I have nothing against Native people. I know about their history and can see why they are upset at our government for acts done wrong in the past, however, they are not above the law.
I know this is a touchy issue, and I do not want to step over any lines, but in my opinion, Native protesters that disrupt public property and infringe on others' rights should be punished like every other Canadian would be.
We watched a video in class showing Native demonstrators pushing over cars and ripping up roads. Now, in Brantford, construction sites are being torn apart and protesters are becoming violent. Yet in both of these cases, no protesters were prosecuted.
There are many protests occurring in Canada at present, but if white, black, asian etc. peoples were to demonstrate the behaviours that some Native protesters have done (such as those mentioned above), they would indeed be arrested immediately and charges laid. However, it seems that Native protesters do not have to abide by the laws all other Canadians live by. I think that is completely wrong. There are more effective ways of demonstrating. Using violence is NOT the answer.
I also think that our government is being completely irresponsible for not doing anything about these protesters. I don't care what origin or descent these people are, if they are breaking CANADIAN laws IN CANADA, then they should be treated and prosecuted the same way as EVERYONE ELSE. I think giving Natives a slap on the wrist is causing more trouble. The protests haven't ended and no one is happy.
In my opinion, our law enforcement officials and our government need to start treating Native protesters as they would any other protesters. If they break the law, they should have to serve their time and pay that price. No questions. No expceptions.
Erin
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
This definately is a touchy issue. It does seem unfair that this one group of people seems to somehow get around the law when it comes to the way they protest.
However, I think it's also important to realize that native people have protested in other ways as well - but haven't been listened to at all, hence now the aggression. Just to play devil's advocate, how long would you put up with being mistreated and ignored before you started taking aggressive action to get your point across?
I don't condone violence, and this situation clearly is getting out of hand. I do not think that one group should be above the law, but will jailing the protesters only add fuel to the fire? Is there even any dialogue going on at all?
It's sad that no one pays any attention until it escalates to violence. I agree that violent protesters should be punished. However, I also believe that there should be more programs geared towards getting reserves back on their feet and more dialogue and action with what these communities need - but simply throwing money at the problem definately will not fix it.
I remember watching that video about the Native protest in class. I remember thinking - why the need for violence. I think the Canadian government has treated the Natives so inconsistently that they are just plain confused. They feel like the government still isn't treating them as equals. All the Western influence assimilated into their original culture has led to so much corruption within their clans. Their way of life is disappearing and they are trying so hard to conserve it. I think they feel the only way to get their message out is to lash out with violence because I think we will agree that controversy gets attention. The Native Peoples are tired of talking - they want results.
Now I agree with the author. I think there should be no special treatment of Natives. However I don't think that this is possible now because of how the government has treated them over the years. The Native people have been exempted and been treated as special cases for so long. I think in order to give them true equality within the Western culture that these special treatments need to be slowly phased out. The Native People rely on the government to fund so many things that at this point I don’t know if that is right. You may think that sounds crude but by giving Native People's special treatment the government is demeaning their equality. I think that if they wanted to be treated like equals in Canada then they need to at least meet the government at some middle ground financially.
It seems as though every time the "Native Debate" occurs, people disguise their opinions with kind subtleties, displaying an artificial contriteness which, although definitely expected from educated persons, can only be described as crap. It's pretty easy to understand whats going on here. Sure, there are tons of really sad things happening, from the slowly dissolving Native identity, to the ignorance of Native views/ideals both from previous and current governments, but the reason that no one cares about these land claims is simple: they are ridiculous. Tearing up construction sites because they are built on lands which were used by your great-great-etc. grandfathers? Expressing ownership and asking for compensation for the use of the land and structures within 1(?) kilometer of the Grand River? These are unreal requests by themselves, before considering the mind-boggling escalation of money being appealed for by the Native peoples. If they want to be taken seriously, they should barter like adults and not little children
The Natives have always been given some leniency when it comes to protests and demonstrations, in comparison to the rest of the Canadian population. I agree that they should be treated the same way as anyone else would in that situation, however, it is controversial because the Natives have been mistreated greatly by the government in the past.
It is almost as if continuing to treat them differently now, but this time in a way that benefits them, can somehow serve as a way of making up for the mistreatment in the past.
Post a Comment