The Native American population was not massacred. Nearly all of the Native American deaths following colonization were the result of diseases brought over by the colonists of which the natives’ immune systems could not fight off. Yes, some Native Americans were slaughtered, but so were many colonists. One of my first short stories was on this very topic. But, statistically, it is in the severe minority.

I live in New Orleans, which is one of the few areas that is predominantly African American (somewhere around 60% of the total population was a statistic I remember hearing recently). Race relations in New Orleans are truly the inverse of what you described. I, nor anyone I have ever known, has ever done a favor for someone based on their skin color. I have never in my life witnessed a Caucasian person say, “Hey, you’re white; I’m going to help you out.” I have on a daily basis witnessed the inverse happening. My brother’s car was broken into at college in New Orleans. He went to the security office bc/there was a camera covering the area where he was parked. An African American woman said they did have a tape recording. She gets the tape and views it on a screen within earshot of my brother. She actually says out loud, “Oh, that’s a black boy.” Then, she tells my brother that they don’t have the video. Never in my wildest dreams would I consider withholding evidence for a criminal, especially when it’s based on the fact that he/she might resemble me. But, it does happen.

O.J. Simpson was let off with murder. Obvious, brutal, leave-your-blood-and-DNA-at-the-scene murder. Not to mention the blood in his getaway vehicle and his home. While on the talk show circuit, several jurors admitted that they believed he was guilty yet they voted to acquit. I was in college when the verdict was declared, and it was a celebration among the African American students. People were celebrating an African American man getting away with murder as if it were a breakthrough in civil rights. Martin Luther King, who is a hero of mine, would have been sick to his stomach to witness this event.

I am a white male, and I get pulled over ALL THE TIME. I drive a red sports car that happens to be popular with thugs and drug dealers. I often match descriptions, or at least the car matches descriptions. The police run my plate, my license, my registration, and my insurance every time. And, every time I leave with no problems. Why? Because, I pay for insurance and registration. I let the police search my vehicle if they want. I don’t have anything to hide. Anyone who has trouble with this in New Orleans has the trouble because they do have items in the car that are illegal, they do not have insurance, and they do not have registration. Often, they do not even have a license. People are not pulled over for racism; I get pulled over far more than any of my African American friends. And, I’m quite happy that they do so. Police catch many wanted people from the same exact type of traffic stops.

Take for example, Rodney King. Most assume his arrest/beating was just cops being racist and violent. The media never played the first part of the video where King fought with the police and refused to do anything that they told him to do. Sound unbelievable: take a look at King’s arrest record:

July 27, 1987: According to a complaint filed by his wife, King beat her while she was sleeping, then dragged her outside the house and beat her again. King was charged with battery and pleaded “no contest.” He was placed on probation and ordered to obtain counseling. He never got the counseling.

November 3, 1989: King, brandishing a tire iron, ordered a convenience store clerk to empty the cash register. The clerk grabbed the tire iron, causing King to fall backwards and knock over a pie rack. King swung the rack at the clerk and fled the store with $200. King was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon, second-degree robbery, and intent to commit great bodily injury. In a plea agreement, King pleaded guilty to the robbery charge and the other charges were dropped. He was sentenced to two years in prison, but was paroled on December 27, 1990.
The Arrest of Rodney King on March 3, 1991
March 3, 1991: After being seen speeding on the 210 freeway by CHP officers, King led them on a chase at speeds estimated at up to 110 to 115 mph. When finally stopped, King refused requests to get into the prone position and appeared to charge one of the officers. He was beaten and arrested. King was charged with felony evading. Charges were later dropped.
King’s 3/3/91 Arrest Record
King’s Trouble with the Law After March 3, 1991
May 11, 1991: King was pulled over for having an excessively tinted windshield. Although King was driving without a license and his car registration had expired, King was not charged.

