Repair don't Reclaim

               The Oatmeal recently posted this article http://theoatmeal.com/comics/columbus_day , which encourages people to stop celebrating Christopher Columbus and instead celebrate Bartolome de las Casas  during Columbus Day. Bartolome was similar to Columbus in the sense that both were white European explorers, who exploited natives for resources and labor, but Bartolome in an act of guilt and true disgust, turned a new leaf and fought for natives' rights and against rampant imperialism. The rationale given by the Oatmeal is pretty simple. Columbus was a jerk and this guy wasn't and he did good things for natives, so why not replace Columbus with him? Well it seems the Oatmeal didn't ask the question "how does this help repair relations with indigenous people?" While it's nice that  Bartolome served as an activist for indigenous people's rights and he should definitely receive praise for his actions, replacing Columbus with him only replaces one White European male with another.In this seemingly appropriate re-patronizing, the indigenous person is silenced yet again. The indigenous person is instead given this liaison, who only serves to make Western culture feel good again. The unspoken rationale behind this is "well Columbus was a jerk, but not everyone was a jerk."  It leaves the gate open for rationalizing the imperialistic tendencies of Western society as positives, rather than leaving the floor open for critique. What I'm advocating for is not a "I hate Christopher Columbus day", that would be inappropriate as well for the same reason Bartolome day was inappropriate, it ignores indigenous people. Instead using this day to focus on indigenous peoples' (specifically from the Caribbean, which are the ones typically forgotten when one uses the catch all phrase Native Americans) and their culture and how they were unfortunately oppressed is a much better use of time than to continue to think about White European men, an activity we have been forced to do for 12 years of our lives in history class. 

Must I bite my tongue forever?

             Overt racism isn't dead, it's sleeping. And whenever an intelligent and determined minority asserts themselves into the public sphere, overt racism is brought back as the final defense against an inevitable turning of the tables. My English Professor at the University of Michigan told us that the two amendments we should be most grateful for are the 13th and 14th amendment because soon the majority group in the country will change and those amendments are the only thing protecting and guaranteeing rights when those changes come about. Well the change is coming and though some of the white community is welcoming it with open arms, there are plenty who find themselves "tired of the talk" and are gathering up their chutzpah for a showdown they will most likely lose. This showdown will be fought with words. We are going to shoot up white neighborhoods with ballots as bullets and people are going to decry the massacre. They will claim that we only vote for ourselves. They will argue that our political savvy is lacking. They will deny most of our candidates and find even more overt ways of blocking us from the vote. They will fail.
              One might think, I'm a white ally, why does it seem as if you don't want me around. Well my friend you are wanted. You have been our vanguard for centuries and I can only hope that minorities who eventually come into power retain a sense of humility that allows us to realize when our own bias may affect us. However, this antagonistic tone isn't one of all out war. It is a calculated reconfiguration of the superstructure of race that has plagued this country. It is more complicated than us vs them, but for the sake of the battle that's how the lines are going to be drawn.
             To be clear I'm not advocating for actual violence against any group. I'm merely pointing out that as power is transferred, we are going to face a class of people who struggle to come to terms with their own mortality. While financially we cannot pry wealth from the hands of the elite (which is predominantly white), we can at least assert our own political capital in meaningful ways. And just to be clear when I say pry wealth, I don't mean a hand out. I mean winning out in the free market without all of the legislation that makes them untouchable. I'm talking a return to a freer market. The trust busters will come riding back in, but this time they will speak Spanish and Ebonics.
           This might make you feel uncomfortable. This might even make minorities feel uncomfortable. I honestly don't care because I'm done with negotiating when I can't even make it to the dinner table. We need to be at equal footing to make fair demands. This is what you call leverage and minorities still have very little of it. We have been fed a philosophy of tolerance and docility that the dominant group isn't even following. Why should we follow it? There is no moral high ground in exploitation.
           Also, this isn't a vindictive struggle. I can honestly care less about getting back at my oppressors. Instead I just want to live a good life. I want my kids to walk around badge-less. And when I turn on the TV I want to see a rainbow in the rows of congress. The law will protect me and cops won't harass me. My mother won't be questioned at the border when she says her son goes to the University of Michigan. These are things I want. They are bold and pernicious, I know. So I have decided I'm just going to take.