January 26, 2008

"Indians scare me, Mommy"

Dueling views on whether the Columbus Day protests are doing any good:

Columbus Day Protesters Pushed Infamy Over Free Speech[A]s this week’s verdict demonstrates, the public is growing tired of this annual battle. By continuing on, Lane and his radical clients have done nothing to help their cause, especially in my household, where my two-year-old daughter is now deeply afraid of American Indians.

Her fear is not the result of some bigoted Hollywood movie production. Rather, it’s because of the radical activists themselves. On a morning walk with my husband not far from our home in downtown Denver on the day of the last parade, my daughter heard the sound of drums and wanted a closer look. As she leaned forward in her stroller, protestors jumped out in front of her, splashing their “blood” onto the street.

Nearly four months later, she still talks about the event. Every time she hears the sound of a drum, she says “boom, boom, boom. Indians scare me, Mommy.”
JOHNSON:  Standing up for a cause--and then going to jailI also learned that Glenn Morris, who has been protesting the Columbus Day Parade in this town for 20 years, has been arrested four times and stood trial three times, and that he doesn't care as much about Columbus as he does about using the holiday to highlight the problems of Native Americans.

Those include some of the nation's highest diabetes, teenage suicide, infant mortality and cervical cancer rates.

"We protest to educate people that the lands they are on are a result of the loss of native lands and our culture," Glenn Morris said. "This parade is a deliberate, state-sponsored and hateful celebration of devastating colonialism."

It is why he goes to jail every October.

He believes his method is working.

"There are teachers," Glenn Morris said, "who are teaching Columbus differently. I guarantee you nobody is teaching Columbus the way they did in 1989. I consider that a small victory. The Civil Rights Era in this country did not happen overnight."
Comment:  The first author's daughter may be scared of Indians because of her mother's negative attitude. See my comments at the end of her column.

If Morris doesn't care that much about Columbus, what's his excuse for claiming he had to protest the parade because Columbus intimidates Indians? Sounds like he should pay the entire cost of arresting and trying him, not just the fine he was given.

I suspect the protests are helping to educate Americans about Columbus. More precisely, the media reports about the protests are helping to educate Americans. If Morris could write a killer essay about Columbus--such as those found on BlueCornComics.com and in Newspaper Rock--he might not need to throw paint or scare little kids annually.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nearly four months later, she still talks about the event. Every time she hears the sound of a drum, she says “boom, boom, boom. Indians scare me, Mommy.”

My question to to this so called mother is, where would her 2 year old daughter hear drums almost a year after the protest? Maybe someone should contact child protective services.


Anonymouse

writerfella said...

Writerfella here
Acording to this website, American parents DO NOT discuss Indians with their children. Consequently, then, how is such a confrontational issue coming to pass? Could it be...simply a media by-product?
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella"

Rob said...

Maybe Mommy plays a scary drum recording every day so her daughter will "learn" about Indians. ;-)

There's no evidence that Mom did talk to her daughter about Indians. The girl learned about them from an event outside her home, not from her parents.

How many other children encounter Indians during their formative years? If the percentage is greater than 5%, I'd be surprised.

As for what this website says, learn to read, Russ. Here's a quote on the subject:

http://www.bluecorncomics.com/2008/01/chinese-yes-indians-no.html

I never said people don't convey stereotypes in person. I said stereotypes in the media predominate.

Repeat: The media is the primary means of conveying stereotypes from one segment of the population to another. Personal contacts are a distant second.

writerfella said...

Writerfella here --
But - but - but that does nothing to dispell your overtly written position that American families DO NOT DISCUSS INDIANS AT HOME OR OTHERWISE, and that American children derive their views of Native Americans SOLELY from the media. Oops, whistling sounds are coming in from THAT particular canard! Oh, look! They're about to crash into Mt. Rushmore!
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'

Rob said...

Repeat: The girl learned about Indians from an event outside her home, not from her parents. Telling her mother that Indians scare her isn't the same as learning from her mother.

The canard that "American children derive their views of Native Americans SOLELY from the media" exists solely in your imagination. I never used the word "solely." What I said was what I just reiterated:

The media is the primary means of conveying stereotypes from one segment of the population to another. Personal contacts are a distant second.

writerfella said...

Writerfella here --
Rob, once again you have missed the point of your own anecdote. Did the girl NOT discuss the content of her incident WITH HER PARENTS? Then, what were the results of her discussion? OMG!
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'

Rob said...

The daughter told her mother she was scared. That isn't a discussion. We don't know how or whether the mother responded.

Meanwhile, you've missed the point of this entire discussion. Repeat: The media is the primary means of conveying stereotypes from one segment of the population to another. Personal contacts are a distant second.