In the book “Just Another Indian” the sister of the victim Eva Taysup, Bev Taysup states on page 109 that even though she knew it was wrong; she held an entire race responsible for what happened to her sister, even though she knew it was wrong. When an event occurs that people consider to be racist it can mean that people over time can gain a stereotypical view of an entire group based on the events that have happened to them. If a person is scorned enough they may possibly gain the racist view if a certain race is constantly behind the pain and suffering. Although the person may feel that somewhere behind all the pain that the blame or view is wrong to them it is easier to hold an entire race responsible then to believe that certain individuals are plain evil and dark inside.
The actions performed by John Crawford not only were unbelieveable, but they stripped away a woman who was unfortunate enough to get into his car. Grief is a very powerful emotion it can cloud even the strongest of minds. When grief or loss happens it is not uncommon for a person to look at all those that they believe could have prevented their grief or helped end the wondering involving a loved one's disappearance. A Lot of factors contribute to the solving of the John Crawford case that raised a lot of worries and anger for the familie of the deceased. Claims in the case that lead to the hatred that brewed in Bev included police involvement in solving the case, lack of media attention and of course the actions of the perpetrator himself. Bev and the others families felt that due to the race of their deceased that the media and police decided that it wasn’t worth covering or solving the murders as to compare if the victims had been of white race. Overall Bev was able to recognize that her mass racism was wrongly placed she still felt that blaming an entire race for the actions of one was a coping mechanism that she could healthily use.
I do agree this was the pout of view of manny of the families that lost their loved ones in the book Calinda Waterhen's family had reported her missing but the police didn't believe them because her health card was still being used but two years later when they told him they found her body and her family was told they where not happy with the Justice system. On of the victims families weren't even contacted after their family member was identified. It is quite obvious why these people have something against the "White society" after the way they were treated by the police, media and after their family member was killed by a "white" man it is not hard to see that their anger and their racism toward others. This was a tragedy and the fact that people didn't do more to recognizes it is horrible.
ReplyDeletehello shelby. i like this blog post, as i was in your reading group i have read this book and fully agree with what you wrote. Although Bev blames the white people for what happened to her sister, I think all people can change their views. i think it is our job as white people to show Native Americans that they are equal to us.
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