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Date Posted: 18:56:59 05/16/07 Wed
Author: John Ten Charges
Subject: Re: bein a 'good' Indian....
In reply to: Dolora Zajick 's message, "Re: bein a 'good' Indian...." on 17:28:49 03/31/07 Sat

let me make a few things clear..

we ndns don't want your sympathy.. most natives are gracious by nature, so speaking up is not easy, but necessary for our survival.. and it is not 'biting back', it is called standing up.. believe me when i say that martin luther king jr. needed malcom x.. sometimes idiots need to be blasted.. it wakes people up.. makes em pay attention.. i don't presume anything dear.. i speak only from my view and my experience.. and trust me, i have plenty of experience..

i never had a problem with you.. hell i don't even know you.. i did have a problem with a non indian sayin it was a 'no no' for a native person to speak up and tell a dumb ass wasicu where to go.. that i have a big problem with.. nothin personal, you just don't know what you are talking about cuz you aint one of us.. but you seem cool enough.. lets keep dishin it out, and maybe some good can come from it for everyone here..

an old dog soldier,
ten charges




> No, I am saying that we as people can be better
>people than than man who made the prejudicial
>response. Notice I said "people" not "good Indian'. I
>may be a non Native, but it would be a mistake to
>think that I am not sympathetic to the treatment
>nonnatives have received and still receive. Being a
>Native American or an African American isn't the only
>thing people are prejuduced against. If I have
>presumed too much, I apologize, but you make
>presumptions too. You presume that I don't understand
>what it means to be isolated from society as a second
>class citizen, and there you are wrong. I know what it
>is like to be humiliated by arrogant people who think
>they are better, and I learned how to defend myself
>with dignity. Believe me it is easy to bite back with
>anger, and to want to give people like that a taste of
>their own medicine. I know because I wanted to do that
>myself, but I leaned early, that to defend oneself
>with strong quiet dignity is far more effective. I
>think I do know what you feel. Maybe I had no right to
>make suggestions as to what to do about it, but don't
>tell me I don't know how you feel, because it doesn't
>matter whether one is a Native American or not. When
>one is treated like a second class citizen, the
>humiliation is the same. But please know this, that I
>am an ally, not an enemy, and one should not turn away
>someone who seeks to understand and make difference,
>and I am sure that you are a nice person too. It's a
>sensitive subject, but it is dialogue like this that
>can bridge misunderstandings. If we don't talk aout
>it, the misunderstandings remain. I hope you are not
>offended by my candor, and it is important that you
>know that I am not offended by yours, and I hope we
>can meet someday as friends. If not, I understand that
>too. In any case I apologize for any assumptions I
>have made and am willing to admit to any mistakes, but
>it is important that you also realize that I think you
>have misunderstood me, and I am willing to accept the
>medicine I dish out. I would be glad if you shared and
>explained some of your culture to me. The more you
>explain it to me, the less I will misunderstand.
> Dolora Zajick

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