It’s
no shock most Americans of color find the hallowed words of the
Constitution,
the Declaration of Independence and
the Bill of Rights to
be mighty, mighty beautiful and composed of all-so-powerful words,
but we find them to be on most occasions just that
- words,
shallow, hollow words, which, when strung together, don’t
honestly apply to anyone but White people, to be honest.
The
Thanksgiving holiday America just stumbled through on our way to shop
actually officially launches the forked-tongue broken treaty pattern
which still exists today as federal officials ask for more time to
make a final decision on the Dakota Access Pipeline. Police and
protesters continue their standoff on government-owned property near
the tribal lands of the Sioux nation in Standing Rock, North Dakota.
Practical thinking folks are concerned that the pipeline, which would
run underneath the tribe’s main source of water, could
potentially contaminate the water. Police have employed Bull Conner
tactics - tear gas, dogs, rubber bullets, and water hoses on
protestors in freezing temperatures - potentially life-threatening
actions that tribe members are calling an “act of war.”
As
this never-ending battle continues in 2016, it isn’t terribly
shocking that the words of a 150-year-old Indian treaty were being
shredded, spit and stomped-upon today, here in the 21st century, in
the “name of” Texas Tea. And whose continuing the
marginalization of the Native American - Uncle Sam and the heartless,
greedy oil barons - aristocrats who don’t have hearts, they’ve
cash registers or “value meters” instead. Tragically,
America’s Investor
Class
is riddled with like-minded small-minded money luvers. “All
which glitters is titanium” in their eye, and this allows the
court of White public opinion to turn a blind eye, and deaf ear to
the realities of what their greed places “at-risk,” in
harm’s way.
Now
an interesting tidbit I do find telling: the NFL’s Washington
Redskins and Kansas City Chiefs have not, at this point, reached out
to their alleged “brethren” with financial resources to
battle the Great White Fatcats on Wall Street and what is now, post
November 8th... Washington
DT - International
multinational globalist who couldn’t give a damn about the
everyday Fred n’ Wilma and the American Dream. They’re
“elitists” who are trying to ram this pipeline down the
throats of a proud and noble people who have fought European genocide
efforts for half a millennium.
A
transparent cloud of hypocrisy blankets the land.
I’ve
spoken to Robert
Cordova, the
executive Director of the
Standing Rock Tribal Center and
he confirmed and assured me in a phone conversation, they’ve
received no contact, let alone support from any team in the NFL, MLB
or the NCAA. I thinks that’s a goddamn shame. These profit
driven business machines can’t remain neutral in this type
battle. If you’re not willing to have the backs of these
Americans Indian Tribes, then take their names of your jerseys,
gentlemen.
My
question is, why not?
One
would like to believe, perhaps naively, that on the behalf of these
teams there’d be some “connection,” some empathy,
sympathy or even unasked-for pity for the plight of the Native
American, since these sports franchises pimp and exploit the Native
Americans’ proud image, and they proudly proclaim some
connection to, claim to harbor some allegiance to the noble Red Man,
who they attest embodied all the honorable characteristics one could
assemble for a gallant warrior... You’d like to think. Perhaps
the old White men who own these professional sports organizations are
businessmen in the same cashmere cloth of Lord Trump and they don’t
honestly, when the penthouse doors are closed, give a damn about some
“red-niggers.”
Don’t
even try to tell me those type “terms of endearment”
aren’t vernacular staples in Trump’s White America.
Forgive
me, but with the prevailing winds of good ole’ fashion fascism,
and all-American racism and sexism blowing
across the US heartland, the wild west and, of course, across the
land of Dixie.... and I’d argue it’s safe and fair to
assume the Washington Redskins owner, Dan Snyder, backed Trump, which
translates into he’s fundamentally comfortable with attacking
Americans of Color, and Native Americans are the very definition of
the term American of Color... So yeah, I think Dan should give a damn
about the stand being made in South Dakota.
I’d
like to believe somehow, some way, that the Kansas
City Chiefs family
ownership, the Hunts, who opened the AFL to the Black football player
in the early 1960s would, too, be sensitive to the plight of the
people depicted in their logo.
The
Sioux tribe has filed a lawsuit contesting the pipeline, but they’re
up against energy companies with deep pockets and powerful investors.
These two teams, the league itself and the player’s union could
be and certainly should be underwriting some significant and
meaningful portion of the tribe’s and protesters’ legal
bills. Additionally, with temperatures continuing to plummet, these
self-anointed water
protectors need
snow gear and camping supplies, in addition to items like body
cameras and pepper spray decontamination wipes to fight off the 7th
Cavalry. Certainly and formally the NFL should donate to the Sacred
Stone Camp’s GoFundMe campaign
which goes towards water, food, blankets and other essentials
necessary for the campers to live on the land while they’re
protesting the raping of their land, yet again, in the name of
unbridled, unchecked cutthroat capitalism. The Oceti Sakowin Camp is
a historic gathering of tribes, allies and people from all walks of
life, standing in solidarity to halt the Dakota Access Pipeline. The
Washington Redskins and Kansas City Chiefs should back them, plain
and simple.
Lest
I mention Lord Trump (who holds stock in the companies involved)
stands waiting to ascend to his throne, and, he’ll allow the
barons to do as they damn well please.
Laissez Faire
Capitalism will rule the land. “Treaties! We don’t care
about no goddamn treaties!” These are the grandchildren of the
men who hunted the Buffalo damn near into extinction. These are the
descendants of men who chopped down the majestic giant Sequoia trees
to make chairs and this is the identical WASP culture which lived by
the creed “the only good Indian is a dead Indian!”
All
God’s people and all of Mother Nature’s work will be in
peril.
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