Okay. I typically like to remain silent when I dont agree with something, because people are allowed to believe what they believe. This however is insulting. I will start by saying that I agree with most of your argument. White Europeans forcefully took your people’s land, and that was fucked up. Your culture was ridiculed, your people killed, and your way of life changed forever. That was fucked up. Your people held on to that culture because it was essentially all they had left of traditions that are thousands of years old, and that is important. What I want you to know, is that certain aspects of your culture were also once a part of everyone’s culture before the rise of western religion. If you look at paleolithic rock art throughout Europe, you will find evidence of medicine men and women, shamanism, spirit worlds, Earth worship, and countless other practices that eventually made their way into the lives of those people and traveled with them as they made their way into new territories. All of that began to fade with the rise of egocentric religions that tore humans away from the harmony that they once shared with the Earth. That harmony is something that a lot of people are realizing makes sense, and that they feel they need to embrace. I am one of those people. Just because I’m white does not mean I’m “supposed” to be Christian, or whatever you think I’m supposed to be. If we really want to break it down, my ancestors had to deal with shit from the British as well. I’m partly Scottish and Irish, both countries who’s language and culture was forcefully cast aside through many wars and bloodshed. My ancestors fled because they were dying. I’m also partly Syrian and Lebanese, and those ancestors fled because their countries have been at war for ages. The small part of me that is English came to help Roger Williams print the Native American language so that others could learn it and communicate with the indigenous people for the sake of peace. Obviously that wasn’t the outcome. None of my ancestry actually matters though. My feet are in this soil, on this planet, which is everyone’s home. I agree that the ceremonial outfits, dances, and chants that people are taking from your culture should not be taken from you, and they should not be taken for ignorant trends. That is insulting to your people. But to be honest, your culture is all we have left as a glimpse into our own ancestral past as well. Magic and medicine are not limited to your culture alone. Earth worship is where it all began back to when humans first starting having spiritual beliefs at all. It started in Africa and traveled to Europe where there are HUNDREDS of caves with spiritually inspired art. From Europe it then traveled to Asia and Russia, and from Russia over to Alaska and into the Americas and Canada where it took root and flourished. It very likely always involved shamans, medicine men and women, music, and ceremonies. What you have is absolutely amazing, because it literally gives us a glimpse into our past. It connects the rest of us to something that was lost, something that we all used to share. It’s something that I am being pulled towards, and for anyone to deny me a spiritual right is just as bad as what was done to your people. I certainly don’t deserve to be punished, and neither do the rest of the people searching for meaning. We have no control over what our ancestors did. We do have the awarness to learn from it. I’m still battling between what is right and what is wrong. My spiritual journey is at a halt because I’m trapped between two worlds. The superficial world of technology and money that I’m stuck in, and the real world - the wild world that I escape to. I think it’s beautiful when a group of people can join in something they all truly believe in. We need more of that and less of this is mine that is yours. We need less ignorance and more respect. We should be bringing people back to the Earth because that’s the only way we're going to save it. I would change the past in a heartbeat if I could. This country would still belong to you, but what’s done is done, for both your ancestors and mine and everyone elses. I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason no matter how unfair it is at the time. I’m not looking to start a chain of arguments either. I want us all to recognize that we are human. You’ve shared your anger and beliefs, and now I’ve shared mine. You’ve voiced what you feel insults you and your people, and I’ve voiced what I believe insults people like me. What we both take away from this is up to us, but I can assure you that I am not your enemy.
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