In recent letters to your paper it is blatantly obvious that some people have either learned their history lessons from Hollywood movies or quit school at a very early age. C. Cox’s views (All Citizens Have Their Special Places, The Daily News, Sept. 28) are a classic example, as displayed by his or her absolute misunderstanding of Canadian history and racist comments about native people.
The inference was given that aboriginal people are lazy, do not pay taxes and have not helped to build a great country. Cox’s lack of historical knowledge is only superseded by his or her professed ignorance of native people. This person, in many respects, has the history of the United States confused with ours.
By way of comparison — the Nazi mass extermination of Jews during the Holocaust doesn’t even come close to the genocide the Americans unleashed against North America’s aboriginal people. The Yankees were out for conquest and to “win the conflict,” as Cox calls it.
The Canadians, on the other hand, chose to negotiate in the British tradition and settle with the original land stewards through treaties, which are formal agreements between nations.
The treaties have been, and to this day continue to be, broken by the immigrants and their descendants.
It has been my life experience that people like Cox have held their misinformed beliefs for so long that they’ll never comprehend the truth.
Another thing common to these people is they want aboriginal people to “get over it.” Try telling that to a Jew!
DAVID SAGER
Clearwater
