Exceptionalism the notion is that white straight cisgender males are superior to all other people, and then violently enforcing that norm.

We're not blaming Europeans, we're acknowledging that we are Europeans and that our current society and culture are rooted in European settler-colonialism. As a white man born in America I can trace my roots directly back to Europe, and our culture and political system reflect those roots. If that makes you uncomfortable then perhaps you should do some self-reflection.