EDITOR:
Despite his windy response to my response to his response to my
column published in the Nov. 17 Dispatch, I somehow sense that Mr.
Bill Jones still doesn’t have it all out of his system yet, so I am
writing to give him another opportunity to demonstrate his
knee-jerk political correctness regarding Native Americans.
EDITOR:
Despite his windy response to my response to his response to my column published in the Nov. 17 Dispatch, I somehow sense that Mr. Bill Jones still doesn’t have it all out of his system yet, so I am writing to give him another opportunity to demonstrate his knee-jerk political correctness regarding Native Americans.
Apparently since we have in the past treated this country’s original population so horribly (which is undeniable), anyone in the present day who fails to meet Mr. Jones’ standard of adequate adoration of them is guilty of a hate crime. Adequate adoration seems to mean loud public declarations that they can do no wrong, make a mistake, or be ill-advised. I’m not sure that even Native Americans are entitled to quite that much protection from reality.
The fact that a problem indisputably exists does not mean that every possible solution is equally wise; a snake-oil cure is no improvement over the original disease. This is true of Bush’s decision that the solution to Osama bin Laden and Sept. 11 was to declare war on Iraq; it is also true of the decision that the solution to the past oppression of Native Americans is “Indian gaming.”
Mr. Jones, to hammer the point a little more explicitly, I do not favor Indian gaming, not because Indians run it (which frequently they don’t) or because Indians benefit from it (which frequently they don’t), but rather because in my view casino gambling is an inherently sleazy industry which turns land into maximally garish neon sinkholes, generates endless streams of tacky and misleading advertising designed to lure the gullible, and produces nothing of value unless impoverished players are considered valuable.
Yes, it provides Native Americans with jobs, but “jobs” is not a universal justification. I would, for example, consider it just as honorable for the federal government to legalize banditry and grant Indians an exclusive license to practice it. It would create jobs, but does that justify doing it? That does not mean I hate or dislike Indians; it means I dislike the program.
Operating casinos is no way for the Native American population to regain its dignity, its culture, or anything else it has lost in consequence of the European conquest of America, and to the extent anyone believes otherwise they’re kidding themselves.
They and we could and should do better than this sorry attempt to salve our consciences.
OK, Mr. Jones, fresh material. Knock yourself out.
Robert B. Mitchell, Morgan Hill
Submitted Tuesday, Nov. 18, to ed****@****ic.com
