[lbo-talk] crime & American Indians

Wojtek Sokolowski sokol at jhu.edu
Thu Apr 28 08:34:25 PDT 2005


Doug:
> Yeah, Woj's comment ignores the way that "sovereignty" (another great
> Bush moment captured on video - W defining Indian sovereignty) was
> constructed by the US in a history featuring just about all the
> points in the official definition of genocide. I hope Wojtek isn't
> trying to blame Indians for these awful numbers.

It is interesting how people use a red herring to dismiss an argument. 'Sovereignty' was not an issue there, but the fact that people who are poor are hardly innocent and passive victims - but victimizers as well. They victimize their own people and do so more than other groups. However, that fact is usually swept under the rug by moral entrepreneurs who argue that the poor can do no wrong.

I pointed that in my argument and added that white washing in this case is particularly difficult because most tribes are self-governed. I did not use the word "sovereign" because this is a very different thing. Self-governance means no being subjected to the same type of external influences as the lack of it. For example, a black inner-city ghetto is not self-governed but instead depends on white government for law enforcement, infrastructure maintenance, land use etc, which often contribute to criminal behavior. Self-governance means greater control of such factors.

But that statement was semantically transformed into a red herring "sovereignty" and the whose discussion went off tangent, followed by accusations that I am not bothered with facts etc. RTFM!

I may also add that I derive a somewhat weird pleasure from shitting on other people's altars and wiping my butt with national flags. I just love it. Others like spectator sports, porn, anal sex, B/D, or hunting - I like poking fun of religions and public pieties. This is, inter alia, what attracts me to the left - a materialistic approach and a sober and dismissive view on story telling and myth making. So when I discover pieties and myth making activities on the left - sorry folks, but I cannot help it.

Wojtek



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