[Tad B.]

Regarding the recent Arizona forest fire: I saw on the news an Indian spokesperson describing the devastation to the Navajo nation. The spokesperson demanded the culprit be caught and brought to trial. As we now know, a member of the Navajo nation intentionally started the blaze. A second fire, a signal fire started by a woman lost in the wilderness, later merged with the first fire. Here is what bothers me: After it was reported that a member of the Navajo nation started the first fire, another Navajo spokesperson begged for understanding and sympathy for the tribe member. A few days later, these same people went public wanting the woman who started the signal fire charged with a crime. If I were lost and dying of thirst, I'd start a signal fire. What are these people thinking? If they want sympathy for a tribe member who started a fire out of greed, where is the sympathy for a desperate and very thirsty white woman?

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Name : Tad B., Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 47, City : Fairfield, State : OH Country : United States, Social class : Middle class, 

[ACC25112]

First, the Navajos were not involved at all, except that they are also being blamed collectively by many whites (including ones like yourself who can't tell the difference between Apache and Navajo). All Indians in the Southwest are having to suffer through this, and you are an excellent example of what is adding to the problem. One of the two firestarters was a member of the White Mountain Apache tribe. He started the fire because he needed the work, being a firefighter himself. It was hardly 'greed,' anymore than a man stealing to feed his family is 'greed.' The White Mountain reservation has unemployment close to 50 percent, and most people are desperately poor. Like this white woman lost in the desert, what he did was an act of desperation done by a person who did not think of how he was harming thousands of others. They should be both treated the same, yet neither the law nor much of the white public is doing so. The white woman is not being charged, while the Apache man is. The atmosphere in much of Arizona has become incredibly tense, with many whites blaming all Apaches, or even all Indians, for what one has done. There have been many threats and intimidation, and we can only hope and work for this not getting more serious. That is what those Indian spokesmen were trying to do, appeal to the goodness and fairness in people's hearts, for equal treatment.

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Name : ACC25112, Gender : M, Race : Mexican and American Indian (Mescalero Apache), City : Phoenix, State : AZ Country : United States, 

[Kristina]

Where is the sympathy for the black boy beaten by the cops in California among many white Americans? A great number of blacks do not justify what happened to him, but whites do. And I believe this siuation is no different for what happened to the Navajo nation. Your cultural perception of what is 'wrong' is different than other peoples' cultural perceptions. And worse, if you grapple with subtle racism, you may feel a sense of empathy with your own race that you might not feel with other groups. I am not saying this is a white thing; every racial group is guilty of this at some level. Anyway, I don't know the specific details of Native American culture, but I do know they are more spiritual and connected with things of nature than mainstream American society. Perhaps within their culture the solution to getting out of such a situation (being lost in the forest)should not have been starting a fire if the person didn't know how to correctly use it. And with the history white people have had with Native Americans, I can understand from their position why they would be more harsh. How can they really tell from their perspective if this woman started the fire intentionally or for help? Perhaps they can be more forgiving of their own race starting the fire, because they feel deep down inside that even with this action, the person is not a threat. With a white person starting the fire, they may feel differently, and not really trust her explanation. Of course, psychologically this situation could also be a sense of racial justice, like the O.J. Simpson trial was for many African Americans. The white woman in this case would be to them as Mark Furman was to blacks: a representation of all the racism and cruelty of the acts the white race has committed against them. She may have been unfairly judged by her race because of this, because her case may be the only way for a moment that justice could be sought for the bad things white America has done to the Navajo - or other Native American tribes, for that matter.

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Name : Kristina, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 20, City : Washington, State : DC Country : United States, Occupation : Transcriber, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Serene28060]

You are correct that the Navajo Nation came out with a plea of sympathy for the Native American who set one of the fires in hopes of being employed to help put out the fire. The Nation was as appalled at his behavior as anyone else. I do not know if the country was privy to the actual news conference wherein discloure was made that the woman would not be prosecuted for setting the second fire, however I live in Arizona and the conference was notoriously absent of Native Americans. The vast majority of people who expressed their anger and grief at this woman not being prosecuted were NOT Native Americans. The very angry crowd was made up of the home owners who had lost all their property and livelihood.

You are incorrect in your assertation that the 'same' people, meaning the Nation, expressed no concern for the 'white' woman. If you can separate the two incidents, the Nation quickly and honorably spoke up for their misguided brother and begged for understanding to keep the sometimes tenuous 'peace' toward Native Americans, but has, at least publicly, remained silent regarding the 'white' woman's fate.

By the way, the majority of forest destroyed comprised more than 60 percent of the land designated as the reserve that is the livelihood of Native Americans in the logging industry. It was a sad and tragic loss for all.

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Name : Serene28060, Gender : F, Age : 43, City : Chandler, State : AZ Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[ACC25119]

If it grates you or any other 'white' person to be called that, I'd be more than happy to call you something else more appropriate. The fact is, 'white' is a label that most of you have collectively chosen to call yourselves. Notice that Tad referred to himself as 'white.' Neither of you being in the Southwest, I chose not to call you what 'whites' are more commonly called around here - the far more correct cultural label of Anglo. And I've half jokingly said to some of my colleagues that a more correct label for you would be 'Europeans' or even 'Newcomers' or 'Johnny Come Latelies.' Incidentally, you might be intrigued that some so-called 'whites' want, as you do, to change the label themselves. Check out www.racetraitor.org.

But you have a hard row to hoe. Part of why so many of you have chosen to call yourselves 'white' (no one non-white played any major part in that choice of a label, after all) is that many if not most of you HAVE chosen to think of yourselves as 'white' rather than any specific ethnicity within 'whiteness.' It may gall you to admit that, but it is true. 'Whites' as a homogenizing force have mostly turned that same force on themselves.

One final thing: your central premise for getting angry at me was utterly wrong and uncalled for. Notice how I repeatedly referred to what SOME whites in ONE area of the country were doing.

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Name : ACC25119, Gender : M, Race : Mexican and American Indian, City : Phoenix, State : AZ Country : United States, 

[MINION20475]

If this was a labor issue, I would like to know why a puiblically certified education would not prepare an honest person to earn the census-recognized living wage.

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Name : MINION20475, City : n/a, State : CA Country : United States, 

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