What it really means to be marginalized and discriminated against

Previously published in 2005 @ Booman Tribune, as relevant
today as then.

by ghostdancers way


I sometimes laugh, but most times I just want to cry when I
hear or read that some so called Christians are whining,
complaining and generally lying about this so called war on
Christmas or a war to marginalize Christianity in American
society.  If Christians want to actually see what a
marginalized population looks like, I highly recommend that
they look to the indigenous peoples of the United States or
any of the other 44 nations that make up the worlds nations
that were created by exterminating the original or indigenous
peoples who populated them. 

Christians who whine they are oppressed or marginalized
probably would not have survived as a culture if they had to
deal with the types of oppression, genocide and outright
destruction of their very culture, the way the Fourth World
has had to deal with these very same issues over the last 150
years.  There now is an organization called Unrepresented
Nations and Peoples Organization that has approximately 50
different Nationalities representing occupied nations,
indigenous peoples and oppressed minorities.  Many Native
Americans now refer to themselves as the First World / First
Peoples. 

 

Try as I might, I just can't get behind the idea that American
Christians are indeed being persecuted for their beliefs or
their religion.  I can however see and have been informed by
many older and some who are now deceased First Peoples that
they have and continue to be persecuted, discriminated against
and in many cases prohibited or have been prohibited from
practicing their spiritual beliefs.  Then there is the
economic discrimination and outright fraud that occurs when
Native peoples try to work some kind of economic development
on what is supposed to be their land. 

Here the issue is not having nation-state status, so no other
country, government entity or business/bank in the world will
do work with them.  Indigenous peoples have no embassies,
diplomats, or business representatives.  They have no legal
standing to create business compacts, levy taxes to create
revenue, enter into political alliances, or be involved in
other areas that involve a fully qualified government.   

What few investors and corporate firms that can be enticed to
come in and set up businesses (a casino or hotel, for
example), it is almost always a gamble that most of the
proceeds will stay in the indigenous community.  What has been
the norm, however, are business rip-offs and exploitation. 
(See Jack Abramoff)   

In most cases no economic development can be created unless
the indigenous people own the land, which is not the case for
a significant population, because of unresolved legal battles
or the land being held as a trust for them by some government
entity. (Indian Trust)   Because the land is held in trust,
banks refuse to loan money on it, and their only recourse is
to lease it to the very same government entity that is
supposed to protect it and them.  This has ensured generations
of exploitation of both the land and the peoples who are
trying to gain support from the land.  The ongoing effort of
indigenous peoples is the fight for sovereignty and the right
to self-rule. 

No other group of people in the United States has less control
over their lives than First Peoples.  No other group of people
have been discriminated against, had genocide practiced
against them and had the full power of the Christian/Catholic
faith and the US government try to destroy their very culture.
 They attempted to eradicate the tribal nature of the
indigenous peoples and acclimate them into American society as
Americans.  The churches and the government went so far as to
try and eradicate the very languages of the indigenous peoples
of North America.   

Like I said earlier, sometimes I just want to laugh at these
misguided, misinformed and culturally handicapped Christians
who continue to whine, cry, protest and otherwise make a
nuisance of themselves by declaring there is a war against
Christians and Christmas.  Most times I just want grab them
and show them the damage that their religion has perpetuated
upon an entire race of human beings who simply wanted to
insure that their way of life and their culture would survive.
  

So the next time you hear some poor discriminated against
Christian whine about their poor religion being marginalized,
point them to a computer and tell them to search for genocide
against indigenous peoples.  When they can show you or myself
that they have been subjected to the kinds of hatred,
punishment and outright killing because of their beliefs, then
I will have some mercy in my heart for them.  Until such time,
I hope the whiners will be continually slapped down with the
truth of what constitutes marginalization, discrimination and
genocide against a whole race and culture of people.