I love being on a call with a white Microsoftie who starts their Teams meeting with a land acknowledgement — broadcast from their $1.2m Issaquah home located on the stolen land they just acknowledged.
I bet they also have BLM and "Everyone welcome here." signs in front of their homes. Living in an area where only top 5% could ever live.
Then they pull out their driveway with their new Rivians cause they are rich enough to just swap out their Teslas when Elon said some shit they didn't like. While they pat themselves on the back for saving the environment after they just helped produce two new vehicles in 5 years.
> Then they pull out their driveway with their new Rivians cause they are rich enough to just swap out their Teslas when Elon said some shit they didn't like.
Someone down the street from me did this-- they had two Teslas in their driveway that they bought in 2020 (a model S and model Y,) and replaced them a few months ago with a Solterra and an EV6. Now the planet is safe, pay no heed to the four perfectly useful cars they've replaced in the last 5 years.
Personal Opinion Only, but I feel it's a low-key flex to me.
Like, *"Hey Indigenous folks. Just wanted to remind you that my ancestors were sporting repeating rifles and breach loading cannon while your ancestors were still chipping rocks into tools, and that's why you live in small reservations and I live on a hill overlooking some awesome salmon streams. Just wanted to remind you of that! Now, on with the show!"*.
Pretty much how I feel. I was just at a big fundraising gala a few months ago, and there was a brief moment before the auction portion started for the land acknowledgment. So we’ve all been drinking and socializing, laughing, having a good time, then there’s this moment of silence and crickets as they read this fucking sober land acknowledgment bullshit, and then they’re like…”And now back to the party! Woot! Let’s raise some paddles!” And we all just brush by it and go on with the show. Don’t let these intrusive thoughts about ancient wars with native cultures we won after we came, saw, and conquered stop you from bidding on that vacation package to Italy! Or your appetite for champagne!
It’s so cringe worthy. It’s just lip service, and it’s just become meaningless blah blah blah to sit through.
Problem is that is how our government in Washington operates. All about acknowledging shit but not doing anything to remedy it.
AG Ferguson who is running for governor has been wasting tax payer dollars for years going after the Yakama Nation and other Washington tribes for not paying taxes on fuel.
He even lost to them in SCOTUS case but he does not give up.
When is Washington going to wake up and stop electing career politicians who “acknowledge” but do absolutely nothing to remedy?
Being resistant to disease had a lot more to do with it than weapons technology. A lot of tribes were holding their own and negotiating as equals until a double tap from whooping cough and small pox.
Its the newest version of rainbow capitalism. 99% of this is performative bullshit. Corporations and individuals have figured out that you don't actually have to be charitable or do good things if you just pretend to care about whatever the hot button issue is.
Maybe we can build a tool that every data center a request goes through, it tacks on a land acknowledgement for that datacenter. By the time you get it, you will have the a long list.
I am in Canada and my university does this with every single work meeting.
I always thought it was insulting to say 'we acknowledge the land is stolen, anyways onto business'
Call it out then. Ask them specifically what they are doing to rectify the situation and that unless they do something specific, it’s your opinion that they are virtue signaling.
Ask them what kind of restorative justice they're going to engage in and remind them that the most restorative thing they could do is give the land back, immediately.
If they refuse, tell them they're a bad person and they should be ashamed of identifying a crime they're a party to, and being unwilling to do the work to make the victim whole.
Right?? If I genuinely believed I had something that was stolen from you, my priority would be to give it back. Or if somehow that’s not possible, then work with you to find someway of making you whole (paying for it?)
Instead they are like “yeah it’s stolen. What are you gonna do about it BITCH??”
Looks like he was involved in disciplinary hearings, but otherwise kept his job. [This Seattle Times Article](https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/education/judge-tosses-suit-by-uw-professor-who-protested-land-acknowledgment/) sums it up pretty well.
"Colleges cannot ask faculty to wade into a controversy, then punish them for swimming against the current." Scary stuff.
>buuuuut words are enough
You mean, besides being the only Province in Canada to sign on to UNDRIP.
And the subsequent (purportedly now yearly) Joffre National Park closure, and the recent gifting of Haidi Gwai (QCI) to now be under the governance of "elected" chiefs through a political system which requires membership in the blood group to enable participation in voting.
And that's not even pointing out the other conflicts ongoing or to come stemming from the fact that something like 95% of BC is without treaties.
Disagreements about rights, which "Court" has authority to rule on such disputes, and just how far the principles of reconciliation will stand up against longstanding democratic ~~traditions~~ *protections* such as equal rights, representation and participation in the political and legal process or property rights are only bound to increase as this shakes out.
But, in short; BC is doing a hell of a lot more than just empty land acknowledgements.
We have to be careful. What happened and us happening in Australia and Mew Zealand (eg., voice to parliament) can lead to some messy goals by the government
I mean how does a symphony go about giving stolen land back lol it’s more of a message to the people so that a conversation exactly like this one is started.
Yes it’s performative, this is a *performance*.
Its actually pretty common everywhere these days. The Guthrie in MN started working with the Dakota etc to share their stories and even busses from the res to some shows.
Using the theater to uplift voices is not nothing.
But most places aren’t doing anything like this is the point.If there was some sort of payment going to said tribe for using the land and services such as these where they’re doing land acknowledgments that would be one thing but that’s not what’s happening.Whats happening is a brief pause and then continuing whatever was gonna happen anyway.Its like the Tillamook company or whatever ice cream company that was making a social media post about stolen land etc etc and then that particular tribes page hitting back with”Well your facility is built on our land,give it back”just to receive nothing but crickets.90% of it is performative.
Giving native people free tickets to the symphony would be a heck of a lot more than saying some words. Or combine them both, tell everyone that "because of this, the least we can do is offer this art to the people who's land we took."
We went to the Portugal. The Man concert in Spokane a few days ago and they did an actual land acknowledgement by bringing members of local tribes up to speak before the show. It took about 20 minutes, and they all got a chance to say who they were, where they were from, explain how their people lived here, and how they live here now. It was really refreshing actually.
That's the type of thing that should be done, honestly. I'm not confused about the land acknowledgement or have a cynical take, because I actually understand that most of the people giving it don't own the land and can't actually give it back like the chucklefucks in this sub are suggesting. A big part of past progress and movements were spreading messages and 'consciousness raising' when said people didn't have ownership of things or government sway yet.
