h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Dear RAF Wing,

How great to meet you and to be guided to your inspiring site. How do you do? comment ca va?

It was good to hear your comment on what abbi normal had written. I am totally appalled that I had not heard of Edward Said before.

I am four fourths French!. So we should get on very well.!!.

I can remember when one of my Canadian nephews came to visit me in South Africa and was explaining the Indian reservations in Canada. I looked at him in total disbelief and said

"But my darling, that is what apartheid is"!!

He was totally taken aback.
I am sure that we shall have lots to share,

Greetings to you my new fri4end.

AR1
PS I hope that you do not mind writing to an old great grandmother!

How nice of you to visit and say such kind things.

Yes, I'm very interested to talk to 4/4 French grandmother, although I don't talk French. I simply prefer to think French are saying many exciting romantic things, not mundane things. It's more stimulating that way because it sounds so salaceous when you don't know what he's really saying.

I'm glad we agree that reservations might be apartheid, although I suspect they are a good deal more since they were meant to encourage assimilation or starvation, amounting to the same thing. Of course some people didn't cooperate in assimilating or starving to death so a few of us are still around and so are the reservations that didn't accomplish their missions.

And that's sort of a good thing because it gives us at least some semblance of a land base which people don't have in Argentina for example where the indigenous inhabitants were forcibly erradicated, the last 2000 or so sold into slavery years ago.

So what were you doing in South Africa?

Also why do you think a man described as the quintessential New Yorker would have a problem being called an OWG? OEEWG maybe? (Old Elegantly Eloquent White Guy?) I'm referring to Mr. Said of course, who I didn't know about either before Abbi mentioned him. I should do my homework a little better maybe.

Very dear RAF wing,

I think that if you read about Edward Said, you will see that he was the Palestinian representative for very many years, and was, I imagine born in Palestine and would therefore have considered himself a Palestinian by birth. That is why I thought that OWG did not apply to him even if he was elegant and urbane etc.!!Perhpas you could define him as OIG but I think I would say

III i.e. Internation Interllectual Idealist.

AGE did not come into any decription of him; he was without doubt a philosopher and he trusted in the goodness of peoplekind.

I was born in South Africa of French parents 75 years ago. I only came to live in England in 1991, so have only been here a little while. As we get to another one another you will realise that |I am pasionate about justice and equality and truth. I could only have lived in South Africa if I had got involved in the dreadful injustice of apartheid. I do not think that the avowed aims of the Indian reservations were so different from those of the apartheid regime.

I send you my warm good wishes,

AR1

As you get to know me better maybe you'll understand that in some cases I choose to use the categories that have been promoted by certain people to oppress others, only I use those categories against the perpetrators. This is why I refer to some of them as OWGs. It maybe emphasizes how it feels to be the be the target rather than the shooter.

That I suspect Mr. Said would have appreciated, maybe without having it explained, but who knows?

In my heritage, white doesn't necessarily mean bad although hundreds of years of empirical data might argue otherwise. It usually simply means not us, mostly from a cultural standpoint if you can even define what a culture is.

There is really no racial connotation as evidenced by the reference being put on those of African origin as well. It's sort of convenient to do that when you yourself have been categorized as indian or native american or whatever even though like most people you tend to see yourself as maybe more in terms of your family or tribal heritage.

I suspect it's similar to you being categorized as a French grandmother without anyone knowing you were born in South Africa. You then would have a very different view of things maybe than a French grandmother born in Poitiers or Domremy. Or even worse, if I call you a euro, which I often do call people from Europe for convenience. But what is Europe or America or South Africa for that matter?

Should I adopt and utilize the categories for my own purposes or should I question the categories from the beginning? When you say you're 4/4 French is that northern French or Langue d'oc French or some other French? What is French? What is South African?

Well somebody attaches meanings to these categories and in some cases even identifies with them.

But where did France come from? Maybe from the unification of the region under the French crown in Paris? And where did South Africa come from? Maybe from the conquest and colonization of the region first by the Boers and then the conquest of those colonies by the British?