May 28, 1991: King picked up a transvestite prostitute in Hollywood who happened to be under surveillance by LAPD officers. King and the prostitute were observed in an alley engaging in sexual activity. When the prostitute spotted the officers, King sped away, nearly hitting one of them. King later explained that he thought the vice officers were robbers trying to kill him. No charges were filed.

June 26, 1992: King’s second wife reported to police that King had hit her and she feared for her life. King was handcuffed and taken to a police station, but his wife then decided against pressing charges.

July 16, 1992: King was arrested at 1:40 A.M. for driving while intoxicated. No charges were filed.

August 21, 1993: King crashed into a wall near a downtown Los Angeles nightclub. He had a blood alcohol level of 0.19. King was charged with violating his parole and sent for sixty day to an alcohol treatment center. He was also convicted on the DUI charge and ordered to perform twenty days of community service.

May 21, 1995: King was arrested for DUI while on a trip to Pennsylvania. King failed field sobriety tests, but refused to submit to a blood test. He was tried and acquitted.

July 14, 1995: King got into an argument with his wife while he was driving, pulled off the freeway and ordered her out of the car. When she started to get out, King sped off, leaving her on the highway with a bruised arm. King was charged with assault with a deadly weapon (his car), reckless driving, spousal abuse, and hit-and-run. King was tried on all four charges, but found guilty only of hit-and-run driving.

March 3, 1999: King allegedly injured the sixteen-year-old girl that he had fathered out of wedlock when he was seventeen, as well as the girl’s mother. King was arrested for injuring the woman, the girl, and for vandalizing property. King claimed that the incident was simply “a family misunderstanding.”

September 29, 2001: King was arrested for indecent exposure and use of the hallucinogenic drug PCP.

I do believe the police used unnecessary force, and I’m happy there was an investigation. But, I’ve seen a cocaine addict fight a bouncer at a concert. The bouncer pummeled the coke addict over and over again, but he kept popping back up due to the drug. The bouncer did not want to hurt the drug addict, but he had no choice as the man kept coming at him no matter how many times he knocked him down. Police often face this same issue all the time.

I have been in jobs where a completely inept employee would not be fired by the boss. When asked about it in private, the boss admitted it was a race issue. Fire an African American employee, even a grossly inept one, and, especially in New Orleans, expect a lawsuit. Had I have behaved in a similar fashion, I would’ve been fired immediately.

I have African American friends. Honestly. My whole point on this issue is not to believe a trite, cliche story about African Americans having a hard time in the US. Experience it for yourself; don’t let the media brainwash you with their agenda.

All people are created equally. Don’t make excuses for some based on their skin tone. Everyone deserves an equal chance. Don’t point to poverty either. Scholarships and grants are readily available to every African American student who puts forth any effort. The same cannot be said for other ethnicities.

After Hurricane Katrina, there were thousands and thousands of jobs in the construction/demolition business that were paying extremely high salaries. Do you know who took most of the jobs? Illegal immigrants from Mexico. Why did the local, supposedly oppressed, population not take the jobs themselves? It is hard work, and they’re quite used to money for nothing. That’s what happens when you make excuses for people. In the process of making excuses for them, you’re implying they are not as capable as the rest of the population. And, that is racism (it’s obviously also a terrible lie). One more time: a handout is racism.

Thanks for all the comments. Good to know that people are trying to make a difference the only way we ‘non-entities’ can - with our purchasing power!

But that is getting harder. Terrie, you’re right - some companies simply lie about the manufacturing location, some neglect to mention it, and others get around it by adding some last minute touches to a finished article in another locale and claiming that as place of origin.

Brennan, it’s probably best we don’t talk about just how much of the U.S. the Chinese probably own - we want people to sleep soundly in their beds!

Iza - yes, many people buy stuff purely because the information isn’t easily available on how it was made. Oh, activists will complain anyone can discover that info if they want to on the internet - and they probably could. But it would take the average person quite some time as they don’t know where to look, what sites to trust, what terms to search under… And governments and corporations don’t want you finding all that out anyway, so they’ll try to whitewash//greenwash whatever’s out there anyway. (As Liz commented above. And Eric.)