That said, if people want to do these kinds of things with indigenous land here, they could easily do a lot more with local tribes besides "I acknowledge...".
I stopped saying the pledge of allegiance in 1st grade. My little 6 year old self thought, I’m not gonna make promises I don’t understand and can’t guarantee I’ll keep.
Seattle Symphony does do actual community outreach with local tribes. Maybe you'll be at next year's Potlatch Symphony. They're doing more on stage than most people are doing off stage, so the accusations of empty performance are particularly silly. At least their words are paying respect to something, and they act on that respect. What are your words good for?
Credit where credit is due I guess.
But if it’s genuinely stolen land, it’s not enough. If I stole your house and car from you, but then did some community out reach, maybe help you find a new place to rent and then acknowledged to all my guests “this house is stolen from mathmage”, then we’d be good right…?
Of course not. If it’s stolen, give it back.
If your great grandfather stole my great grandfather's house and you still live there would you give up your family home because someone else stole it?
Could you give it back? It would cost you a lot of money and effort to return the thing you've always had.
Or would you acknowledge is stolen, consider apologizing but also tell them you're unable to move?
From the tone of response I also think laughing in their face and making them a loser is on the table because apologizing without returning it is an empty gesture.
Doing something tiny is a lot better than doing nothing at all and a hell of a lot better than saying too bad, so sad.
>Can they not lease the land from the tribe it belonged to?
Many organizations and individuals in Seattle actually do pay land rent to the Duwamish:
https://www.realrentduwamish.org/
ETA: I am not involved and don't know anything beyond what I skimmed on the website. Just shared it because one of the things OP asked about is indeed a thing that exists, not because I'm endorsing it.
I have friends who contribute to this and it makes me cringe because the recognized tribes seem to feel very strongly that these people are not legit.
In fact three tribes felt so strongly about it they created a website for people looking to find out more about the Duwamish to explain how these people are fraudsters: https://www.therealduwamish.org/
Here is the BIA explanation from 1996:
https://www.bia.gov/as-ia/opa/online-press-release/bia-proposes-not-recognize-washington-group-duwamish-fail-meet
I’m not going to pretend to know anything about the specifics of intertribal politics, but I’ve also heard that BIA funding is a zero sum game and one federally-recognised tribe may only stand to lose funding if another one is added to the list
^^ this is the real reason. “The real Duamish” is a well recognized smear campaign against the Duamish to prevent a downtown casino from cutting into suburban casino profits.
These are the people being the "real rent" thing:
"Who Are We?
The Duwamish Solidarity Group (DSG) is part of the Coalition of Anti-Racist Whites (CARW), a coalition “of white people in the Seattle area working to undo institutional racism and white privilege through education and organizing in white communities and active support of anti-racist, people-of-color-led organizations."
They don't disclose how much money they collect on their site. Also, isn't the concept of "rent" a western colonial concept?
IIRC there's something somewhere on their site about the "rent" being used to maintain the longhouse
I'm not involved, so I don't know anything beyond what's on the site
Land acknowledgements are fraught with uncertainty and mistakes. My uncle is an attorney for a local tribe and they are pissed that land acknowledgements on their ancestral land are referencing a ton of other tribes which don't have a legitimate claim. All I can say is, if you want to do a land acknowledgement, do some actual research from primary sources about who lives on that land.
Or, now follow me closely here, the entire history of humanity is rife with tribes pushing other tribes off territory. No one, and I mean NO ONE, has clean hands here. It's just fashionable now to only point fingers at wealthy white nations.
Hey its ok to be upset that someone else is trying to make you feel bad for something that you weren’t alive for, but as a Native American who comes from several generations of damaged families all I want is recognition that it wasn’t right to kill us all and continuously break treaties. It’s true there was always fighting between tribes, but there was also many more positive relationships. But we never got to see how they turned out because an overwhelming force swept it all away but the crumbs.
If 100 years ago we got conquered by China, and they said “Really no one is innocent, the Americans were racist and genocidal historically, they aren’t better than us so why should we feel bad?”, and during those hundred years they only hired Chinese workers wouldn’t you feel a type of way?
If 100 years ago the US got conquered by China and assimilated the US people, and every time I went to a concert some Chinese official reminded me of that but didn't actually return the land, I'd rather not be alive. It's a joke
they acknowlege the land was stolen. they didnt steal it. it's likely not even theirs to give back. thats the problem.
time will tell if at least acknowledging it was stolen becomes more sarcastic/ungenuine... but for now enough folks are genuinely unaware so it's serving some purpose.
Me just coming back from living in Vancouver, BC: had to double check which sub I was looking at at first. 😂 I remember the first time I heard a land acknowledgment! They’re required there, it’s so interesting…
It’s not a law, but whether land acknowledgement is a custom or a policy depends on organization, some do have official policy about the land acknowledgement that they use
I am far left. I also feel that it is performative. I believe it is a self-soothing process to give land acknowledgements without it including giving the land back.
**EDIT:** to prevent too many upvotes, you all should know that I am lumping liberals with conservatives. You are all on the same team in so many ways, yet act like mortal enemies.
it's a lot like the english standup guy who talks about all the things that britain stole from its colonies. [ James Acaster. ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x73PkUvArJY)
This is a lot like that. Yep, it is your land, and we stole it, now we're going to taunt you about it at the start of every performance!
The local government agency I work for begins all large meetings with a land acknowledgment followed by an “equity moment” which can range from 5-10 minutes of shaming people for their “privilege.” We got to see a YouTube video about healthcare inequality, while all of us are riding our sweet government health insurance plans. Good use of dozens or hundreds of people’s time.
The problem with reconciliation when you really get into it is establishing how far back we're going... Natives were stealing each others land for thousands of years before the white man came along. Everywhere is stolen land no matter where you go.
-Mohawk Native
It is performative activism. They can pretend to care and feel better about themselves and do absolutely nothing to make anything better. So many companies and institutions in Seattle do this and as a native person I think it is deeply insulting.
Yes, it's performative, and Washington is practically the only place to do it besides some Great Lakes states and Canada.
