By Simon Moya-Smith
During his speech in Hope, Arkansas, Huckabee, who is formerly a Southern Baptist pastor, excoriated Obama for comments he made during the annual National Prayer Breakfast in February when, in reference to Islamic terrorism, he reminded his fellow Christians that they, too, have committed horrendous acts in the name of Christianity throughout the annals of human history.
“And lest we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ. In our home country, slavery and Jim Crow all too often was justified in the name of Christ,” Obama said.
On Tuesday, Huckabee told a raucous crowd of supporters that he wonders who Obama cheers for when watching 1950s western cinema.
“When I hear our current president say he wants Christians to get off their high horse so we can make nice with radical jihadists, I wonder if he can watch a western from the ’50s and be able to figure out who the good guys and the bad guys really are,” Huckabee said.
In a statement sent to ICTMN, Eric Walker, spokesperson for the Democratic National Committee, called Huckabee’s comment a “cheap joke” and said Native Americans deserve not to be compared to jihadists.
“Mike Huckabee has spent his entire career offending Americans of all stripes–African Americans, Jews, Mormons, LGBT Americans to name a few–and now with these recent comments, he can add Native Americans to this growing list,” he said. “Native Americans have a proud heritage, and deserve better than to be compared to jihadists as part of a GOP candidate’s cheap joke. Sadly, this is what people have come to expect from GOP candidates who constantly push policies and views that are harmful to Americans. Mike Huckabee’s offensive, outdated, and divisive social views have no place in the 21st century.”
By Levi Rickert
Cladoosby went on the say this presents an opportunity to educate.
“Native Americans are the most committed to our shared homeland. Nearly 24,000 American Indians are currently serving in the U.S. Military, and there are an estimated 383,000 American Indian and Alaska Native military veterans. According to the Oxford Companion to American Military History, American Indians have the highest record of military service per capita compared to any other group in the United States.
“Governor Huckabee is at the beginning of his campaign, and one of the great things about political campaigns is that they are an opportunity for all of us to learn. It is the exchange of ideas that makes our democracy great. I hope to add to that effort in a small way by encouraging the candidates to respect Native Americans and our contributions to the history and culture of the United States, both past and present,” Cladoosby continued.
Huckabee's comments led to the following debate on Facebook:
Huckabee's stereotypical thinking makes the problem clear. To him, Indians = savages in old Westerns = "bad guys" = people not worth our time and energy.
Mascots and other stereotypes => stupid Huckabee thinking => lack of treaty rights, legislation, jobs, healthcare, etc.
Here's how every unacceptable movie portrayal, frat-party costume, hipster headdress, etc. leads to real-world consequences. They're part of a continuum of thinking. Stereotypes lead to stereotypical thinking, which means thinking of Indians as primitive people of the past.
So changing how people think is of vital importance. It's arguably the most important step in the process. Until Americans see Indians as real people, not mascots or stereotypes, Indian will never receive more treaty rights, legislation, jobs, healthcare, and so forth.
If you meant something else, you communicated poorly and the fault is yours. Not our responsibility for misunderstanding you, your responsibility for choosing a historical metaphor drenched in racism.
FYI, there's a long history of associating Indians with evildoers, Commies, and terrorists. Vietnam was called "Indian country" 50 years ago. Bin Laden was labeled "Geronimo" a few years ago. So this is nothing new.
Here is a list from IMDB of some of the top 25 50's Westerns. As I understand about 23/25 depict train robbers, cattle thieves, bank robbers, outlaws, etc. as the bad guys. Of course that doesn't excuse the few that did depict us as the bad guys, but by assuming that his quote was inherently directed at us means that we are falling for a stereotype as easily as those that we stand up against.
Huckabee just an example
And again, I'm using Huckabee as an example of the thinking rampant in our culture. What part of that are you having trouble understanding?
How about if you stop wasting time defending Huckabee and start addressing my point? Which is that mascots and other stereotypes => stupid [Huckabee-style] thinking => lack of treaty rights, legislation, jobs, healthcare, etc.
In case you missed my argument, read it again:
Here's how every unacceptable movie portrayal, frat-party costume, hipster headdress, etc. leads to real-world consequences. They're part of a continuum of thinking. Stereotypes lead to stereotypical thinking, which means thinking of Indians as primitive people of the past.
So changing how people think is of vital importance. It's arguably the most important step in the process. Until Americans see Indians as real people, not mascots or stereotypes, Indian will never receive more treaty rights, legislation, jobs, healthcare, and so forth.
He didn't say anything about westerns that feature Indians. He just said westerns in the 50's.
Yes, Huckabee didn't include or exclude Indians in his comments. That's why I said:
That's what Westerns are known for: cowboys vs. Indians. If you're using a Western as a metaphor, that's exactly what most people think.
In any case, I used Huckabee's comments as a jumping-off point to make my point. I could've used any of a hundred politicians and pundits going back to George Washington to make this point. Huckabee's comments were merely a pretext.
It doesn't matter if his comments "pertain" to mine because mine stand on their own merits. I'd make the same point if Huckabee had never spoken, and have done it many times. If you agree with my comments, therefore, quit trying to derail the conversation with a defense of Huckabee.
1 comment:
Maybe he meant white people are colonial terrorists hell bent on destroying an indigenous population?
Probably not, since the Arab narrative has far more support both with right-wing theocrats and with white faux-liberals, but as a whole, in the 19th century, white people have far more in common with Daesh and Hamas than we did. Especially since Hamas' charter calls for a genocide, while Daesh is currently committing one.
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