Racism (Walleye Warrior) Reading and Questions - Coursework Example

Racism (Welleye Warrior) Reading and Question In this article, George Lipsitz argues that the experiences that NativeAmericans gained, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, are indications of how progressive and regressive racial identities can help in creating a broader movement for social justice. His article primarily talks about how white supremacists and their supporters attempted to end treaty rights, in the north Wisconsin, with the notion that they were lobbying for the equal distribution and access to natural resources.

However, it later turned out that this was unnoticeable means through which white supremacists were practicing and organizing social classes in accordance to people’s ethnic backgrounds and race. It is evident from the article that people of color suffered significant discrimination from the impacts of unchallenged white privilege. Other ethnic groups that were lobbying for their social justice ended up creating and promoting new identities, including the white identities, which oppress people of color and those who reject white privileges (Lipsitz 119).

A new idea evident, in the article, is that the white community strongly campaigned to end treaty rights signed between the federal government and the Native American communities with the notion that it gave them more access to the nation’s natural resources more than other communities. However, when treaty rights were abolished and a number of economic activities such as lumbering, mining and extensive fishing begun in north Wisconsin, the land become polluted and considerably polluted. The supply of the game and fish were also threatened by carbon emission from motor boats, poor management of natural resources, corporate pollution and lax government regulations (Lipsitz 115).

Additionally, many whites began killing Native Americans and African Americans who rejected their privileges. These are just, but a few evidences that white supremacist were specifically not interested in conserving environment, but in discriminating against people of color and accessing their natural resources without any opposition. This is something that makes me feel uncomfortable with this article. Under the courtesy of this article, I come to learn that the success of Native Americans, in fighting for their asocial justice, also came from the support of other whites who came to realize that the future success of north Wisconsin was more possible with Indians than the White Supremacists (Lipsitz 116).

In this case, I do not expect white supremacists who were earlier strong anti-treaty rights and anti-spear fishing supporters, to turn against their opponents and reject strategic moves that will directly benefit them. I did not also expect Native Americans to forgive any white supremacists after a long period of discrimination against racism. However, they gave them an opportunity to change their beliefs, tactics and racial identifications (Lipsitz 116). This group majorly consisted of environmental groups who were against the rate at which the whites were destroying the environment and depleting natural resources.

This article poses a question of explaining how and why the race based movements, the pro-spear fishing forces, in north Wisconsin, avoided forming this groups based on oppressed communities or ethnicity, but on fashioning an Indian identity, which was political other than biological (Lipsitz 114). New readers of the article are primarily interested in relating the content Lipsitz presents in this piece with his thesis statement. In other words, readers are focusing on establishing how race based movements for social justice.

Therefore, I feel that this part required more research. Lipsitz piece relates to Marc Edelman’s article that talks about how transitional activist networks developed new protests to challenge whites dominance in America, in late 1980s and early 1990s. Both authors argue white supremacists lobbied for the amendments and abolitions of a number of Constitutional clauses to favor their community and gain dominance over people of color. However, new political movements significantly lobbied for equal rights and treatments that were eventually achieved.

Works CitedLipsitz G. "Walleye Warriors and White Identities: Native Americans Treaty Rights, Composite Identities and Social Movements." Ethnic and Racial Studies Vol. 31 No. 1 (2008): 101- 121. Print