How do Americans feel about the way Native Americans were treated?

[JazMerkin]

...they have higher rates of alcoholism because they were the last people's to get alcohol ergo their bodies have not developed to handle it properly. Think of how many alcoholic people there are in the Middle East....very few because alcohol was first made there and those people took it in and adapted to it's effects.

I'm not going to look back 200 years ago and feel bad about shit I had no part in....does anyone feel bad that Sherman burned Atlanta to the ground and starved out plenty of Southerners I doubt they do, but that's ok because all Southerners are white slave owners and they probably deserved it....unlike those brave and peaceful indians

That small religion that prohibits alcohol might also have some effect on Middle Eastern rates of alcohlism. What's it called?? Izzlarm or somethin?? I hear its quite big over

Those 'brave and peaceful indians' were in their home Lyle, when a load of strange people came into their country & attacked it, killing many of their citizens. You say you're not going to 'feel bad about shit you had no part in'. Fair enough. But, I'm curious would you hold many Muslims to the same standard if they said 'I don't feel anything about 9/11, I had nothing to do with it'. Because I have a suspicion if I hunted down through threads, there would be some of you demanding that they make it very clear how against terrorism they are.

[El Kabong]

Yes but alcohol predates Islam and Arabic/Persian peoples were the first group to stumble upon the sweet libation....they didn't deserve to figure it out, but it is ironic that they banned it....further proof they are evil bastards

[Drago]

good debate



thats all i have to say on the matter

[porkypara]

good debate



thats all i have to say on the matter

I like to raise the standard of thread from time to time.

[CFH]

...they have higher rates of alcoholism because they were the last people's to get alcohol ergo their bodies have not developed to handle it properly. Think of how many alcoholic people there are in the Middle East....very few because alcohol was first made there and those people took it in and adapted to it's effects.

I'm not going to look back 200 years ago and feel bad about shit I had no part in....does anyone feel bad that Sherman burned Atlanta to the ground and starved out plenty of Southerners I doubt they do, but that's ok because all Southerners are white slave owners and they probably deserved it....unlike those brave and peaceful indians

That small religion that prohibits alcohol might also have some effect on Middle Eastern rates of alcohlism. What's it called?? Izzlarm or somethin?? I hear its quite big over

Those 'brave and peaceful indians' were in their home Lyle, when a load of strange people came into their country & attacked it, killing many of their citizens. You say you're not going to 'feel bad about shit you had no part in'. Fair enough. But, I'm curious would you hold many Muslims to the same standard if they said 'I don't feel anything about 9/11, I had nothing to do with it'. Because I have a suspicion if I hunted down through threads, there would be some of you demanding that they make it very clear how against terrorism they are.

It also makes it impossible to gauge just how many people could be defined as alcoholics as nobody will seek help or admit to their problem.

Also, indigenous rates of alcohol abuse can be largely explained by the socio-cultural problem which continue to devastate their culture. Marginalized and oppressed peoples around the world tend to suffer from high levels of substance abuse, mental and physical health problems, etc.

Lyle, your answer is far, far too simplistic.

[El Kabong]

.....oh well, I guess I'll go sulk now since CFH doesn't agree with me

There are different rates of alcoholism in different groups of peoples what explains it? Socio-economic status? Maybe, but just because you are poor and maybe uneducated it doesn't mean you HAVE to drink...I'm sure there are just as many SOBER poor people as there are drunk poor people. And they always say "Alcoholism is GENETIC" so wouldn't it be within reason to suggest such a theory? I think people more affected by drink usually have an ENVIRONMENTAL and GENETIC suceptablity to it

Each race usually has it's own little set of issues that helped them adapt to their original environments E.G. People from near where Malareia runs rampant are more apt to have sickle cell anemia because sickle cell helps in dealing with that disease.....but I guess you have me buddy, I sure didn't prove any points here

[CFH]

.....oh well, I guess I'll go sulk now since CFH doesn't agree with me

There are different rates of alcoholism in different groups of peoples what explains it? Socio-economic status? Maybe, but just because you are poor and maybe uneducated it doesn't mean you HAVE to drink...I'm sure there are just as many SOBER poor people as there are drunk poor people. And they always say "Alcoholism is GENETIC" so wouldn't it be within reason to suggest such a theory? I think people more affected by drink usually have an ENVIRONMENTAL and GENETIC suceptablity to it

Each race usually has it's own little set of issues that helped them adapt to their original environments E.G. People from near where Malareia runs rampant are more apt to have sickle cell anemia because sickle cell helps in dealing with that disease.....but I guess you have me buddy, I sure didn't prove any points here

I don't agree with most of what you say (on subjects like this one) because the vast majority of it is completely uneducated bullshit. You're trying to argue with me about something I have spent the better part of 4 years studying.

Some people say alcoholism is genetic, some would typify it as a mental illness. Either way, it is not solely a genetic disorder, and it has been demonstrated over and over again that socio-cultural factors (not just poverty) play a prominent role in substance abuse. I don't understand how you can try to argue against that, it's simply ignorant.

The example of sickle-cell anemia and malaria isn't really apt here. It's something that proliferated over a long period of time and the people who have developed the sickle-cell trait were, and are, exposed to malaria in a problematic way much more broadly and with far more devastating physical results than people are to alcohol. Malaria could (prior to the development of the sickle-cell trait) kill anyone, relatively few people because alcoholics.The two issues are almost impossible to compare. Were Natives affected by the fact that many of them had not had exposure to liquor? Absolutely, but to say that is why there are high incidents of alcohol abuse among indigenous people today is ludicrous. You could argue that cultures who have been exposed to alcohol for longer periods of time have developed culturally based ways of protecting themselves against alcohol, but to say it is a purely physical issue is wrong.

