Guilt-ridden liberals give Indians gaming?

The last of the Mohegans–Casino

By Ron HartIn 1978 the Shinnecock Indian Nation applied to be recognized by the Federal Government; the same year Roman Polanski skipped bail on rape charges. They are now getting some finality on both, so as you can see, the Feds are working through their inbox quite briskly.

As I remember history, the Native Americans lost this country when they did not heed the warning of an Arizona tribe about immigration. U.S. authorities estimate 15 million illegal immigrants are here now, but if you ask the Shinnecock Indians, that number is more like 310 million.

The Shinnecocks applied for federal recognition to “preserve ancient grounds,” but their ulterior motive is to build casinos in the Hamptons outside of New York City. To do so, they will have to deal with the more traditional area tribes who like to control the vices up there, most notable the Gambino’s, Greenbaum’s, Gotti’s and Governor David Paterson’s office.

The ritzy Hamptons live with the fear that if the casinos come they will bring something they also left New York to escape: Donald Trump. Trump will now scheme to bring his own special brand of tacky all over that venerable refuge.

White people make a show of supporting Native Americans much as they did Barack Obama—to avoid any accusations of racism. Society is too willing to give both anything, whether they deserve it or not to alleviate the guilt society places on us. We send our kids to private schools to avoid the low test scores of the “diverse” schools, but spend an awful lot of guilt time talking of our love of “diversity”—and that time they gave that Haitian guy money at the stoplight.

Liberal yuppies always seek wisdom from Native American traditions as it is presumed that any other culture is wiser, deeper and more spiritual than their own, especially if it is oddly mystic. Too they know any hint of Native American blood in them can get them into Harvard with an 850 SAT score.Comment:  Hart's last claim is flatly ridiculous. There may be some scholarships or student aid programs that apply only to Indians. But no school is lowering its standards to let Indians in as some sort of affirmative action program. Indeed, that's something of a racist assertion.

Let's summarize Hart's key claims: The Shinnecock Indians wanted federal recognition to enrich themselves. The feds gave it to them because they're soft-hearted liberals. Got that?

The commenters on this column nicely demolished these claims:mediasteve

Dear Ron: If you had done a shred of research you would have a shred of credibility. The Shinnecock applied for federal recognition at least a decade before the concept of Indian casinos ever saw the light of day in the United States. They did it for the federal benefits that accrue to federally recognized tribes. And they got recognized despite the overwhelming odds that were stacked against them by Congress when it wrote the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which was fueled by lobbyists trying to protect Las Vegas non-Indian gaming interests.

tuschkahouma

As this writer sounds like an uneducated Caucasian needing a history lesson; here’s the lesson; before Hudson, Stuyvesant, and Kieft, there were the Corchaug, Canarsee, Esopus, Haverstraw, Housatonic, Hackensack, Jamaica, Montauk, Massepequa, Manhasset, Merrick, Matinecock, Nissquog, Nyack, Poosepatuck, Patchogue, Ramapaugh, Rankokas, Raritan, Rockaway, Seconke, Siwinoy, Setauket, Tappan, and Wappinger indigenous peoples. In 2010, there are still Shinnecock, Poosapatuck, and Montauk peoples on Long Island. Two of these tribes have had state reservations since the 1700s. Railroads and rich people stole lands from the Shinnecock and Montauk peoples in the 1850s. This is how the Shinnecock Hills Golf Course, the Long Island Railroad, and the Hamptons exist by virtue of theft. If a tribe has had documented existence and Episcopal intervention since the 1750s, how can they be viewed as casino pursuing as this uneducated writer states? Was there gaming in 1978 when the tribe wanted federal recognition? No.

I love how the thieves always call out the people they victimize but this has long been a conservative behavior. The Shinnecocks will be federally recognized long before conservatives have any sense of history and the disappearance of jealousy.

Southern Plains

Well my fellow Americans, someone had to teach Natives how to count cash, and it sure wasn’t Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin or Howdy Doody. I am glad that most of you Americans are now feeling the pinch of what its like to have big government crammed up your wigwams. The casino card is such a lame venue to spew your traditional Americana ignoramic fecal rhetoric.

After nearly 600 years of white privilege and fist waiving obscenities at England, France and the rest of the so-called inferior globe while blaming indigenous peoples, blacks, Asians, and currently intensified blame towards Mexicans, Hart is just another modern L. Frank Baum continuing the road to Oz where Democracy hides behind a curtain and capitalism floats back to Kansas without it poor little tribe of American Anglos repeating, “There’s no place like someone else’s home, there’s no place like someone else’s home!”

Most of you conservative spots on this map don’t even remember that it was Reagan and Nixon whom afforded Natives the rights to gaming and returning sacred lands, so before you blow a conservative piston hating on liberals and Obama, do some research and get out more often to see the world for what it is. Native Americans have not had their day in court nor their rights honored for over 500 years.

Non-Indians feel a little loss of privilege and liberty and you’d think they ran out of white toilet paper to stain brown.

Do what most Native Americans have done for over 500 years. Join the military and fight a war not of your making, get a job off the reservation, pay taxes for someone else’s community, go to someone else’s church and pray to someone else’s god, go to a college or fraternity where you are banned, open a business without BIG GOVERNMENT breathing down your neck and vote for a politician that will never serve your community.

If you wussies, Hart included, can accomplish this for at least the remainder of President Obama’s term, then you can call yourselves patriots, until then, my indigenous people have you beaten by a few centuries!

Oh, and another thing, 500 years is a very long time to be living rent free and if Americans cannot see the eviction notice hanging on the door, perhaps the earth has not spoken loud enough!Note:  I've edited these responses slightly for the sake of clarity.

Not only did Reagan sign the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, but I believe many Republicans helped to shape and pass it through Congress. There was no big partisan divide over gaming: Democrats for it and Republicans against it.

Since then liberals and conservatives have taken sides over gaming. Nowadays, many liberals may feel a "let's help the poor Indians" impulse. And conservatives feel the opposite:Oh, my God! What have we done? We thought the ignorant Indians would build little bingo halls that wouldn't have any economic impact. Instead, they built huge casinos that made money and lifted their people out of poverty. How dare they do something we didn't explicitly allow them to do?

Now they're voting and lobbying and waving their dollars around just like white people. They actually think they're as good as us. It's an outrage and we've got to stop it. Otherwise, other minorities will get uppity too. And then we'll have to help them.

We've learned a painful lesson here: Don't help the brown-skins if you want to stay on top. Helping people is for suckers, pantywaists, and liberals.For more on the subject, see Why Americans Hate Welfare, Columnist Shows How Racists View Indians, and Conservatives' Pro-White Agenda. For more on the subject in general, see The Facts About Indian Gaming and The Facts About Tribal Sovereignty.