To the Editor:
This was written by a friend of mine whose family is considered by today's politically correct standards "a minority" due to their appearance and last name. But they just consider themselves Americans without a hyphen.
"I have spent the last ten years or so listening to those who are NOT native Indian demonize the Pilgrims and the white man for every evil or catastrophe that befell the indigenous people on this continent. First off, the primary settlers welcomed the Indians into their camps. They weren't all murderers, hell bent on enslaving or taking what the locals had. Those types came later, as they often do, because they are naturally born evil, and don't usually discriminate when they practice their craft. Secondly, Things could have gone far worse, had the white Europeans remained home, and left the Indians to their own gods. After all, Europeans were far from the only powerful cultures plowing the seas in search of new lands and riches. They could have just as easily ended up victimized by feudal Japanese lords, whose justice was served at the end of a beheading sword. Ask any Chamorro, Filipino, or Chinese how their people and cultures were treated during the Japanese expansion prior to WWII. Mayan and Mexican cultures were likewise already quite a threat to some indigenous tribes in the south, as they practiced slavery and plundered whomever was weaker while seeking to expand their own influences. Let's face it; The planet was full of warring, enslaving plunderer's during that period, and they could have fallen to the followers of Allah from the Middle East, where many of those cultures still practice slavery and indebtedness that forces a particular caste to be a permanent servant.
I'm not going to defend what the evil doer's visited upon the indigenous population; nor should anyone's sacrifice be in vain. My only point is that the pilgrims landing at Plymouth Rock was not the cause of every native Indians' fate. In some ways, it may have even been their salvation, for history and archaeology have proven that some cultures have fared far worse on this earth at the hands of less benevolent conquerors. But the Pilgrims, once again, were a welcoming group, and they blessed Indian and settler alike. But if we are to be fair, every native Indian should be as revered as the pilgrims on this day, as they were instrumental in keeping the pilgrims alive during their learning years in the new lands."
We have traditions and a culture that deserve to be respected and preserved, because even with its flaws, the United States is kinder than most and everyone would know it if true honest history were actually taught in our schools today.
Jean McLeod of Fillmore, Ca