The past is still here

I am taking a history class this semester that is really interesting. It is the history of Native Americans, but focuses more on the impact on Native Americans by European settlers.If you are not interested in any of this stuff don't feel like you have to keep reading, you can skip this blog. I have already told Marni everything I am putting in this blog and I know that some people are not as interested in History or its corrilation to the present as I am. For those who choose to read feel free to let me know how you feel. (if you disagree, agree etc.) Also this blog may end up being a bit long, just as a fair warning.

Now to get started I want to give you a quick history lesson, but I will then just focus mainly on one part of it.There were basically 3 groups of people who came to the America's from Europe. The first of course was the Spanish with Columbus even though he himself was not spanish. Then you has the French and as we know by the language this is being written in, you also had the English.These 3 groups were very different in there aproach and interactions with the native people. You have the Spanish who were Conquerers. ( I will get back to this) The French who were traders. They went to great lengths to build friendships with the native people and set up long term relationships and trades with them. Then you have the English that did not know what to do, so they went about setting up treaties with them, all of which the English broke, but that is a different story.

The group I want to focus on more now is the Spanish, which as you may know and like I mentioned, were Conquerors. When the Spanish came to the Americas they had a sense 0f entitlement. They honestly felt that it was their right to have the land and everything that came with it. Especially anything of value. They also felt they had the right to do what ever it took to get those things, even if it meant killing the people who already possessed them. Then they felt that the natives were not entitled to their own lands but also that they were there to serve the Spanish. To cater to them. They even refused to learn the Native language but insisted that the natives learn theirs so they could communicate. They also felt that if someone thought or believed different than they did they had the right to kill them if that is what it took to make them think and believe as they did.To illustrate, not only did they take the natives lands, treasures and cities, and even the natives themselves to serve them, but they felt they had the right to change others as well. A small group of Spanish explorers came upon a French colony in what is now North Carolina. This colony was living peacefully, and were Protestants. Since they would not change their beliefs to coincide with the Spanish, the Spanish sent a small army and Killed all the men, woman and children of the colony, just because they believed differently.Now today the ancestor of these Spanish conquers are largely what we call Mexicans, however they are also in other Latin American countries.What I wanted to point out is that in some degree, what happened then is still happening now, with the Spanish ancestors, the Mexicans. They come to a country that is not theirs, without permission. They refuse to learn the native language but instead insist that we learn theirs so they can communicate with us. They feel like they are entitled to everything we have, including our jobs, our communities, and our government assistance. And they refuse to do anything for it (such as pay taxes) except demand that we give it to them. Then when we threaten to send them home and deny them all these benefits, they protest and say we are not treating them fairly and that they are entitled to these things, even though they are here illegally. The majority of Gang members (at least in Utah) are Latin Americans. They are conquerors that feel they are entitled to other peoples property, and will do what it takes to get it, even if that involves violence against innocent people. Instead of learning our culture they feel we need to cater to theirs.

The sad part about all this, is we let it happen. We don't enforce the laws in place. We don't keep them out or kick them out, and we elect people to government offices that will continue to support these Spanish people and cater to them.