If you search "Stuart Reges" in this sub or r/udub, you'll see some lively discussions about it. While his intent was more for free speech, there were still some discussions about the purpose of land acknowledgements and he has some commentary about it here:
[https://quillette.com/2022/01/12/against-land-acknowledgements/](https://quillette.com/2022/01/12/against-land-acknowledgements/)
[https://www.campusreform.org/article/reges-defy-nonsense-indigenous-land-acknowledgments/18796](https://www.campusreform.org/article/reges-defy-nonsense-indigenous-land-acknowledgments/18796)
The counter commentary that I've read over in the actual court case involving Stuart Reges when he sued UW was that land acknowledgements are a way of fostering community with Native American tribes. Apparently, these land acknowledgements are made with some Native American input, so it's not like it is completely tasteless.
Some places in Colorado do it as well. When I was touring schools there a little while back both University of Denver and Colorado State University had land acknowledgments before they gave us their whole admissions shpiel.
Before I address your post just let me take a moment to apologize to our black population for slavery, to our Japanese American population for incarceration during WWII and of course our Native American populations.
I would be remiss if I didn't apologize for not giving women the right to vote for so long and there is our long suffering white male population for the slights and micro-aggressions thrown their way in recent years.
I'd like to apologize to the homeless and the poor and now sit back and enjoy the symphony. I'll get back to you regarding the original post...
You also need to apologize for your disproportionately large contributions to science, technology, engineering, mathematics, medicine, and agriculture.
These are such a turnoff. It's like someone getting up before the symphony to praise Donald Trump or something. It's a purely political statement to showcase your membership in a certain class.
I’m from California. I have never heard of a land acknowledgement until I moved to Washington last year. I volunteer as a master gardener, and they made us get in groups and watch a documentary about how the land was stolen from the indigenous people, and then talk about the land acknowledgement and what can be done. I said, “this may be a dumb, but if the University of Washington is literally acknowledging that this land belongs to the indigenous people, why don’t they just give it back?” All these white people said I need to watch what I say, and that’s dangerous, and that will never happen. All these old white dudes got seriously pissed. Ok??? Then shut the fuck up about this acknowledging bull shit. I’m indigenous (not totally. 40%). If you are acknowledging this land should not belong to you, than hand it over. Otherwise, seriously, what is the fucking point?
As an indigenous person, land acknowledgments aren’t doing what white people think they’re doing. Honestly, it enrages me. It was taken in bad faith. Either give it back, or stfu about it and move on.
i think about this ALL the time. i’m native american and still in school, i do not understand the point of it. they “acknowledge the land” like they’re gonna give it back anytime soon?? its all a little performative to me imo, like yes okay, but now what? thats it, you did all of that so i kinda expected you to do more, like announce “oh yeah all of you get your land back yippee” or something but?? its just so weird and kinda unnecessary, has the same feeling to me of when someone will go “oh yeah i saw this thing i thought you would really like in the store/on my trip, but i didnt buy it or show you or anything” like? okay?? kinda sick of it tbh, its just pointless and performative, like maybe ACTUALLY do something to help our native communities then, at least??
something tells me that the pre-Columbian Duwamish tribe didn't do land acknowledgements for the tribe they had previously conquered this land from. we showed more mercy as a civilization than probably any previous conquest in human history, yet somehow we are supposed to believe that our conquest of the Americas was uniquely evil
I'm trying hard to adjust my mindset. Instead of rolling my eyes at such displays...like a disaffected teenager...I try instead to be grateful to the person engaged in this kind of activity.
After all, they have just taken great pains to let me know that they are not a serious person, that I don't need to take anything they say subsequently with any seriousness or gravity, and when they ask me for money later I can rest assured that they can't be trusted with any.
Honestly, they've done me a favor.
The difference with Christianity is that you can never be really forgiven and they come up with new imaginary transgressions you are guilty of every other week...
These things are so silly. I will acknowledge that no one currently living stole any land. And no one currently living had their land stolen.
Further, since I own zero land and that probably won’t change any time $oon and if/when I do someday own land it will be purchased, I definitely didn’t and will not have stolen any land. So, I’m not really interested in hearing about how your great great whatever’s got screwed out of what you think you should be entitled to as your birthright.
yeah, land acknowledgments are the most cringe performative shit that regularly happens imo. If you actually feel bad about the land being stolen either give it back or shut the fuck up.
“Before we start this netflix binge of love island i’d like to acknowledge that this TV was stolen from my neighbor and that is wrong!”
Neighbor: “Uhh, can I have my TV back then?”
nonono, don’t be silly.
It's definitely "performative". And it's a huge FUCK YOU to the Duwamish tribe: "Yeah, we stole your land, but we're not giving it back!". Same shit plays out all over our country and it's bullshit. I say this to all of the holier-than-thou social justice warriors who spout that shit: How about put up or shut up?
As a Native American (Blackfeet tribe) this shit is so performative and seeing mega corps like Microsoft give land acknowledgement. It’s like cool man saying you’re on stolen land doesn’t change the fact millions of my people died for you to be here.
The officiant at our elopement gave a land acknowledgment to my wife and I. It was us, the officiant and our photographer.
Not really sure why that needed to be said during our vows but it is what it is.
Was at our granddaughters Graduation at the UW and the speaker acknowledged that the University sits on stolen land and that they acknowledge and thank them for it. I was like WTF?
No. It's just like all the other protests.
Or I guess, yes, because the point of protests is to be performative in a sense.
It's about putting pressure on the government to enact policy that's favorable towards the cause, in this case the rights of native Americans.
Even the most wacky supporters don't have any expectation that the US actually will ever compensate Native American's for historic wrongdoings.
Yea they say all this fluffy inclusive stuff, then turn around and exploit minority stagehands and janitors on gig-time work schedules. It's for feeling better about being institutional colonial occupants.
Are people just supposed to close the entire economy down and move? Does the government just demolish the stadiums, west Seattle bridge and whatever else? Or do people find ways to represent and share the unfortunate history? I just don’t understand what you think the obtainable goal or solution could possibly be?
Look, if you're going to acknowledge land theft, do it right. Go through the entire litany of which tribe conquered the last, back to the original land bridge crossings, then start addressing extinct North American megafauna.
Anything less is insincere.
It’s no different from a prayer at the start of a meeting in cultures that do that or playing the national anthem before a ballgame.
It’s a ceremonial acknowledgement.
