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25 de Diciembre, 2006
The Haunted Land Pt. IX
Categorized under Historia | Tags: Imperialism, indigenous, Manifest Destiny, The Haunted Land
"IN 1823, U.S. Supreme Court chief justice John Marshall wrote a decision remarkable for its candor about a subject we would all generally prefer not to acknowledge: The means by which the United States government, and more broadly EuroAmerican culture, took possession of this continent. By now there can be few who still believe the continent was empty when the Pilgrims and other colonists landed here, or that, for whatever reason, the original inhabitants—the Indians—held no prior claim to the land. To this day, the federal government admits that 33 percent of the land mass of the continental United States was never ceded by treaty, and, therefore, is held illegally. How, then, does the government, and, once, again more broadly, do we nonnatives, justify possession of this land?
Here's what Marshall had to say about it. [...]
'Conquest gives a title which the Courts of the conqueror cannot deny, whatever the private and speculative opinions of individuals may be.' Let us translate this as well: If an entire system is based upon an injustice, the Supreme Court can do no other than to codify this injustice into law."
—Derrick Jensen, The Culture of Make Believe
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Watcha: the cyberbarrios crackle and hum with palabras de The Haunted Land Pt. IX:
» Sexto Sol - Other Approaches from The Unapologetic Mexican
I AM TURNING MY BACK on the Neoliberal, Western paradigms of acting in the name of power and possession. I look around me and see the harm these agendas have caused. When I was younger, I never knew you... [Read More]
Tracked on 26 de Diciembre 2006 a las 11:38 AM
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kick it, ése.