Obama: The only people with the right to object to immigration are Native Americans

[Drunken Irishman]

Returning to his hometown to speak, the president tried to place his recent executive action, which saved five million immigrants from deportation, within a great American tradition of welcoming foreigners.

"If you look at the history of immigration in this country, each successive wave there have been periods where the folks who were already here have said, 'Well I don't want those folks,'" he said. "Even though the only people who have the right to say that are some Native Americans."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/obama-the-only-people-with-the-right-to-object-to-immigration-are-native-americans-9887501.html

[killbotfactory]

1. Too soon...

...

[former9thward]

2. Native Americans were not the first.

They replaced others from SE Asia who were here first.

A study of skulls excavated from the tip of Baja California in Mexico suggests that the first Americans may not have been the ancestors of today's Amerindians, but another people who came from Southeast Asia and the southern Pacific area.

The question of who colonized the Americas, and when, has long been hotly debated. Traditionally, Native Americans are believed to have descended from northeast Asia, arriving over a land bridge between Siberia and Alaska some 12,000 years ago and then migrating across North and South America.

But recent research, including the Baja California study, indicates that the initial settlement of the continent was instead driven by Southeast Asians who occupied Australia 60,000 years ago and then expanded into the Americas about 13,500 years ago, prior to Mongoloid people arriving from northeast Asia.

The skulls from Baja California, which may date back only a few hundred years, have slender-looking faces that are different from the broad-cheeked craniums of modern Amerindians, the descendants of the Mongoloid people.


http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/09/0903_030903_bajaskull.html

[RobertEarl]

4. Gawd what is it you are up too?

The Native Americans Obama speaks of are the people who were here when America was first just an immigrant's dream.

Your going way-back is just poppycock and makes you look foolish.

[unblock]

6. yeah, learning new things sucks big time.

[RobertEarl]

9. Obama quote

"If you look at the history of immigration in this country, each successive wave there have been periods where the folks who were already here have said, 'Well I don't want those folks,'" he said. "Even though the only people who have the right to say that are some Native Americans."

*****************

Obama is clearly talking about when America first became America, not the stone age.

Maybe the arguments being made here against Obama are just a symptom of Obama hate?

The fact is that the only people who have a right to complain about immigrant are the sons and daughters of the people who lived here before the Europeans came. The Natives who are not Europeans, or Africans or Asians, et al.

[Drunken Irishman]

14. Don't rationalize with the haters.

[jonno99]

15. Obama hate??

No - just refuting a silly point of logic.

Just because someone is president doesn't they get to decide whose complaints are valid.

The fact is that ALL people groups came from somewhere else, and most civilizations fought wars against the encroachers. For our own "native" Americans it was no different - tribes fought each other.

It is the human condition - sadly...

[unblock]

38. the additional information is tangentially interesting, and doesn't attack obama's point at all.

there's no reason to advance a defensive argument, and certainly no cause to talk about "obama hate".

it doesn't apply here in the slightest.

obama's point was not so much that native americans *do* have a fundamental right to complain, as it was that *no one else* has a right to complain. the additional information in no way refutes that point. those of european descent, for instance, have no right to complain either way. if anything, it enhances obama's point by implying that not even native americans can complain, as even they were once immigrants themselves.

in fact, it's simply tangential learning.

[jonno99]

43. And it's not so much about the "right to complain"

it's about stifling debate.

There are plenty of "minority" groups - Latinos included - who have an opinion contrary to the presidents'. And for the president to say "you don't have any right to complain" comes across as a bit controlling.

It's not just "white folks" who want the president to do his job - which is to faithfully execute the law...

[unblock]

46. bollocks. he was talking about an anti-immigrant attitude, and how that's hypocritical.

the only real stifling of debate that happens these days is the drowning out of democratic/liberal opinions through massive media spending and control by the right wing.

do you seriously think for one minute that obama saying that complaining is hypocritical is in any way "controlling" or "stifling" debate??

hardly. his critics are not at all likely to crawl into a corner quietly cowed by obama's words.

[Yupster]

10. Kennewick Man

is another interesting case.

[roguevalley]

41. consider that all who were first were included in the remarks

[jonno99]

8. The president's quote:

"...there have been periods where the folks who were already here have said, 'Well I don't want those folks..." "

So it was poppycock if the SE Asians said this of the Siberians who came later?

[BlancheSplanchnik]

24. cool stuff bro, i love anthropology...the first Paleo-Indians migrating into the Americas

from the Asian, African and European land masses.......the First People....all the way back to early hominids, if you really want to be correct...

Fascinating stuff, but it's not dovetailing too well with Public Policy, Rhetoric and Public Speaking, which are the terrain of this speech.

