Why do Americans do so much breast-beating about their former mistreatment of blacks ?

Question

But never mention their far worse treatment of Native Americans?

Agent 86 - You miss the point. I'm not justifying the barbaric policies of Europeans or of the British in Ireland. I condemn them both.
Britain abolished slavery before the US, by the way.
The worst of the Indian massacres occurred in the 19th century, after US independence, and when treaties respecting them were supposed to be in force.
And I'm not Chinese.

Answer 1

Excellent question.

I suggest that the reason the genocide of Native Americans is seldom addressed or felt in the breast of Americans is because the Native Americans are still held captive.

No Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
No great Native American leader.

Americans like to think of the Native Americans as a satisfied group well taken care of by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Of course, nothing could be further from the truth.

Answer 2

I am fascinated by the fact that most Americans have no idea that it was an African who sold the first black slaves from Africa to the Portugese who in turn sold them to the Spaniards who were colonizing South America and then the Dutch picked them up from the Portugese and from the same African King, (Mafa Musa) And finally to the English settlers. Native Americans also used slavery, when one tribe captured another they would make slaves of the looser. This is a concept that has been going on for centuries. Women have always been used as slaves. It was not until "the burning bed" that men began to re-think this concept. The point is that no society is exempt from the slavery mentality. As long as there are ignorant people in the world there will be slavery. Most African Americans do not bother to take the time to explore their own hisatory. I think everyone should look at history and accumulate as much information as possible on it in order to avaid the mistakes of the past. We focus on Black slavery because they have better lobbyists in DC than the Native AMericans do.
I find it ironic that many people do not seem to notice the similarity between what happened in Lebanon and Isreal and the situation between the Native Americans and the European Americans. Palistine claimed the land for 2000 years as the European AMericans have claimed this land for 200 years. Isreal comes back and takes their land back from the people who lived there for all those years. What would happen if the Native AMericans d4ecided to take back their land that was taken from them? If it is ok for Isreal to claim their vacant for 2000 years land than surely Natives can claim what was taken from them in the last 200 right?

Answer 3

Agent 86 clearly knows nothing of his own country's history, such as it is. It was still operating a segregation policy until way into the 20th Century - ie Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King et al.

The Americans were one of the last nations t outlaw slavery, and until then had the single largest trade turnover in the world for many many years.

The UK passed the Slave Trade Act outlawing slavery both in the UK and the Empire, as it then was, some time around 1800, and followed up with the Abolition Act in the 1830's. This is shortly after we gave you, the Americans, independence, and bloody good job too.

Even now, in America, the native people are forced to live in "Settlements" in order to continue their ways of life, while the fat, stupid Yanks just wreck up the planet with little or no regard for anyone else.

In answer to the question, however, they do this because they're a bunch of drama queens who find it hard to control themselves without having to go for "therapy".

Answer 4

Personally speaking, I'd rather be the descendent of a slave living in the good 'old USA than living in a country like Liberia. Still doesn't excuse the very notion of slavery though.
As time goes on, we realise the full extent of our past crimes. Isn't that what history is about? Learning from mistakes. Slavery has always existed and it was right that it was abolished.
And yes, I do think the Native Americans are a very sore point. As are the aborigines in Australia.

Answer 5

I am unsure what history book you're getting your information from but there has been plenty mentionings of what the Native American's faced. Also, the treatment of Native Americans was no where near as bad as the treatment of blacks. True, whole societies of Native Americans were wiped out. But far more blacks were wiped out because enslavement of black people spanned many years longer than enslavement of Native Americans. Not to mention, blacks were imported like beer.. Native Americans were already here and simply defending the right to right to live and breathe in places where they already dwelled.

I am not comparing the black plight verses the Native American's because enslavement of any people is wrong. But if you're wondering why there is more light shed on enslavement of blacks, I believe it's because the mentality towards blacks is more than negative than the mentality towards Native Americans. Blacks were called nigg***s but I can't say I know a nationally known derrogatory name of Native Americans. Blacks had leaders to fight for them. Native Americans may have had them but unless you learned on your own, outside of the public school system, you didn't read about any.

Answer 6

I guess because like most of humanity they put themselves at the centre of the universe and rearrange the furniture in their collective psyche to make them feel the most comfortable.

I find it amazing how when faced with logical discourse people will duck and weave and wriggle to get out of it . The past is a safe place to dump guilt - the present harder because you still have a chance to do something about it.

I think it also works for the victims too. I am an english person living in ireland and get some hostility towards me re: colonialism and the famine - whenever I say I dont mind being 'english ' for the sake of a discussion everyone backs off and says oh but it wasnt you.

Answer 7

There isnt a large enough native american population to make themselves heard and they dont seem to run around crying racism at every opportunity like some people do. Agent 86, how you could call anyone an idiot is beyond me YOU are european by decent and if it wasnt for 'barbaric europeans' your ancestors wouldn't have found america and turned it into the wonderfully corrupt egomaniac of a continent that it is today! (whats that saying about he that lives in a glass house should not cast stones?)

Answer 8

Nether was is right but well into the 1960s Jim Crow laws and phony tests kept blacks at the bottom of the economic ladder. In 1945 German POW could sit any where he wished in a Texas theater but a Black Combat Veteran would have to sit it the balcony.
Tammi Dee

Answer 9

Mistreatment of blacks is from recent memory and there has been no real paying of that debt.
Native Americans own part of the land within the borders of the US and the wars were a long time ago. The problem is invisible. The probelm between white and black Americans is still very visible.

Answer 10

You see, it was actually the European colonials at the time that drove the native indians off their lands and enslaved the black Africans by sending ships over and kidnapping them by the thousands.
We Americans did not rid ourselves of the european curse until we abolished slavery and brought in the civil rights movement. Then we could say we are Americans.
But until then it was the barbaric europeans with their history of world conquering and colonialization that deserve that brand.
Better take a look at your own barbaric history before you throw stones. What happened to Ireland in the 1600's?
You're an idiot. maybe you're chinaman if so mind your own business and worry more about your own repressive communist regime and remember Tianamen Square