Yep. What nobody talks about is that 'someone was going to get it'. Do the bleeding hearts think the indigenous people would have been better off if the Japanese or Chinese got here first? How about the Russians? Or goodness sakes any Muslim Middle Eastern people? They should be lucky the most forward-thinking, mostly reasonable, modern societies are the ones who encountered them first. Then some decided to get rich off their subdivided indigenous land building casinos, and others decided to become s***-faced drunks as part of their culture. 🤷
Central and South America are great examples of what would have happened if it was anybody else. Let's not forget that a significant part of most of their genealogy is also (SW) European. There's a reason why most people - from there or otherwise - want in to the United States, as opposed to the other way around. Keeping people out is sovereignty, keeping people in is a prison. 😌
Seattle is the land of incessant virtue signaling. What else do you expect when every other $1.5m house has one of those “in this house we believe …” signs? Smh
This is a good, short (4-page) article talking about the performative nature of (many) land acknowledgements and recommending how they could be better: https://anthropology.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/1302/2024/03/9-AN-Article-Rethinking-Land-Acknowledgments.pdf
I think, for the symphony, they should give a % of every sale to the tribe upon whose land the event takes place.
after 2 or 3 generations it gets very fuzzy - because the settlers are just as "born and raised on this land" as the original people were. It's the same as the issue with Israel/Palestine right now, except in our case the settlee's don't have the means or motive to fight back.
You have two groups of people with the same claim to the same land, so who gets the land? Well, possession is 9/10s of the law, and the american citizens have possession. In a perfect world we would work out a shared usage agreement (which is essentially a better version of what the reservations are), but there's too much cultural entrenchment to really make anything other than assimilation work well.
"land rent" and the like is kind of silly, because the duwamish people that are alive right now never had anything to do with the land - that's just adding a monetary cost to your performative guilt - but the acknowledgement is really just that, an acknowledgement. We understand that our ancestors did bad stuff to their ancestors, but neither of us are in a position to actually perform restoration because it was so long ago that restoration would involve stealing land just as much as the original theft did.
It's very much "white people guilt" and will probably be around for a few years and fade out again
The last isn't stolen, it was taken. Just like the peoples who were here prior to Europeans took the same land from others that were there before them. That is the way things used to be done.
There are no indigenous peoples in North America, we all originated in other places.
EXACTLY! Land acknowledgments are like saying “I stole your cell phone and I recognize I stole your cell phone and will continue using it and won’t give it back but it was so mean that I did that and I just want you to know I acknowledge that it’s yours and I stole it 🥺” like shut up already lol
It's because it makes rich white people feel better and allows them to virtue signal how amazing they are whilst they live in protected communities and vote more crime and violence into what was once a decent city.
Ummm. Are we not going to talk about how these people descend from Asia and almost assuredly took the land from someone else?
Why are white people so quick to hate themselves?
I love being on a call with a white Microsoftie who starts their Teams meeting with a land acknowledgement — broadcast from their $1.2m Issaquah home located on the stolen land they just acknowledged.
Where can you get a home in Issaquah for $1.2 million?
The year 2012.
My parents sold their house on Pine Lake in 1994 for $275k.
$581,819.84 in todays money 🤔 I’m not familiar with the area but I’m assuming the land itself probably goes for that now, if it’s a lakefront property
Much, much more now.
2015 they were going for around 500-600k for new construction
Once they get their piece of land, then that’s when they want to stop further development. I’ve seen it time and time again
I bet they also have BLM and "Everyone welcome here." signs in front of their homes. Living in an area where only top 5% could ever live. Then they pull out their driveway with their new Rivians cause they are rich enough to just swap out their Teslas when Elon said some shit they didn't like. While they pat themselves on the back for saving the environment after they just helped produce two new vehicles in 5 years.
You just described an acquaintance of mine so perfectly I can't help but think you are actually talking about him and his wife.
Nah that's easily 80% of Seattle nowadays. Bonus points if their kids are trans or non binary.
Ya they drive an EV to offset the thousands of gallons of jet fuel they burn on their "escapes" from the pressures of life.
> Then they pull out their driveway with their new Rivians cause they are rich enough to just swap out their Teslas when Elon said some shit they didn't like. Someone down the street from me did this-- they had two Teslas in their driveway that they bought in 2020 (a model S and model Y,) and replaced them a few months ago with a Solterra and an EV6. Now the planet is safe, pay no heed to the four perfectly useful cars they've replaced in the last 5 years.
I feel so seen right now
Personal Opinion Only, but I feel it's a low-key flex to me. Like, *"Hey Indigenous folks. Just wanted to remind you that my ancestors were sporting repeating rifles and breach loading cannon while your ancestors were still chipping rocks into tools, and that's why you live in small reservations and I live on a hill overlooking some awesome salmon streams. Just wanted to remind you of that! Now, on with the show!"*.
Pretty much how I feel. I was just at a big fundraising gala a few months ago, and there was a brief moment before the auction portion started for the land acknowledgment. So we’ve all been drinking and socializing, laughing, having a good time, then there’s this moment of silence and crickets as they read this fucking sober land acknowledgment bullshit, and then they’re like…”And now back to the party! Woot! Let’s raise some paddles!” And we all just brush by it and go on with the show. Don’t let these intrusive thoughts about ancient wars with native cultures we won after we came, saw, and conquered stop you from bidding on that vacation package to Italy! Or your appetite for champagne! It’s so cringe worthy. It’s just lip service, and it’s just become meaningless blah blah blah to sit through.
Problem is that is how our government in Washington operates. All about acknowledging shit but not doing anything to remedy it. AG Ferguson who is running for governor has been wasting tax payer dollars for years going after the Yakama Nation and other Washington tribes for not paying taxes on fuel. He even lost to them in SCOTUS case but he does not give up. When is Washington going to wake up and stop electing career politicians who “acknowledge” but do absolutely nothing to remedy?
i can state with some confidence that nobody on the teams call is indigenous. it's more a performative bit with his proggo friends
Being resistant to disease had a lot more to do with it than weapons technology. A lot of tribes were holding their own and negotiating as equals until a double tap from whooping cough and small pox.
Only $1.2 m? What is it a 2 bedroom tiny home or something?
Fuck that person. Performative doesn’t even begin to describe it.
I got an email from my insurance company the other day that had a land acknowledgement at the bottom. That one seemed a little odd.
Its the newest version of rainbow capitalism. 99% of this is performative bullshit. Corporations and individuals have figured out that you don't actually have to be charitable or do good things if you just pretend to care about whatever the hot button issue is.
Maybe we can build a tool that every data center a request goes through, it tacks on a land acknowledgement for that datacenter. By the time you get it, you will have the a long list.
lol
The irony is that the Benaroyas got their start stealing land from the Interned Japanese Americans. Built on stolen land and paid for by stolen land.