And every race (an extremely arbitrary and contentious term) does not have traits it developed evolutionarily. Adaptation and evolution are not "race" specific, they are environmental.

[El Kabong]

....OK fine, you want to be right, then go right ahead.

I just float out a theory and along comes Negative Nancy to try and shame me into not thinking outside the box.

Mice Lacking Gene Show Reduced Alcohol Preference And Sensitivity

I would venture to guess that lacking the D2 receptor is probably an adaptation to an environmental stimulus, but hey what do I know. Have fun being right.

[CFH]

....OK fine, you want to be right, then go right ahead.

I just float out a theory and along comes Negative Nancy to try and shame me into not thinking outside the box.

Mice Lacking Gene Show Reduced Alcohol Preference And Sensitivity

I would venture to guess that lacking the D2 receptor is probably an adaptation to an environmental stimulus, but hey what do I know. Have fun being right.

I never disputed the fact that there is evidence that, for some, there is a genetic basis for alcoholism and drug addiction. There is clearly evidence to support that position and I don't disagree with it. However, to say that that is the only reason for substance abuse is wrong. Alcoholism is a very complex problem, if it was easy to explain scientifically, psychologically etc. it wouldn't be the issue that it is. I do feel that there are a variety of factors, including genetics, that cause people to abuse and become addicted to substances and there is a wealth of evidence that supports this.

[JazMerkin]

....OK fine, you want to be right, then go right ahead.

I just float out a theory and along comes Negative Nancy to try and shame me into not thinking outside the box.

Mice Lacking Gene Show Reduced Alcohol Preference And Sensitivity

I would venture to guess that lacking the D2 receptor is probably an adaptation to an environmental stimulus, but hey what do I know. Have fun being right.

Lyle, why is it to avoid a debate where someone puts across a point that actually requires a reasoned argument to dispute, you play this 'victim' status? CFH is not oppressing you by disagreeing with you, his arguments are backed up by reasoning, not 11 year old bits of tentative research that clearly didn't pan out. I mean you never felt the need to do this in any of your arguments with Lefty (may his Saddo account R.I.P.).

Why ignore debating & throw out sweeping generalizations or ignore difficult points altogether? I mean you're not going to get discredited. If you're not informed on a particular subject, you don't HAVE to throw yourself into the discussion, then try & be sarcastic when someone more informed calls you on it. If I did that, you'd be calling me out all the time for not knowing the particulars of the effect of the recession on Wall Street. Seriously dude, not every thread is an attack on you. This isn't actually meant to be an attack on you if it does read that way, it's just that you're clearly an intelligent guy & I find it frustrating when an intelligent person looks for cheap ways of 'winning' a debate, rather than using their loaf.

[El Kabong]

What do you want me to post? If I try and back up what I post everybody will say I'm ranting and now if I just ignore that I've been goaded into a discussion on whether or not alcoholism was or was not caused by 1. The introduction of a new stimulus into an environment 2. Genetics or 3. Socio-economic status because "the white man was evil" and not to mention people(Jaz) now comparing 9/11 to what happened to the Indians....Sorry I was born white, in America, to a non-muslim family, and post Trail of Tears or else I may have been able to do something about this.

I don't really care about the Indians today, sure historically they and their culture have gotten the shit end of the stick more than a few times. What do you want me to do about it? They run casino's here, they have reservations (where they don't have to live, but I do understand they are usually very poor in and out of the res.), they have zoo's here and they mistreat the animals (I am sure much to the dismay of their ancestors), and they sell cultural goods (blankets, furs, dart guns, dream catchers, etc) for huge profits or at least at high prices. Listen, I love the reverance for nature some (historically all the tribes were said to have it, now, not so much) have, I enjoy nature, I think there is a lot to learn from those who embrace their culture and don't chose to exploit it for profit(with the Casino's and zoo's), that's what I think of TODAY's Indians. The Indians of the past...well I wish things had worked out better for them, but that was not the case and I hate it for them because they did have great cultures and all that is slowly fading away with each passing year. That isn't something I can or should (given my background) try and fix, that is up to the Indian community to mend themselves and that's rough, but it is what it is....I personally can't un-kill people or un-Annex land for them, so I don't see why people should get all uptight when I post what I feel about the situation.

Now you guys can think whatever you want of me, but I'm not one to hold back my thoughts and opinions and maybe you think bad of me for it, but that's fine, at least you know where I stand. People have called me many names, racist, bigot, etc etc...I don't take it personally because I know in my heart I'm not one, but I'm sorry if there is a part of ANY culture I don't like I will not blink an eye before calling it out and I do it to the toothless redneck white trash and the uppity white collar yuppies just the same as any other culture so I think I'm being more honest than most people. I am not going to look past shady dealings in Casino's (like for example there are plenty of "Indians" and not Indians running them...just because your Great Great Grandmother sucked off a Cherokee brave doesn't exactly make you an Indian) or the poor conditions of their "zoo's" (it's more like a Concentration Camp for animals) just because history has been poor to them as a people...race/ethnicity/socio-economic status shouldn't be used as a crutch, that's a firm belief of mine and it would be the same if I was in their shoes.

So disagree with me if you like, but you know where I stand