Conquer Club

jimboston wrote:That said, the current system of "Reservations" or Native American "Nations" that exist within this nation (i.e. the USA), is untenable. The system DOES NOT SERVE people of native american descent. The system perpetuates poverty and a system of "second-class-citizen" for those who live within it.

Interesting, and without knowing all that much I agree.

It's time to end the system and for people of native american descent to integrate.

Hah, that same little attitude was exactly what caused the aforementioned genocide.

The most morally/ethically correct solution, from my point of view, is to work with the Native American culture and treat them as they want to be treated (as according to their culture). Now obviously this is easier said than done as the leaders are not always accurate representatives of either the culture or the wider population so you need to invest a lot of time, money and effort if you want to get a morally superior outcome - naturally this is usually politically untenable, especially compared to the ease of simple forced integration...

Bear in mind I am speaking from a country that, while has terrible history and relations with the indigenous population, does have one of the better track records compared to other countries. Maori culture is very prominant in our society and we largely embrace it (not to say we dont have our fair share of racism etc.).

jonesthecurl wrote:Give the beach back to the lungfish.

That's just crazy talk.

Lootifer wrote: .

The most morally/ethically correct solution, from my point of view, is to work with the Native American culture and treat them as they want to be treated (as according to their culture). Now obviously this is easier said than done as the leaders are not always accurate representatives of either the culture or the wider population so you need to invest a lot of time, money and effort if you want to get a morally superior outcome - naturally this is usually politically untenable, especially compared to the ease of simple forced integration...

I fully agree, but therein lies the crux of just one problem. See, Native Americans are hardly unified on what constitutes the best moves.

Some have endorsed casinos, as an example. In many cases that has wound up a very bitter pill, bringing wealth to a few and making a travesty of any real cultural movements. Many want nothing more than to just "have what everyone else has", but more and more on many reservations see merely "becoming white" as more than just destroying their culture and turning their backs on their elders, but as giving up something extremely valuable that our current society needs. Although only a few truly want to go back and "live like the elders", a good many want to regain at least some of the major values, which are not necessarily at all the same as so-called "western" values.

On the other side, a lot of non Native American people who want to "be Indian" [fill in whatever tribe or just say Native American], falsely ideoloze and romanticize the lifestyle and values. NO culture stays the same, ever.

When you talk about the Native Americans (or natives of other areas, I am sure), you refer to a number of very diverse and not at all compatible ideas, values and beliefs. Many cultures are, of course already just gone.. with no members left, and perhaps not even real archeological evidence.

In other words, the problem is not even just what the political powers that be might want, its also even defining what each tribe, what each section of tribe, might want. And while I am a believer in the idea that all cultures bring some good, I am not sure even that all Native American cultures really should be equally endorsed. Its a complex mix. On the one hand, everyone has the right to their culture, but do we really want and need (just as an example) some of the more antagonistic values perpetuated more? I don't feel fit to judge, think that is something each society must judge. Yet, ignoring that is part of what I mean by folks who romanticize the Native American lifestyles.

And, then we have issues of resource allocation. In many cases, it is less culture and more about resources that cause the conflict.

Lootifer wrote:

jimboston wrote:That said, the current system of "Reservations" or Native American "Nations" that exist within this nation (i.e. the USA), is untenable. The system DOES NOT SERVE people of native american descent. The system perpetuates poverty and a system of "second-class-citizen" for those who live within it.

Interesting, and without knowing all that much I agree.

It's time to end the system and for people of native american descent to integrate.

Hah, that same little attitude was exactly what caused the aforementioned genocide.

The most morally/ethically correct solution, from my point of view, is to work with the Native American culture and treat them as they want to be treated (as according to their culture). Now obviously this is easier said than done as the leaders are not always accurate representatives of either the culture or the wider population so you need to invest a lot of time, money and effort if you want to get a morally superior outcome - naturally this is usually politically untenable, especially compared to the ease of simple forced integration...

Bear in mind I am speaking from a country that, while has terrible history and relations with the indigenous population, does have one of the better track records compared to other countries. Maori culture is very prominant in our society and we largely embrace it (not to say we dont have our fair share of racism etc.).