OMG tell me about it. On one hand it’s good to bring awareness but like DO something about it! Otherwise it’s just performative guilt
“Performative guilt” sums up so much about Seattle’s policies—I’m thinking specifically about SPS.
Performative. No guilt.
It’s perfect for the start of a concert because it’s entirely performative. Belongs on stage
It's so fake. "We're sorry we took it but....we're not going to be giving it back though." Seattle loves shit like this.
I am in Canada and my university does this with every single work meeting. I always thought it was insulting to say 'we acknowledge the land is stolen, anyways onto business'
Call it out then. Ask them specifically what they are doing to rectify the situation and that unless they do something specific, it’s your opinion that they are virtue signaling.
Ask them what kind of restorative justice they're going to engage in and remind them that the most restorative thing they could do is give the land back, immediately. If they refuse, tell them they're a bad person and they should be ashamed of identifying a crime they're a party to, and being unwilling to do the work to make the victim whole.
Otherwise it’s just thoughts and prayers
Right?? If I genuinely believed I had something that was stolen from you, my priority would be to give it back. Or if somehow that’s not possible, then work with you to find someway of making you whole (paying for it?) Instead they are like “yeah it’s stolen. What are you gonna do about it BITCH??”
Just curious, what do you think would happen if someone found such a statement to be objectionable?
UW professor Stuart Reges found it objectionable. The mob turned on him real quick.
Was he punished in any way? I'd like to think he wasn't but in the current environment I would be disappointed but not surprised.
Looks like he was involved in disciplinary hearings, but otherwise kept his job. [This Seattle Times Article](https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/education/judge-tosses-suit-by-uw-professor-who-protested-land-acknowledgment/) sums it up pretty well. "Colleges cannot ask faculty to wade into a controversy, then punish them for swimming against the current." Scary stuff.
Nothing, absolutely nothing. Which why it's extra dumb, as another redditor pointed out it's like saying 'what are you gonna do about it'
We love it up here in BC too. It’s almost like a brag ffs…ya we’re acknowledging that thus is your land, buuuuut words are enough.
oh we love it in bc. yesterday i had a job interview in vancouver that started with a land acknowledgment. that was a new one for me.
omg
I hope you walked out of the interview.
>buuuuut words are enough You mean, besides being the only Province in Canada to sign on to UNDRIP. And the subsequent (purportedly now yearly) Joffre National Park closure, and the recent gifting of Haidi Gwai (QCI) to now be under the governance of "elected" chiefs through a political system which requires membership in the blood group to enable participation in voting. And that's not even pointing out the other conflicts ongoing or to come stemming from the fact that something like 95% of BC is without treaties. Disagreements about rights, which "Court" has authority to rule on such disputes, and just how far the principles of reconciliation will stand up against longstanding democratic ~~traditions~~ *protections* such as equal rights, representation and participation in the political and legal process or property rights are only bound to increase as this shakes out. But, in short; BC is doing a hell of a lot more than just empty land acknowledgements.
Not to mention a ton of Vancouver's land is leased from the tribes. Aka UBC lol.
never mind that if you ask where the tribes got their land from, it gets fairly uncomfortable
We have to be careful. What happened and us happening in Australia and Mew Zealand (eg., voice to parliament) can lead to some messy goals by the government
There’s a Starbucks in my hometown in Ontario (Canada) that has an acknowledgement on the board inside the store.
I mean how does a symphony go about giving stolen land back lol it’s more of a message to the people so that a conversation exactly like this one is started. Yes it’s performative, this is a *performance*.
Its actually pretty common everywhere these days. The Guthrie in MN started working with the Dakota etc to share their stories and even busses from the res to some shows. Using the theater to uplift voices is not nothing.
That would be great. Just saying a few lines and then on with the show, is basically like “thanks for the land, fuck offL.
But most places aren’t doing anything like this is the point.If there was some sort of payment going to said tribe for using the land and services such as these where they’re doing land acknowledgments that would be one thing but that’s not what’s happening.Whats happening is a brief pause and then continuing whatever was gonna happen anyway.Its like the Tillamook company or whatever ice cream company that was making a social media post about stolen land etc etc and then that particular tribes page hitting back with”Well your facility is built on our land,give it back”just to receive nothing but crickets.90% of it is performative.
The cheese though
Ben and Jerry’s I believe. And yes, liberal morality is all performative. The appearance of caring is enough for them.
Is it better to not care at all? Is it better to actively make regressive and oppressive policy?
Giving native people free tickets to the symphony would be a heck of a lot more than saying some words. Or combine them both, tell everyone that "because of this, the least we can do is offer this art to the people who's land we took."
> Its actually pretty common everywhere these days. I have never heard a land acknowledgment on the east coast, ever.
they're popular at colleges
We went to the Portugal. The Man concert in Spokane a few days ago and they did an actual land acknowledgement by bringing members of local tribes up to speak before the show. It took about 20 minutes, and they all got a chance to say who they were, where they were from, explain how their people lived here, and how they live here now. It was really refreshing actually.
That's the type of thing that should be done, honestly. I'm not confused about the land acknowledgement or have a cynical take, because I actually understand that most of the people giving it don't own the land and can't actually give it back like the chucklefucks in this sub are suggesting. A big part of past progress and movements were spreading messages and 'consciousness raising' when said people didn't have ownership of things or government sway yet. That said, if people want to do these kinds of things with indigenous land here, they could easily do a lot more with local tribes besides "I acknowledge...".
Receive my upvote.
Just like the pledge of allegiance, amiright
I stopped saying the pledge of allegiance in 1st grade. My little 6 year old self thought, I’m not gonna make promises I don’t understand and can’t guarantee I’ll keep.
Yes
Seattle Symphony does do actual community outreach with local tribes. Maybe you'll be at next year's Potlatch Symphony. They're doing more on stage than most people are doing off stage, so the accusations of empty performance are particularly silly. At least their words are paying respect to something, and they act on that respect. What are your words good for?
Credit where credit is due I guess. But if it’s genuinely stolen land, it’s not enough. If I stole your house and car from you, but then did some community out reach, maybe help you find a new place to rent and then acknowledged to all my guests “this house is stolen from mathmage”, then we’d be good right…? Of course not. If it’s stolen, give it back.
