AHHHH! Were to begin? By the time I got back on this thread there has been a ton posted. Some things need to be said. First, do not ever say that I have "hatred" toward anybody. Disgust, yes, hatred no. This is the equivalant to calling me a racist. Make no mistake, if I were a racist, I would tell you folks straight up, thats just my style. I have had whites, hispanics, indians, even asians employed by our company, some were excellent workers, and some were not. So, as far as that is concerned, I have said my piece and will never again address the race statements.
Secondly, enough already with the "ancesester's were indians" crap. Who cares? Does that some how qualify you more than others? The fact is, the overwhelming majority of reservation members are at best 1/4 indian. From my prospective that makes them 3/4 non-indian. So lay off the heritage garbage.
Thirdly, my suggestion to move this to the politics forum was strickly made to maintain the integrity of this forum. As far as me having "my ilk" over there, please let me know who they are, as I have posted in the politics section but a few times.
Also, enough of the "college boy" comments, I assure you all that I am not a boy. Yes, I did go to college, yes I did get a degree. I payed for it with my own blood and sweat, and I am proud of my educational accomplishments. I make no distiction in terms of human value with regaurd to education. I own a construction firm, hardly a "college boy" job. If you think I am lording my education over anyone, think again. Out of over 100 post this is the first time I have mentioned my degree, it is largly unimportant. I'm am sure there are many on this board who have Masters and Doctorates, and none on this board who spell worse than me.
To Katbones: I think we all realize that it was not your intention for the post to head in this direction. Your intentions are noble and we all reconize them as such.
Finally, the crux of my position is two fold. 1. Stop romantising the pre-colombus indian tribes. And there is a discussion of it's own. 2. It is really time to move beyond the "we stole there land" argument.
Nobody has addressed the fact the indians stole each others land. Nobody has addressed the fact that most existing nations stole their land. Nobody has responded to the option of giving their property back to the indians if their hearts are troubled by this. In the words of one poster, indeed, the truth does hurt. The real discussion on this subject should be, is how to do away with reservations all togather, and assimilate tribal members into main stream America. There is no pride, no hope, no morality in the current reservations systems we have now. On an antelope hunt to Wolfpoint , Montana a year ago, I pulled into town at 3:30AM on the Ft. Peck Indian Reservation. I saw kids, yes kids, 10 years old or so with whiskey bottles and beer cans. The tribal police do nothing. The shame of it all is that the indians are mainly exploiting indians, while liberal politicians send the power rez leaders money, slap themselves on the back with a wink and a smile, and return to their escalades feeling all fuzzy inside.
To BOWFANTIC: If your seriously concerned with indian issues, perhaps your time would be better spent trying to make a difference on the deplorable state on the American indian today, as opposed to pointing fingers and blaming things on the past. Only through independance from government programs can the indians once again feel the pride they enjoyed ages ago. Freedom is all encompassing, you must have freedom from dependancy to fully realize the value of life, and without that realization, your life is without meaning. A life without meaning leads to a deplorable state, so is the case with todays indian. Last year, a 14 year old indian on the flathead reservation was killed in a trailer fire because he was to drunk to wake up. If that werent enough, his ten year old brother and a 12 year old were found dead in a field 6 months later. The cause? Hypothermia, with a blood alcohol content 3x the legal driving limit. Don't you think we can do better than that? I assure you, when we read this in the papers out here, nobody is happy, no matter what the skin color.