Hans, it’s not about China being the new world leader - we have little control over that. It’s about basic human rights for all. I wasn’t joking about the guy on the train being frightened to say anything derogatory about the Chinese government - he really was scared! Would you like to live in constant fear of accidently saying the wrong thing to the wrong person and ending up in a cell for it?

Cebelice, Christine, Avril, Karen and Jillyanne, I’m pleased you find it an interesting post and that you latched onto my train of thought. I’ll be returning to the problem at the root of this issue - apathy - on another occasion.

Thanks,
Steve
(A new world order is a scary issue I might look at another day, John.)

Boycott Walmart and any Olympic advertisers and maybe there will be a chance to have a small amount of change.

I have tried diligently for a decade not to purchase anything made in China. If I can’t find something I need or want, and the only thing that is available is made in china–I go without. Notice to people boycotting made in China–now manufacturers are getting sneaky and NOT putting place of origin on the packaging! You have to really hunt for it.

However, even if ALL of the US were to actively boycott products it more than likely would have minimal effect on China’s production. The US ISN’T the only country buying from them!!!

I am not saying buy or don’t buy–that is a personal preference, bu if you do buy or boycott, do it for the right reasons! Or at least be honest with yourself as to why you are buying.

I do not buy Chinese products because I do not like what they do to their own people and to Tibet. I end up buying products that are more expensive but I feel better about it. It is just my own feelings and my own purchasing power–but as an individual I feel I did SOMETHING to protest their ethics or lack thereof. Will it make a difference–not really. But I feel better.

And for those who feel the US is no better than China on its human rights record–you are correct. So, who are we to tell other nations how to treat their own people? Nobody. Until we take care of our own problems HERE we have no business trying to FORCE our beliefs on other nations. All we can do or should do, is try to correct our own mistakes, starting one person at a time if need be. There are only 300 million US Citizens–there are 1.3 billion Chinese citizens. We do not have a leg to stand on.

War–ANY war ANY where–is out of the question or should be. War is not the answer to anything. War for oil is the worst of all. Unfortunately, until we rid ourselves of the capacity within our species to war it will not change.

Yes, Steve I caught your parting shot about the food riots in Haiti. And did the US do anything about it–NO. Where are the relief ships and planes loaded with tons of food to alleviate the problem? Not happening. Why? That is what I do not understand–the ‘why’ of why we are not doing this to help the people. Oh wait, silly me, Haiti doesn’t have anything the US wants right?! No oil, no natural gas, no coal, no diamonds or precious metals, not even uranium for weapons. There’s the why! Sickening isn’t it….

Thank you for a thought-provoking article! I understand that you were not intimating that we should invade China.

Americans seem to want to focus on the human rights, health, etc. etc. etc. issues in other countries, rather than looking at what we need to straighten-out here at home. We’re really a naive bunch, when you think about it.

Human rights violations in China, Tibet, Darfur are unpleasant to think about, so let’s claim to be offended and then continue on our merry way, gathering-up quarters from the sofa pillows to buy gasoline to go to the store to buy the cheapest products we can find. Survival first!

I think most Americans are unaware of the real risks this country faces. At a time when we should be solidarizing and strengthening internally, we are being torn apart by bipartisan politics and finger-pointing from within.

Our dependence on foreign oil will keep us from confronting evils. Our dependence on foreign money will shackle us to those very countries we claim are such abusers. The average American has NO concept of the amount of Chinese money invested in the USA. They could easily pull the rug out from underneath us, with one hand tied behind their back.

This sword they have hanging over our head is possibly one reason that Bush will be the first U.S. president to attend the Olympics when it is being held anyplace other than the USA. (in spite of the fact that Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton are asking him to boycott the opening ceremonies, to protest the China-Tibet ‘thingy’).

Most Americans have no concept of how powerful China is. We will never invade China. Let’s hope they don’t decide to invade us.