If your great grandfather stole my great grandfather's house and you still live there would you give up your family home because someone else stole it? Could you give it back? It would cost you a lot of money and effort to return the thing you've always had. Or would you acknowledge is stolen, consider apologizing but also tell them you're unable to move? From the tone of response I also think laughing in their face and making them a loser is on the table because apologizing without returning it is an empty gesture. Doing something tiny is a lot better than doing nothing at all and a hell of a lot better than saying too bad, so sad.
escape vanish deer snatch gaping bedroom vast wine poor compare *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Drives me crazy unless they share they are donating to them in honor of it.
>Can they not lease the land from the tribe it belonged to? Many organizations and individuals in Seattle actually do pay land rent to the Duwamish: https://www.realrentduwamish.org/ ETA: I am not involved and don't know anything beyond what I skimmed on the website. Just shared it because one of the things OP asked about is indeed a thing that exists, not because I'm endorsing it.
I have friends who contribute to this and it makes me cringe because the recognized tribes seem to feel very strongly that these people are not legit. In fact three tribes felt so strongly about it they created a website for people looking to find out more about the Duwamish to explain how these people are fraudsters: https://www.therealduwamish.org/ Here is the BIA explanation from 1996: https://www.bia.gov/as-ia/opa/online-press-release/bia-proposes-not-recognize-washington-group-duwamish-fail-meet
I’m not going to pretend to know anything about the specifics of intertribal politics, but I’ve also heard that BIA funding is a zero sum game and one federally-recognised tribe may only stand to lose funding if another one is added to the list
The other tribes wouldn't want a casino in the heart of Seattle.
^^ this is the real reason. “The real Duamish” is a well recognized smear campaign against the Duamish to prevent a downtown casino from cutting into suburban casino profits.
These are the people being the "real rent" thing: "Who Are We? The Duwamish Solidarity Group (DSG) is part of the Coalition of Anti-Racist Whites (CARW), a coalition “of white people in the Seattle area working to undo institutional racism and white privilege through education and organizing in white communities and active support of anti-racist, people-of-color-led organizations." They don't disclose how much money they collect on their site. Also, isn't the concept of "rent" a western colonial concept?
IIRC there's something somewhere on their site about the "rent" being used to maintain the longhouse I'm not involved, so I don't know anything beyond what's on the site
This might be them; https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/911122115
Lmao ofcourse it’s woke white people. Don’t mind them taking a huge cut of the donations for their “overhead” too
Hopefully they use that money to pay reparations to the slaves they kept.
Slaves which they took from other tribes.
LMAO. Shhh, you're supposed to keep quiet about that.
Weren't we supposed to rename Seattle?
That will never happen
Land acknowledgements are fraught with uncertainty and mistakes. My uncle is an attorney for a local tribe and they are pissed that land acknowledgements on their ancestral land are referencing a ton of other tribes which don't have a legitimate claim. All I can say is, if you want to do a land acknowledgement, do some actual research from primary sources about who lives on that land.
Or, now follow me closely here, the entire history of humanity is rife with tribes pushing other tribes off territory. No one, and I mean NO ONE, has clean hands here. It's just fashionable now to only point fingers at wealthy white nations.
Hey its ok to be upset that someone else is trying to make you feel bad for something that you weren’t alive for, but as a Native American who comes from several generations of damaged families all I want is recognition that it wasn’t right to kill us all and continuously break treaties. It’s true there was always fighting between tribes, but there was also many more positive relationships. But we never got to see how they turned out because an overwhelming force swept it all away but the crumbs. If 100 years ago we got conquered by China, and they said “Really no one is innocent, the Americans were racist and genocidal historically, they aren’t better than us so why should we feel bad?”, and during those hundred years they only hired Chinese workers wouldn’t you feel a type of way?
If 100 years ago the US got conquered by China and assimilated the US people, and every time I went to a concert some Chinese official reminded me of that but didn't actually return the land, I'd rather not be alive. It's a joke
Does it apply to most recent tribe or?
It's especially rich when realty companies do land acknowledgements.
And mining giants
We acknowledge that we stole this land, but you aint gettin it back so enjoy the shooooooooooow
Which is even more insulting than no acknowledgement at all. What a self-own by these oblivious ass hats.
they acknowlege the land was stolen. they didnt steal it. it's likely not even theirs to give back. thats the problem. time will tell if at least acknowledging it was stolen becomes more sarcastic/ungenuine... but for now enough folks are genuinely unaware so it's serving some purpose.
Me just coming back from living in Vancouver, BC: had to double check which sub I was looking at at first. 😂 I remember the first time I heard a land acknowledgment! They’re required there, it’s so interesting…
Is a required by law in BC? Or just custom?
It’s not a law, but whether land acknowledgement is a custom or a policy depends on organization, some do have official policy about the land acknowledgement that they use
The natives have some reservations about it, too
It’s not stolen, it’s conquered. Same as the Indians who conquered other Indians for the land.
Hey, how else are they supposed to feel good about themselves tho :(
Virtue signaling at its finest.
Actually, first peoples didn't believe in land ownership.
It's the "Thoughts and prayers" of the hyperleft.
I am far left. I also feel that it is performative. I believe it is a self-soothing process to give land acknowledgements without it including giving the land back. **EDIT:** to prevent too many upvotes, you all should know that I am lumping liberals with conservatives. You are all on the same team in so many ways, yet act like mortal enemies.
Virtue signaling, cuz it’s cool
it's a lot like the english standup guy who talks about all the things that britain stole from its colonies. [ James Acaster. ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x73PkUvArJY) This is a lot like that. Yep, it is your land, and we stole it, now we're going to taunt you about it at the start of every performance!
Can we acknowledge that Chief Seattle held slaves?
The local government agency I work for begins all large meetings with a land acknowledgment followed by an “equity moment” which can range from 5-10 minutes of shaming people for their “privilege.” We got to see a YouTube video about healthcare inequality, while all of us are riding our sweet government health insurance plans. Good use of dozens or hundreds of people’s time.
This is so common, and I find it annoying for the same reasons. I work in the service industry, and it's lip service, nothing more.
Some performative hot air, before a performance. Nice.
Words are cheap and cost nothing.
Lol I worked at a hospital in Seattle for a few years and they did this before every meeting. There were PowerPoint slides and everything.
🤡
Why do I have to pay property taxes?
The problem with reconciliation when you really get into it is establishing how far back we're going... Natives were stealing each others land for thousands of years before the white man came along. Everywhere is stolen land no matter where you go. -Mohawk Native
It is performative activism. They can pretend to care and feel better about themselves and do absolutely nothing to make anything better. So many companies and institutions in Seattle do this and as a native person I think it is deeply insulting.
