Holy Mackinaw Forward Thinkers-
In utter disbelief and disappointment in the word and orders I have seen and heard the leader of the free world utter recently...I felt it necessary to start posting papers I wrote.
Uprooting Racism Part 4
As I prepared to read part IV of Uprooting Racism by Paul Kivel, I decided to check my email on AOL. I usually first scan the “Today on AOL” rotating headlines, and in the “AOL News” I read “Virginia is First to Apologize: Sorry for Role in United States History”. Of course this sparked my interest and I was pleasantly surprise by this article. Virginia is beginnings it 400th anniversary of Jamestown and to commemorate this, the lawmakers decided to pass a resolution with an unanimous vote to express “profound regret” for the state’s role in slavery and exploitation of Native Americans.
I could not believe my luck, but then it made me think maybe it is not as bad as Paul Kivel is making it out to be. Maybe that’s why white people get offended at all of us white christian males being accused of racism. The thing that I did not realize until recently is a clear picture how our government truly acts. To achieve their goals at all cost, and it appears the United States is once again, over using their white christian male Bush power to do as he please.
I did not grow up watching Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, and The Lone Ranger. I grew up watching the Smurfs, Scooby Doo, and Sesame Street. In the Boy Scouts, I am a Vigil member in the Order of the Arrow, which taught us the difference between Native American history and American history. When one hears the statistics to what my founding forefathers did, there is no wonder why people of color, as oppose to blue people in reference to the Smurfs how individuals are all the same color and identified by their skill or personality, are afraid of white christian males.
Some figures Kivel states that are highly contest is 15 million indigenous people were here when Columbus arrived in the West Indies and around 3 million in 1900. The Taino people and other local inhabitants of the West Indies decreased from several million to 22,000 by 1514; only 22 years after Columbus arrived. White christian males have expropriated 97.5% of Native American land. My heritage leads back to Native American on one side and Royalty on the other. From either perspective it is pretty clear act of genocide towards a race and has some how been considered acceptable behavior.
African Americans has been oppressed almost as long as Native Americans. Around 1619, Africans were first brought to the United States as slave servants, while 75% of white Europeans were indentured servants. Starting in late 1660’s, Virginia made laws about slavery that produced a stigmatized class below that of white christian males which has effected people of color ever since. Paul Kivel states from1619 until slavery ended officially in 1865, 10 to 15 million African were brought to North America and another 20 to 30 million died in transport know as the “Middle Passage”. In all, 30 to 45 million Africans were abducted or killed by our white American and European forefathers.
Once slavery was abolished, we need to replace that free work force by some one else, and this time the United States choose Asians. It was not till early 1950’s when the last restraints against Asians were lifted. Asians were responsible for the railroad tracks that helped our country develop and prosper.
Latino/as have a longer culture being in America that the white Europeans, but through wars and treaties, Texas, California, New Mexico, Nevada, and parts of Colorado, Arizona, and Utah have become a part of the United States. In 1898, the United States declared was on Spain to give independence to Cuba, but instead we took over Puerto Rice, annexed Hawaii, occupied Wake Island and Guam in the Pacific, and claimed the Philippines. It is quite clear of our governments past history, and I don’t understand how they are still getting away with it in Iraq right now.
I believe by white christian male Bush’s action we are now less safe than before 9/11. We have committed horrible atrocities in the Middle East, and I believe helping a self proclaim prophecy to occur in retaliation of the force we are using against Arabs. I believe through all the examples Paul Kivel gives, it is crystal clear the fear and scapegoating created by white people against color people. The newest scapegoat of our problems and fears are Arabs. I believe by Bush’s blatant act of using force to obtain oil has made it clear to the general masses what extremes the United States government is willing to go, and realize that these stories we hear about past actions of the United States government are occurring now as I type this paper. It is important to stop this behavior before any more unnecessary deaths are caused.
White christian males have persecuted Jews and people of color throughout history. Because of the deceitfulness and extreme violence white christian males have used to oppress non-white christian males, it is only logical to conclude it still plays some kind of factor due to how recent many of these horrendous crimes occurred and are occurring. I believe our attitudes need too and are stating too change. I think most white christian males are to busy trying to survive themselves even to consider looking at and accepting the fact that racism has played a huge advantage for white christians males, especially in the United States.
I heard a comment from a talk radio show that had Jane Elliot as a guest that I thought described nicely how racism is today. People of color are better of now than 50 years ago, but are worse off now from only 20 years ago. Fifty years ago, white christian males were overt with racism, and now it is much more covert with politically correct speech. We did not change the thought process; we changed the behavior to a polite correct way of describing individuals.
By looking at the history of America, racism has played a huge factor and continues to play a huge factor in the United States. White christian males have been given such a huge head start and unfair balance of wealth, that it is like joining a game of Monopoly where one person owns all the railroads and utilities, has three apartment buildings, 5 houses and numerous lots, and now it is your turn to start on equal terms except you only have $1,000 and most if not all the property is gone or unaffordable. Some kind of rebalancing the wealth of our country needs to take place because it is clear that the white christian male made this wealth from the exploitation of color people.