From: Samantha Atkins (samantha@objectent.com)
Date: Mon Sep 09 2002 - 01:58:07 MDT
Robert J. Bradbury wrote:
> On Sun, 8 Sep 2002, Samantha Atkins, responding to me wrote:
>
>
>>Go read "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" if you haven't already. Then we
>>will talk.
>
>
>
> I haven't read it and won't for the purposes of this discussion.
> Yes, I have no doubt that the American's committed a number of
> atrocities and treated native Americans unfairly. For example
> this review cites the "racism" by most whites against native
> Americans:
> http://www.2think.org/woundedknee.shtml
> I would class it as little different from the "racism" by most
> whites against blacks or chinese during that era of American
> development.
Unfairly? Try breaking almost every treated the US government made with
Native Americans. Try death marches of hundreds of miles for forced
relocation. It is a bit different. These people were here first. We
pushed them off the land onto reservations, usually the worse land
around, then robbed them of even that and of almost all their culture
quite sytematically. Even that did not satisfy us.
>
> But no matter how many thousands were murdered by actions
> approved by the American government there is a long history
> before the 1800's that must be discussed. This includes
> the French and Indian War over a century earlier and
> numerous acts by the British, French and Spanish and probably
> other governments against various Indian nations. So all
> of the blood is not on the hands of the "Americans".
>
So what. A very significant part of the blood is indeed on
our hands.
> Most importantly I *still* stand by my statement that a
> significant majority of the native Americans (most likely
> 90+%) died at the hands of microbes and *not* by arrows
> or bullets shot by white folks.
>
> If you want to present some hard data that contradicts that
> assertion I'd be happy to retract it. (This is based on
> my background in microbiology and my readings over the last
> decade or so of the effects of various plagues -- I don't
> have authoritative references handy but I'm relatively sure
> they would be easy to find).
>
You asserted, so you provide hard data. Personally I don't consider
it relevant for the moral case of whether we committed atrocities
against Native American peoples deserving of reparations. While you're
at it, what if anything do you think should be done about what we did to
the reaminder who survived the bugs?
- samantha
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