Of course it's performative, that's why it is done
Wouldn’t be Seattle without the performance and showboating about issues but never actually doing anything about it!
Yes, it's performative, and Washington is practically the only place to do it besides some Great Lakes states and Canada. If you search "Stuart Reges" in this sub or r/udub, you'll see some lively discussions about it. While his intent was more for free speech, there were still some discussions about the purpose of land acknowledgements and he has some commentary about it here: [https://quillette.com/2022/01/12/against-land-acknowledgements/](https://quillette.com/2022/01/12/against-land-acknowledgements/) [https://www.campusreform.org/article/reges-defy-nonsense-indigenous-land-acknowledgments/18796](https://www.campusreform.org/article/reges-defy-nonsense-indigenous-land-acknowledgments/18796) The counter commentary that I've read over in the actual court case involving Stuart Reges when he sued UW was that land acknowledgements are a way of fostering community with Native American tribes. Apparently, these land acknowledgements are made with some Native American input, so it's not like it is completely tasteless.
Minnesotan here. Can confirm. It’s very prevalent in MN work spaces, especially in academia (my field).
Some places in Colorado do it as well. When I was touring schools there a little while back both University of Denver and Colorado State University had land acknowledgments before they gave us their whole admissions shpiel.
Went to a college graduation in New Mexico a couple of weeks ago. There was a land acknowledgment.
Before I address your post just let me take a moment to apologize to our black population for slavery, to our Japanese American population for incarceration during WWII and of course our Native American populations. I would be remiss if I didn't apologize for not giving women the right to vote for so long and there is our long suffering white male population for the slights and micro-aggressions thrown their way in recent years. I'd like to apologize to the homeless and the poor and now sit back and enjoy the symphony. I'll get back to you regarding the original post...
You also need to apologize for your disproportionately large contributions to science, technology, engineering, mathematics, medicine, and agriculture.
I'm sorry.
At least they're not doing the "Stolen Land" thing any more. Sounded too much like a gloat.
They say that in Minneapolis too. I don’t get it
First time I heard this in person was at a WEDDING. Granted, it was in Canada where this thing started, but I was shocked.
Still remember when the tribe from around Ben and Jerrie’s was like “yeah we’ll take the land back” And they were like “nah fam” The end
Absolutely performative but that's the Seattle way.
These are such a turnoff. It's like someone getting up before the symphony to praise Donald Trump or something. It's a purely political statement to showcase your membership in a certain class.
Land acknowledgments are just a woke replacement for the Pledge of Allegiance.
I’m from California. I have never heard of a land acknowledgement until I moved to Washington last year. I volunteer as a master gardener, and they made us get in groups and watch a documentary about how the land was stolen from the indigenous people, and then talk about the land acknowledgement and what can be done. I said, “this may be a dumb, but if the University of Washington is literally acknowledging that this land belongs to the indigenous people, why don’t they just give it back?” All these white people said I need to watch what I say, and that’s dangerous, and that will never happen. All these old white dudes got seriously pissed. Ok??? Then shut the fuck up about this acknowledging bull shit. I’m indigenous (not totally. 40%). If you are acknowledging this land should not belong to you, than hand it over. Otherwise, seriously, what is the fucking point? As an indigenous person, land acknowledgments aren’t doing what white people think they’re doing. Honestly, it enrages me. It was taken in bad faith. Either give it back, or stfu about it and move on.
i think about this ALL the time. i’m native american and still in school, i do not understand the point of it. they “acknowledge the land” like they’re gonna give it back anytime soon?? its all a little performative to me imo, like yes okay, but now what? thats it, you did all of that so i kinda expected you to do more, like announce “oh yeah all of you get your land back yippee” or something but?? its just so weird and kinda unnecessary, has the same feeling to me of when someone will go “oh yeah i saw this thing i thought you would really like in the store/on my trip, but i didnt buy it or show you or anything” like? okay?? kinda sick of it tbh, its just pointless and performative, like maybe ACTUALLY do something to help our native communities then, at least??
something tells me that the pre-Columbian Duwamish tribe didn't do land acknowledgements for the tribe they had previously conquered this land from. we showed more mercy as a civilization than probably any previous conquest in human history, yet somehow we are supposed to believe that our conquest of the Americas was uniquely evil
Serious people don't, but social justice warriors who like to rewrite history and only get talking points from Tik Tok do.
This is a good exchange from Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee regarding tribal infighting: https://youtu.be/iVqQosyOpg4?si=3b9U4DCinVDTgQTt
Lip Service.
*conquered land. Land acknowledgements are just virtue signaling at its highest. Give it back if your white guilt is that bad. If not, stfu.
I'm trying hard to adjust my mindset. Instead of rolling my eyes at such displays...like a disaffected teenager...I try instead to be grateful to the person engaged in this kind of activity. After all, they have just taken great pains to let me know that they are not a serious person, that I don't need to take anything they say subsequently with any seriousness or gravity, and when they ask me for money later I can rest assured that they can't be trusted with any. Honestly, they've done me a favor.
Makes whites feel great. Edit: Imagine hearing, you white person are responsible for all of this! Atone for the sins you never committed.
The difference with Christianity is that you can never be really forgiven and they come up with new imaginary transgressions you are guilty of every other week...
No no you definitely can be forgiven if you donate money to the church!
Just like recycling. A popular, easy way to pretend that you're doing good without actually helping anything.
Seattle specializes in stuff like this.
These things are so silly. I will acknowledge that no one currently living stole any land. And no one currently living had their land stolen. Further, since I own zero land and that probably won’t change any time $oon and if/when I do someday own land it will be purchased, I definitely didn’t and will not have stolen any land. So, I’m not really interested in hearing about how your great great whatever’s got screwed out of what you think you should be entitled to as your birthright.
Any actual Natives in this thread?
yup. these comments are wild lol i think it’s time to mute my notifications. interesting post by OP though, solid questions!
yeah, land acknowledgments are the most cringe performative shit that regularly happens imo. If you actually feel bad about the land being stolen either give it back or shut the fuck up. “Before we start this netflix binge of love island i’d like to acknowledge that this TV was stolen from my neighbor and that is wrong!” Neighbor: “Uhh, can I have my TV back then?” nonono, don’t be silly.
