The Native Americans had just about
every right to think “there goes the neighborhood” when the Europeans first
came. They really did not help them at all. When a person or a group comes to a
new place, the point is that eventually both the newcomers and the people that
already live there should benefit from it. Only one party may benefit at first
but eventually, both parties should get something significant out of it. That wasn't
the case here at all. The Europeans came through and actually needed the help
of the Natives in a lot of cases. Then they repaid them by killing them off, if
not personally then through new diseases like small pox and measles that killed
hundreds of thousands.
The Native Americans are a
relatively peaceful people. They view nature in a different way than the
newcomers and that was a major problem. There are of course exceptions but most
of the tribes helped the Europeans in some way in most of the stories that we've
read. Now if a group of foreigners came into your land with weapons that you've
never seen before, what would you do? Would you offer your help and after their
diseases kill most of your tribe and their guns kill even more of the local
tribes alongside yours, would you still be courteous to them? After they
exploit the land that you treasure so much and care so much for, would you
still give them corn to eat? The Native Americans were right to think “there
goes the neighborhood” and they certainly can’t be blamed for it.
We’re not the Native Americans in
the 1600s and the 1700s however and we often tend to think “there goes the
neighborhood” to many situations when it just doesn't apply. For instance, the
United States tends to be hostile towards any new group that enters the
country. Like when the Irish first came to America after the potato famine in
their homeland. They were treated roughly just because they were new and were
even blamed for the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. We’re still hostile towards new
groups today, the most notable one being the Mexicans. The Mexican American
population is increasing significantly and as a result, there are political
battles over their right to stay here and for a quick path to citizenship. I
believe it’s just part of human nature to oppose anything this drastic but it’s
certainly something that we should all work on as human beings.
I agree with your statement that the Native Americans had the right to think "there goes the neighborhood" given the hindsight that the Europeans were there to take the neighborhood away. This seems to imply that you think there are situations in which it's acceptable to discriminate against newcomers--if they pose a significant threat to your way of life and status quo. So do you believe that there are situations in the modern world where it is ok to protect a way of life at the expense of discriminating against newcomers?
ReplyDeleteI agree to a certain extent that it's part of human nature to "oppose anything this drastic." I think it's instinct to immediately notice differences between yourself and someone else. And that sometimes this leads us to believe they should change to become more like us, like the Europeans with the Native Americans. Although this is a huge flaw, I don't think it's something we can work on just erasing from our thoughts and it's something we should use to praise people for their differences instead.
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