Where do nationstates come from? Maybe out of the historical context of religious wars in Europe? And from there to be spread all over the globe by traders who couldn't recognize any other way of organizing human affairs?

Where did racism come from? Maybe from some misguided movement in the nineteenth century originally intended to distinguish between French and Germans?

I don't know for sure but a lot of times looking sort of from outside, it sort of looks like it might be the way I've implied. When I apply the conquerors' own methods of analysis to them, I find they fit very neatly into the framework they've erected for others but not in a very flattering fashion, maybe no more flattering than anybody else.

I don't see as they often do cause for recognizing glory in it for example. I don't see it as evidence of progress. I don't see it as advancing the cause of civilization or civil society. I don't see it in those ways probably because I wasn't raised to accept such things uncritically maybe? I was raised to accept other things instead.

And that's a problem maybe. But some way or other we might just figure something out. I hope so. Maybe you can help with that.

Hi my new found friend,

Well I am 4.4 Frenchm, because my father was born in the north of France of pure French extraction and my mother was born in the south of France from pure French extration.
I was however, conceived during their hoeymoon in Corsica - the birthplace of Na[poleon! - and was born nine months later in South Africa.

As you say, that makes me different. I always was different. I was far more privileged than many around me. My father used to take us to France every two years and we spoke French at home. Which made me very different to other girls of my age group. It also made me very identifiable and I had a hard time at school. Now of course it would be called bullying but in my day I just stood my ground and took it. I often feel that is the reason why I was so open to the plight of the idigenous African in Africa.I really did suffer discrimination as a child, but it was because I was "different" - i.e. I was privileged, I spoke a different language and I was - let's face it spoilt.
Somehow, my parents never let me grow into someone to whom this was a "right". As a seven year old my mother used to take me every Saturday morning to play with underprivileged children in a creche. It was only years later that I found out it was a creche for the children of unmarried mothers. This was in the 1930's remember so it was an outlook which my parents had which was not the norm in South Africa. Nor did we ever think when we were young that we were "better" than anyone else because of our privileged position. I do not know how my parents did this, but they did.

I must confess to feeling tired now. I loved reading your thread and will do so again tomorrow when I am more "with it". That is the problem of growing old. One cannot do so much as when one is younger.

With much affection,

AR1

Thanks for sharing all that. It's very interesting to learn such things.

I find the life and work of Nelson Mandala very inspiring although also it's very discouraging that few governments want to put pressure on the United States to release it's indigenous political prisoners. Maybe if there were a few more like you around, this might happen.

My dear little friend big

this is the FIFTH time I am writing you a short note - and each time I have lost it!!.
I have said that it is people like you who know who your political prisoners are; who know why they were imprisoned and where who can help the rest of us raise our voices and ask for justice.

A very important task my dear friend.

I wish you a good night's rest. Last night I had to sleep in my slipppers as I could not get my feet warm (Sadly I am unable to get to my feet to put on bed socks.) It was very funny sleeping in my slippers but better than not sleeping at all.
With much affection

AR1

One of my grandmas wants to sit always next to the woodstove, all day and night maybe. That's how it is I guess. She sleeps in short naps, never all night.

Here's some links you might like to review sometime when you get a chance.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/classic/A944408

This was written by an acquaintance here, a grandmother too and a non-indian although I think she might have some African blood. Pay attention please to the related links cited in the entry also.

Here's another one by the same author.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/classic/A850006

Once again the supporting links might be very valuable to review as well.

Here's a link to an organization trying to help one of the better known of our political prisoners, whose plight has often been compared to Mandala's when he was imprisoned.

http://www.freepeltier.org/

And for a pretty good digest of the issues that affect us in the contemporary world this one is worth reviewing periodically.

http://www.indiancountry.com/

I know all this is a lot but even if you only look at maybe one, it might be enough.

Thank you for expressing an interest.

Here's a followup link to the Western Shoshone link already listed.

http://www.indiancountry.com/?1065461509

It might give you some idea of the issues that go beyond the law and make a mockery of it.