They can keep their culture... just like ever other ethnicity that integrates.

The continuation of the Reservation System is what needs to stop.

Haha, yes, because American culture is widely known for its ability to play well with others...

Lootifer wrote:Haha, yes, because American culture is widely known for its ability to play well with others...

We do! Instead of a ball, we like to toss unpinned hand grenades! Instead of water guns, we use assault rifles! And most generous of all, even if we get mad, we don't take our ball and go home, we supersize the grenade, multiply it by the thousands, and drop it from stealth bombers! We share the wealth!

muy_thaiguy wrote:

Lootifer wrote:Haha, yes, because American culture is widely known for its ability to play well with others...

We do! Instead of a ball, we like to toss unpinned hand grenades! Instead of water guns, we use assault rifles! And most generous of all, even if we get mad, we don't take our ball and go home, we supersize the grenade, multiply it by the thousands, and drop it from stealth bombers! We share the wealth!

We're liberating the hell out of those people.

muy_thaiguy wrote:

Lootifer wrote:Haha, yes, because American culture is widely known for its ability to play well with others...

We do! Instead of a ball, we like to toss unpinned hand grenades! Instead of water guns, we use assault rifles! And most generous of all, even if we get mad, we don't take our ball and go home, we supersize the grenade, multiply it by the thousands, and drop it from stealth bombers! We share the wealth!

In all honesty i sometimes think i'd prefer a handgrenade being lobbed through my window on a saturday afternoon, compared to what I currently have to put up with from our 'Merican [cultural] overlords: Keeping up with the Kardashians Marathon.

jimboston wrote:
They can keep their culture... just like ever other ethnicity that integrates.

Except every other ethnicity, with the exception of blacks brought as slaves has had a choice. Even some ex slaves had a choice, to a point, in Libya. Native Americans have no other place to go and, in many cases, have a culture that is very much tied to a specific section of land.

muy_thaiguy wrote:Istanbul back to the Greeks?

Not just Istanbul, basically all the good fertile regions in Turkey have been settled by Greeks for thousands of years before the Turks took it.

Gillipig wrote:

muy_thaiguy wrote:Istanbul back to the Greeks?

Not just Istanbul, basically all the good fertile regions in Turkey have been settled by Greeks for thousands of years before the Turks took it.

What about the Macedonians? Where's their fair share?

BigBallinStalin wrote:

Gillipig wrote:

muy_thaiguy wrote:Istanbul back to the Greeks?

Not just Istanbul, basically all the good fertile regions in Turkey have been settled by Greeks for thousands of years before the Turks took it.

What about the Macedonians? Where's their fair share?

The Greeks predates the Macedonians, Macedonia is old Greek territory. So they get nothing, not even the area they have today.

Russia back to the Princes of Novgorod?

muy_thaiguy wrote:Russia back to the Princes of Novgorod?

Back to Sweden actually. The first king of Rus was "Rurik", a Swedish viking who settled in the area and created the first kingdom in Russia. The Grand Prince's of Novgorod, Ryazan, Galich etc were all descendants of him.

Gillipig wrote:

muy_thaiguy wrote:Russia back to the Princes of Novgorod?

Back to Sweden actually. The first king of Rus was "Rurik", a Swedish viking who settled in the area and created the first kingdom in Russia. The Grand Prince's of Novgorod, Ryazan, Galich etc were all descendants of him.

In other words, turn it back into a monarchy then.

Mexico City back to the Aztecs?

Earth back to the dinosaurs?

Gillipig wrote:

muy_thaiguy wrote:Russia back to the Princes of Novgorod?

Back to Sweden actually. The first king of Rus was "Rurik", a Swedish viking who settled in the area and created the first kingdom in Russia. The Grand Prince's of Novgorod, Ryazan, Galich etc were all descendants of him.

What about the people who Rurik displaced? We'll have to find their descendants and inform that they now own Russia.

BigBallinStalin wrote:

Gillipig wrote:

muy_thaiguy wrote:Istanbul back to the Greeks?

Not just Istanbul, basically all the good fertile regions in Turkey have been settled by Greeks for thousands of years before the Turks took it.

What about the Macedonians? Where's their fair share?

Erm, in Macedonia?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Macedonia