Alex

I was at the American Indian Summer Festival last weekend here in Milwaukee and I saw a t-shirt that caught my attention. It had a picture of four sitting American Indians. Above the picture was written: "Homeland Security." Below the picture was "Fighting terrorism since 1492."

How true do you believe this to be?

Edify_Always_In_All_Ways

Quite true. Columbus colonizing land already settled and owned by Native Americans? Killing or enslaving them all in the process? "Fighting invaders" may have been a more accurate phrase, but terrorists are catchy right now. Why not?

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The flamethrower- proof that someone was thinking "I want to set that guy on fire, but I'm not close enough."

mikhail

The thing is what do we do undue and redraw lines on every map becuase of every injustice that may have happened in the past? Uproot Americans and send them all to the various areas of europe their roots are from.

Why do people so often make the conclusion that whatever country or race you are you are somewhat guilty with any crimes commited by people of your race or nationality before you where born?

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The third-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the majority. The second-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the minority. The first-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking.

Simon W. Moon

I believe you

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"That is the problem... [we] fell in love with the idea that politicians-- even the slickest and brightest presidential candidates-- were real heroes and truly exciting people. That is wrong on its face. They are mainly dull people with corrupt instincts and criminal children. -H.S.T"

RightOfCenter

Indians would have been considered terrorists, just like the British probably thought Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin were.

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The Jews killed Jesus and then tried to push blame off on the Romans. I blame the blacks.

Simon W. Moon

j/k


If you're willing to adapt the definition of the word, it's as true as you are willing to make it.

Alex

Hilarious! I really needed a good laugh.

mpg

I've been meaning to get one of those but they never have them in my size. I don't think it's an accusation about what America's doing now. I think it's about the past and it gives recognition to the brave fighters who protected their own people back then.

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"Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength." - Eric Hoffer

GottaHurt

Another myth perpetrated by bitter people.

Why is it that when the first white settlers arrived, they were greeted with open arms by some tribes, and faced hostlities from other tribes?

We weren't there, so it's hard to say. I'm guessing it's similiar today with being in a foreign country, some will welcome you, some will treat you as a threat.(remember the sunami? we had military troops helping in the relief effort, they were asked to leave. a perceived threat)

Most Indian tribes were very territorial, they might not have owned the land, but you can bet that if an outsider crossed into their territory, hostlities could quickly arise. Again, I'm guessing a lack of communication, because of the language barrier, coupled with poor diplomacy skills, resulted more often than not in violence.

Recorded history shows we purchased Manhatten for some beads, other territories we fought for, and one in particular, we purchased from France.

The Louisiana Purchase was a deal we cut with the French, so how come the French haven't been persecuted throughout history for doing the natives wrong, in their aquisition of that land? We could include the Spanish and the British too, they used the natives to do their dirty work as well.

Cliches are cliches because they are true.

"Life is not fair"

"To the victor goes the spoils"

The do-gooders in our society will never understand those two cliches, they think that throwing some money at, or creating a memorial, or giving some sort of reperations to a group whom they feel were cheated somewhere along the lines in American history, will somehow make it alright.

We can learn from it, but what's done is done, let it go.

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Pain can be such a beautiful thing

Lightdemon

I've heard of someone who hypothesized that some native american tribes remembered the kindness and the offerings/gifts that the Chinese had brought them 70 years before Columbus even arrived. Perhaps they thought that the Chinese had returned? It's possible...

But what difference does it make? Both the Americas were invaded and the natives of the land has been fighting this for a very long time. The T-shirt is quite accurate.

It was invasion. In Northern America, Roanoke was a failure because they didn't know how to grow their food in the winter, or how to store enough to last them through the winter. They are, of course, in an unknown land. It was likely for them to fail on thier first try. But when Jamestown came to be, they survived by brute force, by defeating the Powhatan tribe and taking thier food during the winters.

That was how the invasion began in the north. And it was the same in the South. Both Americas took advantage of the natives, they just kept taking and taking and taking, exploiting and exploiting and exploiting. It's all the same.

Recorded history shows that we planted a flag and claimed it to be ours. Other territories we tricked the natives into selling by giving them alcohol as gifts before negotiations. And still other territories we gained by breaking treaties we signed with the natives.

and as for this...

You think they haven't? They both have thier fair share of it.


When do we do the bolded? If we know that invading another country is wrong, then why do it still? If we know that displacing the natives will be hurtful to thier culture, then why do we still do it?

Have we really learned anything at all from history? No, it doesn't seem so. Until it is learned, we mustn't stop teaching it.

As well, look at the kind of history that is being taught! One of sacred mountains to some of the native americans was once called The Black Hills, it is now desecrated and befowled by our very own government. It's not called The Black Hills anymore, we all know it as Mt. Rushmore. This is basically a slap in the face to the Lakota people, a national statement that thier land is officially no longer thiers. And what do you suppose the history lesson here is? Why do so many American's admire Mt. Rushmore? The "National" monument?

Really now....do we learn from history?

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Democrats are thieves
Republicans are thieves too,
Where's my liberty?
- by Ethereal