-----Original Message-----
From: Betty B [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Monday, December 04, 2000 12:40 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Education/Educators


This is very interesting Bobby.  I didn't know the origin of the red oak
leaf.  I'm reading about the Seminole Indians right now.  This stuff of
history is truly fascinating.

Joanne, I must apologize for my forceful demeanor in previous posts. I have
guilt feelings and I'm sorry for the way I spoke to you.  In retrospect, I
realize that I was being rude and belligerent.  Perhaps I can explain my
current train of thought, and I will try to remember to be more kind the
next
time I am in a debate with someone.

This is a hot topic for me right now because I am going through my Mom's
papers -- her typed works through the years -- and finding much that
misrepresents American history. This is no surprise; I knew my Mom for 42
years.  It's just that I'm faced with the decision of what to keep.  I don't
want to pitch out my own Mom's life work, but I am also bothered by the
premise of white supremacy it represents.

The slant of her belief system was heavily in favor of my family's Anglo
heritage.  My maternal ancestors were slave owners in Virginia, specifically
in the Williamsburg area.  I have -- at times -- been so anguished for the
people who have been pained by this particular injustice, that ancestral
pride has often been overshadowed by ancestral shame.

I loved my Mother and cherish my memories of her.  She never abandoned me
and
when I became disabled she altered her entire life to try to help me.
Ultimately, I believe that the physical and emotional stress she suffered in
my behalf is what really killed her.  I am certain of it.  I can't do
anything about it, but if I had not been "thrown to the wolves," so to
speak,
I am sure she would be alive and well now.

If I may digress for the specific purpose of supporting my argument: My
former comrades will paint the history of these events differently.  They
will never see what damage they have done, not only to me but to my Mother
--
the last person in my family and the woman who gave me birth. Because they
will color these events to their psychological advantage though, they are
going to do this again.  The next person in their circle who finds himself
in
similar circumstances will suffer the same fate.  My old friends have
learned
nothing, or at least nothing they are willing to admit to themselves.

History is likely to repeat itself for lack of courage to conduct honest,
self-searching critiques.  There is great tragedy in this for everyone
involved.  It's okay to throw a human being away when he becomes
inconvenient.  We can't kill him because that is illegal, but we can pretend
he doesn't exist anymore.

Lesson learned -- end of subject.

We see the devastating results of white supremacy in our society today.  The
forceful European influence has had negative and lasting World-Wide effects.
I believe that it is imperative -- to the success of this nation's future --
for our children to closely examine the sociologic and economic implications
of the historical events that got us where we are, and that reestablished
the
power structure of the entire world.

To wrap up one explanation of why I'm going on like this (because I am going
back and forth), I will say that I am in a personal struggle with my
Mother's
life work.  Do I preserve it, even though it represents everything that has
resulted in vast devastation to other peoples, or do I throw out everything
that represents who my own Mother was?  I have a dilemma to resolve, and
this
has come out in my recent posts.  I'm not excusing myself, just giving some
background.

It happens also that my thoughts of this personal struggle extend to civil
rights in general.  We have not given proper attention to the events of the
past.  In particular, we are not teaching our children how to apply the
understanding of cause and effect.

I offer -- for example -- the rise of white supremacy since reconstruction,
and how it eventually led to the civil rights movement.  Little attention
has
been paid to cause and effect in that case.  The civil rights movement
"simply happened."  To paraphrase James Loewen, everything in history simply
happened.  Events in high school history textbooks are not addressed with
intent to cause students to pause for thought or examine for the purpose of
applying the lessons of history to the future.

The thrust of what I believe should be taught to our youth is not to vilify
those with European ancestry, nor should it be.  Allowing our students to go
out into the world without teaching them the true purpose of learning
history
-- to understand cause and effect -- is a grave injustice to them, and to
those whose lives they will influence in the course of their futures.
Additionally, the falsehoods that we have constructed with regard to this
nation's history continue to protect the upper layers of stratification, as
I
recently asserted.  Morally, this is wrong, and it is in direct violation of
what we profess to be as a nation.

That is why I am adamant about teaching the truth, and making sure that our
children are being taught the truth in the educational arena.  I must
reiterate that my comments are directed toward text book content.  I am not
attacking our educators.

My intent is not to rub the noses of those with European ancestry into the
past.  My own pug nose has British roots.

Similarly, to cite another and more personally provocative example, there
seems to be a similar treatment of disability rights.  If we -- the largest
minority in the world -- allow this institutionalized manner of recording
history to be applied to the disability rights movement, we will (I believe)
be party to our own condemnation as ongoing members of the lowest layer of
this stratified society.

Is society "giving" us accommodation?  Did this Eurocentrically dominated
society assimilate African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and other
minorities?  In short, is society granting inclusion to those who are
inherently lessors?  In my mind, that does seem to be the underlying
message.
 We are quietly, but perpetually, being regarded as the problem segments.


To tell you the truth, this makes me a little nervous.  I would like to see
children being instructed to take analysis of this subject to the deepest
possible level.

Plus -- on a general and somewhat lighter note -- children need to be taught
that it's cool to think.

Nevertheless, there is no occasion that gives me the right to be rude and
judgmental. For that, my dear Joanne, I do humbly apologize

Betty

In a message dated 12/03/2000 11:57:51 AM Eastern Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

> Last Christmas I picked up an autobiography of Geronimo. It was most
>  fascinating and I learned a lot. To many of us got our Old West history
> from
>  Saturday afternoon Westerns in the '50's. By the way, do any of you know
the
>  singificance of the red oak leaf on the Canadian flag(Yvonne, you may
have
> to
>  set me straight here). I was told
>  it was because in the War of 1812, we invaded Canada and it was in the
Fall.
>  The "Red Coats" blended in with the leaves and it formed a natural
>  camoflouge. Thus, the Red Oak leaf is somewhat anti-Yankee sentiment.
>
>  Bobby
>


Betty
aut viam inveniam aut faciam
"I will either find a way or make one."