10/09/2021
My Friend & POTUS, JRB,
Thanks for proclaiming Mon, “Indigenous People’s Day”. Cultural Survival suggests we celebrate by getting involved in anti-mascot efforts, learning whose land we’re on & getting involved in the Landback movement.” Fortunately, my alma mater, Dartmouth College, got rid of their “Indian” mascot in the ‘70s. I educated my father, class of ’55, why the mascot was disgraceful & persuaded him to stop complaining about the change.
Regarding whose land I am on, the Patwins stewarded this land for eons. Sad to say, Bill Wright, tribal elder, died recently. He graciously educated UCD how we could ameliorate the harm caused when 13 graves were disturbed during the construction of our performing arts center. His obit included, “Despite his own experience of abuse at Stewart Indian School in Carson City, Nevada, his overall message was one of forgiveness, love, and hope.”
As for the Landback movement, Friends are discerning if and how to return the Sierra Friends Center to the Nisenan people. One Friend writes of our “acknowledgement of and action on past wrongs, building of right relationships, making of reparations whenever possible, and eternal openness to what more may be revealed and asked of us...” I hope that our nation will engage in this kind of discernment, too.
Take a look at Jan-Werner Multer’s piece in the G today. He suggests that you need powerful symbols and a moral language to get the BBB passed. He notes you’d be better off taxing wealth rather than income & points out that the “Wealth Defense Industry” of pricey accountants & lawyers has developed all kinds of “nuclear weapons” to hide from taxes. He speaks my mind so I might try reading his book “Democracy Rules” where he points out that democracy “is based on the notion that no one is politically irredeemable and that anyone can change their mind.”
Please join me in holding Myanmar in the Light where the PDU claims 1560 junta soldiers have been killed. WAR IS NOT THE ANSWER!!!
BYBS,
