Decolonizing......

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Whoa, Mr. Lieber.....chill! If you want names to be named, I can do so.
It's not hard. Mike Lieber....Tom McCormack....most, if not all, of us.
You can't seriously sit there and deny the fact that you find yourself at or
near the apex of a social system that is based, in part, on the systematic
oppression of those with less power and that every day you accept the
benefits of that system. Sounds like complicity to me.
I don't believe that we should all wallow in some misplaced guilt over
that fact but for Mr. Johnson to want to inquire into the question of what we
might do is certainly not a waste of time. Assuming that we are people of
good will, we may want to consider how our daily endeavors contribute to the
less attractive parts of that system. I think Mr. Johnson has been very
effective in bringing the question to the fore.
One problem I have, however, is that I don't know Mr. Johnson's
qualifications to speak for those for whom he claims to speak. My worry is
that if he is serious in his proposals, how do we know that his proposals
reflect the desires of Native Americans. I'm concerned that his endeavor is
just one more paternalistic exercise in "eating the Other" and is just as
effective a silencer as many of the other methods we've seen through history.
I, for one, think Native Americans are fully capable of speaking for
themselves, and as they speak, we are fully capable of listening without
defensivness further clouding the issues.
Thomas McCormack
Our firstness is thirdness.........We weave our own webs of significance

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