Politics - News Analysis
Trump Faces Online Backlash for Disrespectful (and Dumb) Tweet About a ‘Wonderful Indian Tribe!’
There was a time when “Native Americans” were called much worse. Redmen, redskins, savages, “Indians,” it was all colonial bullshit, same as happened all over the world, although our gift with smallpox blankets was uniquely sick. We have all tried to learn, or at least most of us have tried to learn, to learn that distinct cultures were the product of a world where it took six weeks to sail across an unpredictable ocean to get somewhere, or a two-week “walk-ride” across fairly unforgiving lands (they didn’t have weather forecasts back then, either.) Back in those days, when there was little interaction between people who rarely saw each other distinct cultures and distinct distrust could be somewhat more understandable. (Not slavery, that’s never “understandable,” nor “genocide,” I think we’re getting the right meaning here, it’s just more understandable to look at others as “different.”)
Nowadays, I get emails from four continents, instantaneously. If you have the means, you can literally be on the other side of the world tomorrow at this time. There is almost no excuse at all for looking at anyone as “different” or “weird” or distrustful. Different cultures are great, where would the U.S. be without Mexican culture? A shittier place, that’s for sure. What about Japanese and Chinese culture? So all that is great, mix it all in, keep the good, get rid of the bad feelings and distrust.
Part of the bad is caring too little about a people to even learn the name of their group, their “tribe” (Or “First Nations” as they’re called in Canada, which I think is even more correctly descriptive). Today, Donald Trump visited a “wonderful Indian Tribe,” he just doesn’t know or care which one:
Quick stop in North Carolina with a wonderful Indian Tribe, and guests. Then off to two BIG Rallies in Ohio and Wisconsin. See you later!!!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 24, 2020
It is called the “Lumbee Tribe” and they’re Native Americans, not Indians, you jackass. You took a trip to “India” this last year (while COVID was raging), you know what an “Indian” looks like. This was part of a huge celebration in that this tribe just received federal recognition. The federal government just recognized their existence as a distinct and separate nation as a people and Trump couldn’t call them by name, or Native to this land on his way out the door.
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Sometimes we feel like we criticize Trump just to be critical (guilty), but not today. How fcking hard was it to honor the people he met by “inquiring” into the name before he fired off the tweet? How disrespectful. He damn sure got “Wisconsin” and “Ohio” right. Maybe if we gave certain tribal nations electoral college votes, Trump would learn the names.
Twitter quickly called him out:
Holy shit, did you just say “Indian Tribe”?
JFC man. pic.twitter.com/WCBAwDXNSK
— Holly Figueroa O’Reilly (@AynRandPaulRyan) October 24, 2020
Will you be calling any of them “Pocahontas?”
— Andy Ostroy (@AndyOstroy) October 24, 2020
Joe Biden supports the federal recognition of the Lumbee Tribe. Trump can’t even remember their name and calls them Indians.
— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) October 24, 2020
If you ever wonder what this douche thinks of native americans just read this tweet, he couldn't even take the time to remember their name… https://t.co/aR7ue8UU8a
— AltNSA (@AltNatSecAgency) October 24, 2020
"I'm the least racist person in the room" he says before talking about an "Indian" tribe.
No "scheduled tribe" of India has established itself in NC, therefore there are no "Indian" tribes in the United States.
They are #NativeAmericans.#Elections2020 #elections https://t.co/R4SS6lw4sY
— Marc-André Tremblay (@MarcATremblay) October 24, 2020
****
Peace, y’all
Jason
[email protected] and on
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