appropriation of a culture

[HJVsqzIMIS at aol.com]

Hermanos,

    If I could choose between being ignored and being exploited (again) I
would choose being ignored. There are many of us Chicanos and other
indigenous descendants who do not believe that the warrior past was the
highpoint of our people. We believe that it was a phase that many cultures
pass through, that it served a purpose in time, and that it would have died
out on its own as it did in many other areas. The the European intrusion
stopped the natural evolution of the indigenous peoples. We are left with a
picture of what things were like at that point in time. But we know that not
all our brothers in Mexico and Central America were at the same point of
development. In some places, the warfare and kingdom system had come and
gone, in other places it had never been started, and maybe it never would
have. We can only speculate.
    I would rather that video games study the music, astronomy, poetry,
agriculture, respect for nature, etc., the elements of our culture in which
we build our pride. The warrior societies and ritual sacrifices should be
mentioned in a study of our people, but should not be the principal focus.

                                            A los cuatro vientos, Hermanos,
                                            Henry Vasquez