Photo: Hands off Greenland protest against Donald Trump in Copenhagen, Denmark, Wikimedia
Trump wanted Greenland, threatened to use military force, and then—Poof!—”he reached a deal.” A deal that just happens to be the exact same arrangement as there had already been. What was the purpose of all the uproar then? Market manipulation. Trump and his buddies create instability in the stock markets by threatening war and then buy up all the stock when the prices drop. Afterward, he rescinds the threat and the stocks prices soar, making them a fortune overnight. This is not Trump’s first use of the nation to improve his personal wealth.
But what about the righteousness of the Empire of the USA to rescue the Greenlanders from the cruel Kingdom of Denmark and its sterilization policies? Some surmised that Greenland could become the 51st state and that that might be good. I wonder what the perspective of Native Hawaiians would be on this subject. We could gather from Bad Bunny’s recent Super Bowl halftime show that he might advise Greenlanders to first learn the history of Puerto Rico. Indeed, he flew the Puerto Rico flag of independence during the show.
Puerto Rico has been an “unincorporated territory of the USA” for 125 years. Puerto Ricans pay federal income tax but are not able to vote in U.S. presidential elections. Taxation without representation. Sound familiar? And let us not forget how the United States Government had vast sterilization projects of its own. “Throughout the 20th century, nearly 70,0000 people (overwhelmingly working-class women of color) were sterilized in over 30 states. Black women, Latina women, and Native American women were specifically targeted. From the 1930s to the 1970s, nearly one-third of the women in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, were coerced into sterilization when government officials claimed that Puerto Rico’s economy would benefit from a reduced population. Sterilization was so common that it became known as “La Operación (The Operation)” among Puerto Ricans,” (America’s Forgotten History of Forced Sterilization - Berkeley Political Review).
But let us return to the present moment, which belongs to the people of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Cornel West, during this Black History Month, was recently a guest on the Katie Halper Show (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHVl8MFRANA). West described the killings of Alex Pretti and Renée Nicole Good as a move to “n-wordize” the whole country. In other words, he said it is part of an effort to demonize, terrorize, traumatize, and convince anyone resisting the status quo that they are less beautiful, less moral, and less intelligent. And in spite of this effort, West described the multi-racial and multi-religious movement in Minneapolis as a beautiful thing. He praised their pressingly opportune call for a national strike against the fascism of not just the White House, but also Big Tech, Wall Street, Big Finance, and Big Military.
The unity in diversity and resistance to ICE is truly awe-inspiring. In a recent dialogue hosted by the Red Nation’s Melanie Yazzie titled “All We Need is Each Other: From the Frontlines in Minneapolis” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXe-l2PPUH0&t=1s), we can hear firsthand of the real strength that has always made America great. Rachel Thunder, from the Indigenous Protector Movement and 2nd Generation American Indian Movement, pointed out the importance of the leadership of the Indigenous people protecting the vulnerable immigrant communities and the valuable cooperation among allies from other races and cultures. She explained how exhausted she was, but not tired. How in all the chaos we must imagine what a real victory over the oppressive forces could look like to each of us. And how, while the war is not yet won, battles are being won.