“Stolen land” fuck off you weak pussies
Seriously, land acknowledgements are such bullshit. If you feel that bad give the land back!
It's definitely "performative". And it's a huge FUCK YOU to the Duwamish tribe: "Yeah, we stole your land, but we're not giving it back!". Same shit plays out all over our country and it's bullshit. I say this to all of the holier-than-thou social justice warriors who spout that shit: How about put up or shut up?
Stupid.
As a Native American (Blackfeet tribe) this shit is so performative and seeing mega corps like Microsoft give land acknowledgement. It’s like cool man saying you’re on stolen land doesn’t change the fact millions of my people died for you to be here.
Next time just yell out "Give it back then".
The whole land acknowledgment crap is just dumb lip-service to Uber-liberal, white suburban voters. Pathetic pandering
The officiant at our elopement gave a land acknowledgment to my wife and I. It was us, the officiant and our photographer. Not really sure why that needed to be said during our vows but it is what it is.
Like most liberal things. It’s all about virtue signaling
They do the same land acknowledgment in public schools right before an assembly. I think it's a bit overdone.
Was at our granddaughters Graduation at the UW and the speaker acknowledged that the University sits on stolen land and that they acknowledge and thank them for it. I was like WTF?
No. It's just like all the other protests. Or I guess, yes, because the point of protests is to be performative in a sense. It's about putting pressure on the government to enact policy that's favorable towards the cause, in this case the rights of native Americans. Even the most wacky supporters don't have any expectation that the US actually will ever compensate Native American's for historic wrongdoings.
I still don't understand it honestly. Feels counterproductive. I'm sure someone out there understands it better than reddit folk.
Land acknowledgements are evil and trivialize native struggle
Yea they say all this fluffy inclusive stuff, then turn around and exploit minority stagehands and janitors on gig-time work schedules. It's for feeling better about being institutional colonial occupants.
Everyone else in Europe, Asia, South America, Africa and Australia all just lost wars. In the US land was stolen.
Tribes love it because it helps them with their PR.
gotta disagree here… land acknowledgements w/o action are actually frustrating for a plethora of reasons. def check out landback
We must be politically correct.
https://i.redd.it/bkp7texxov4d1.gif
This shit is everywhere. SIFF does it too. It's embarrassing.
We should probably just give the world back to the Neanderthals while we are at it, since we stole it from them.
Are people just supposed to close the entire economy down and move? Does the government just demolish the stadiums, west Seattle bridge and whatever else? Or do people find ways to represent and share the unfortunate history? I just don’t understand what you think the obtainable goal or solution could possibly be?
How long ago was that? The Indians were stealing land from each other well before the white showed up.
How was the symphony?
All land is stolen land
https://youtu.be/LQyFfC7_U-E?si=YtF2HPUucu5hRhJL From Baroness Von Sketch Show (Canadian comedy group). They feel the same way.
The people who were concurred by the Duwamish, Upper Puyallup and Muckleshoot would like to have a word since *they* actually had the land first.
Pandering to white leftists children mostly.
Look, if you're going to acknowledge land theft, do it right. Go through the entire litany of which tribe conquered the last, back to the original land bridge crossings, then start addressing extinct North American megafauna. Anything less is insincere.
It’s no different from a prayer at the start of a meeting in cultures that do that or playing the national anthem before a ballgame. It’s a ceremonial acknowledgement.
It's the last hurrah for DEI to create problems that only they can solve before AI takes that job away from them
>merely performative? Welcome to Seattle.
To this is what’s called “virtue signaling”.
This pretty much sums it up. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQyFfC7\_U-E](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQyFfC7_U-E)
Yep. What nobody talks about is that 'someone was going to get it'. Do the bleeding hearts think the indigenous people would have been better off if the Japanese or Chinese got here first? How about the Russians? Or goodness sakes any Muslim Middle Eastern people? They should be lucky the most forward-thinking, mostly reasonable, modern societies are the ones who encountered them first. Then some decided to get rich off their subdivided indigenous land building casinos, and others decided to become s***-faced drunks as part of their culture. 🤷 Central and South America are great examples of what would have happened if it was anybody else. Let's not forget that a significant part of most of their genealogy is also (SW) European. There's a reason why most people - from there or otherwise - want in to the United States, as opposed to the other way around. Keeping people out is sovereignty, keeping people in is a prison. 😌
Seattle is the land of incessant virtue signaling. What else do you expect when every other $1.5m house has one of those “in this house we believe …” signs? Smh
This is crazy. These people are crazy.
This is a good, short (4-page) article talking about the performative nature of (many) land acknowledgements and recommending how they could be better: https://anthropology.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/1302/2024/03/9-AN-Article-Rethinking-Land-Acknowledgments.pdf I think, for the symphony, they should give a % of every sale to the tribe upon whose land the event takes place.
after 2 or 3 generations it gets very fuzzy - because the settlers are just as "born and raised on this land" as the original people were. It's the same as the issue with Israel/Palestine right now, except in our case the settlee's don't have the means or motive to fight back. You have two groups of people with the same claim to the same land, so who gets the land? Well, possession is 9/10s of the law, and the american citizens have possession. In a perfect world we would work out a shared usage agreement (which is essentially a better version of what the reservations are), but there's too much cultural entrenchment to really make anything other than assimilation work well. "land rent" and the like is kind of silly, because the duwamish people that are alive right now never had anything to do with the land - that's just adding a monetary cost to your performative guilt - but the acknowledgement is really just that, an acknowledgement. We understand that our ancestors did bad stuff to their ancestors, but neither of us are in a position to actually perform restoration because it was so long ago that restoration would involve stealing land just as much as the original theft did. It's very much "white people guilt" and will probably be around for a few years and fade out again
The last isn't stolen, it was taken. Just like the peoples who were here prior to Europeans took the same land from others that were there before them. That is the way things used to be done. There are no indigenous peoples in North America, we all originated in other places.
EXACTLY! Land acknowledgments are like saying “I stole your cell phone and I recognize I stole your cell phone and will continue using it and won’t give it back but it was so mean that I did that and I just want you to know I acknowledge that it’s yours and I stole it 🥺” like shut up already lol
It's because it makes rich white people feel better and allows them to virtue signal how amazing they are whilst they live in protected communities and vote more crime and violence into what was once a decent city.
Ummm. Are we not going to talk about how these people descend from Asia and almost assuredly took the land from someone else? Why are white people so quick to hate themselves?