captainspacecoat wrote:Saying that all white people are not allowed to have an opinion on something does sound racist to me. Racism does go both ways.
But in this case, we're talking about white people and an indigenous population, and I would argue that that really doesn't go both ways. There is no way indigenous people can be racist against white people, as white people have the power in this instance. It was white people that invaded their land, white people who waged a genocide against them, and white people who continue to oppress them. Of course white people are allowed to have an opinion, but we can also be objectively wrong, and when people of colour call us out on our opinions we have to shut up and listen.
Racism does go both ways. Racism goes all directions. Indigenous people, black, brown, etc, all can be racist towards whites. Yes, white people came over here to North America and pretty much "took over" but back in the early days of the US whites were slaves as well up in New England. If you weren't English you weren't given the same rights/status. Mind you, back then not only were indians being persecuted but the Catholics from Canada were as well.
Colonial US history is a hot mess of various ethnicities fleeing Europe, and when you put all of those people into a new land with no established government, well, you get the hot mess it was and continues to be today.
Moving forward with US history, after the Civil War, black carpetbaggers from the north went down south and exploited the southern blacks. The American Indians never stood a chance, to be honest, because they were in the way. So they moved them all predominantly west (those who didn't assimilate) and parked them on reservations in the middle of nowhere. Where I live there are many, MANY reservations, but there's no doubting the history the American Indians brought with them. Doesn't matter what color you are, you can't help but notice how the country was shaped.