Perspective can change any debate, particularly when that perspective has been unknown or ignored.
An anti-illegal immigration rally held in Tucson, Arizona figured that out when their protest was interrupted by a Native American man who claimed furiously that it was the protestors who were the illegal immigrants, decrying them for being the illegals and saying that they “didn’t invite none of you (the protesters) here!”
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The man did have a valid point. Technically, anyone of European, Asian, or African descent is not native to either North America or South America. In this regard, a vast majority of modern day Americans are descendents of illegal immigrants, who seized what land they could with a “might-makes-right” mentality.
Native Americans never asked us to come to their land. In many cases they actively tried to throw the immigrants (us) out. The nightmarish scenario of immigrants forcing natives out portrayed by many in the immigration debate was the reality for Native Americans, whose lands and movements were practically boundless compared to the reservations they hold title to today.
It’s important to consider this perspective, giving more attention to the voices of the Native American community in on the immigration debate as they are an integral part of this nation’s history. Otherwise, we as a nation run the risk of becoming incredibly hypocritical.