[jonno99]

44. Please see my reply to Unblock - #43. I am of the opinion

that stifling debate is not a good thing, and that those who do stifle, should be challenged - even Democrats...

[Cha]

3. Excellent! Fucking Awesome.

[freshwest]

7. Finally a president says the truth and ends the lying. Thanks, Obama!

And uh, they are calling him a lame duck?

This is my last election. After my election I have more flexibility.

~ President Obama

[WinkyDink]

11. As a wisecrack, it's cool. However, as an objective look at today's economy, I'm not so sure.

[Cha]

12. Was not a "crack" but it is Wise. It's about not separating families.. it the humane thing to do..

Thankfully some people actually get that.

[blackcrowflies]

13. Native Americans, those people who immigrated here from Asia, he means?

[Cha]

16. They were here long enough when Colombus came to be called "Native American".. or as

Canada calls them.. "First Nation".

"The majority of authorities agree that the earliest migration via Beringia took place at least 13,500 years ago, with disputed evidence that people had migrated into the Americas much earlier, up to 40,000 years ago."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_peoples_of_the_Americas

[meow2u3]

35. Columbus called the indigenous peoples "Indian" b/c he thought he landed in Asia

AFAIK, that's what the Europeans called the non-Oriental Asians.

Note: "Oriental" was their term, not ours today.

[C Moon]

17. I love this, but somehow I feel the RW media is going to rip this quote to pieces.

[Drunken Irishman]

18. Fuck 'em.

[BlueMTexpat]

20. + about a million ... or so. eom

[BlancheSplanchnik]

25. .

[Wella]

19. Actually, following that logic, the "Native Americans" should also not complain, since they were

from Asia and immigrated here across the land bridge.

In other words, stupid argument. If this is all he has, we're doomed.

[Cha]

21. Stupid argument from those saying our Native Americans came from somewhere else.. yeah about

"13 thousand years ago..".. they were here long enough to be called Native Americans when the slaughter house of Christoper Columbus arrived. Or as Canada calls them.. "First Nation".

"The majority of authorities agree that the earliest migration via Beringia took place at least 13,500 years ago, with disputed evidence that people had migrated into the Americas much earlier, up to 40,000 years ago."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_peoples_of_the_Americas

President Obama is smart enough to know that.. not so much those who are looking for a way to take cheap pot shots and not give our Native Americans their due.



Mahalo DIrish~

[Drunken Irishman]

22. Nitpickers annoy the fuck out of me.

Happy Thanksgiving, Cha!

[Cha]

23. Ignorant cheap pot shots that mean absolutely

nothing.

Deep Roots..



http://deeprootsmag.org/2012/11/17/now-our-minds-are-one-a-native-american-thanksgiving-liturgy/

Happy Thanksgiving to you, DIrish

[BlancheSplanchnik]

26. quite so.

!

Edit to add---and thanks for the cool link, Cha!

[Cha]

27. You're most Welcome, Blanche! Happy Thankgiving to

you~ I was happy to find it myself.. when I googled... "Happy Thanksgiving to our Native Americans"

[BlancheSplanchnik]

29. :)

You struck gold on that one. Ha, I love it when that happens!

[Cha]

28. Our Native Americans Honoring the Land, Blanche..

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025836576#top

[BlancheSplanchnik]

30. wow, thanks, I'd missed that thread. n/t

[Cha]

31. Sure.. I just wanted to highlight how our Native Americans have been on the forefront

against KeystoneXL for a long time now!

[mindem]

32. Bingo!!

I have felt that way for a long time.

[Odin2005]

33. Nailed it!

[Derek V]

34. True that

and Rec!

[Enrique]

36. he's right

as are the people making points about the even earlier inhabitants.

Obama's point is political, which is fine since he is a politician.

[maced666]

37. He forgot about the Clovis people.

What we need is a Clovis lobby.

[grahamhgreen]

39. I say, give Texas back to the indians!!!

[SweetieD]

40. Black Americans are always ignored in the Immigration history mindset

My people were not "immigrants". We were brought here by force to work as slaves. So I hate how everyone says, "well we were all immigrants once". No we weren't.

[colsohlibgal]

42. Don't Agree With Him About Many Things But Not This

Unless you have Native American blood you are a descendant of immigrants. I just shake my head when I hear right wingers talk as what they are not, like me and most people here.

[PowerToThePeople]

45. Good for him. Truth will out. n/t

[hughee99]

47. Exactly! People need to stop complaining about H1-B visas. They are immigrants and

many of you have no right to say something about it.

The one of the great things about America is EVERYONE has a right to say something.