Dear Emiliano,

This is Eugene's wife here. I cannot speak for him (he is asleep right now and has not yet read your comment), but I am sorry that you feel so offended by today's (3/5/09) show. I was there in the air room with Eugene.

What Mitakuye Oyasin has always done, or at least since I began listening 8 years ago, is challenge the way people see things, in order to understand that Native Americans have suffered genocide and continue to experience racist and genocidal acts from governments and individuals. Raising these issues can create some discomfort and anger, as you have expressed here, but it also gives much-needed info. I have learned about so much that has been hidden and which is not mentioned in mainstream media or in the history taught in our public school systems.

One such thing is just what Eugene mentioned on air today: The radiation experiments performed by Jewish people on Jewish people. These experiments were funded by the USA and performed by Zionist Jews upon the dark-skinned Sephardic Jewish children in 1951. These children were exposed to x-rays in levels much higher than was known to be safe, supposedly to eliminate ringworm. If what I have read is correct (easy to find on the internet, search for "radiation" "experiments" "Sephardic"), then the conclusion is that even those people who have suffered horribly under a holocaust are capable of being racist themselves.

Today, Palestinians suffer because of Israel's national policies, which allow, not only the bombing of Palestinian civilians, but also a steadily shrinking land base for Palestinians because Israeli "settlers" are allowed to move onto their land. Yes, there are two sides to this story, Hamas also kills Israeli civilians. It is the racist policies of the Nation of Israel that comes under criticism, though, not individual Jews. Israel receives the support of the USA, so the USA will not participate in the UN's conference on racism next month, even after removing from the table any possible discussion of Israel's racist policies. These are the facts Eugene was highlighting today. So, your statement that the show was similar to a KKK bashing of Black people seems completely unfounded to me.

You also said, "Your show and other hate mongering shows are the reasons so many of us no longer contribute to KBOO." Eugene was actually off the air for 9 months or more, until roughly six weeks ago. Prior to that, his show usually came in over budget during pledge drives. I am sorry that you feel this way. Which other shows do you consider to be hate mongering?

Eugene and I presented a proposal to make this show a KBOO collective, which means people can join and be on air with training. Are you interested in being part of it, in order to be a counter point? Even before reading your comment, we had discussed quitting this show because of the immense amount of energy it takes. We would both really like to keep a discussion of Native American issues in the forefront, and not just use the show as a bulletin board for powwow announcements and music.

I wish you well and hope you will listen again. You could always call in and present a different viewpoint. Thank you for your input.

Shusli

Mr. McLennon,

I know that this thread is cold, but once I found your comments they demanded a reply. First, your assertion that the Makah seek to “obliterate” the population of Gray Whales. What evidence do you have to support this? What report or scientific study do you cite? This is important because there is evidence that the Makah have hunted these whales for over 1,500 years with no measurable harm done to the species. It was only in the last 200 years that the Gray Whale was nearly hunted to extinction by hunting practices that were foreign to the Makah traditions. Then in the 1920’s the Makah were forced to stop their hunt because the “new” form of hunting had almost destroyed the Gray Whale population. The Makah were not allowed to hunt for 70 years. In 1994 the Gray Whale was removed from the Endangered Species List and the Makah had an opportunity to continue their centuries old tradition of feeding themselves. Their plan was to take no more than five whales per year. In fact, according to the research I’ve done, in 1999 they were only able to capture one whale for their people. How does this constitute “obliteration” to you? The people who are really destroying the Gray Whale show no restraint. They follow no law. And most important, the whale and the hunt are not central to their society, money is.

Next, you state that, “Thanks to all of the whaling nations of the world and the technology that exists for the efficient 'harvesting' of these creatures, we as a people …can no longer afford to indulge ourselves”. Being able to produce food for ourselves is a basic human right. Not having to depend on others to sustain yourself is a matter of pride and power. This is not an indulgence. This is how every tribe of man has supported itself since the dawn of our people. In this day and age some men wish to use technology to consolidate all the food production in to a few hands and take away that power from the others. This is a crime. Consolidation of our food sources is also dangerous; think of it simply as “putting all your eggs in one basket”. Diversity of source and diversity type will keep us alive.

Lastly, I wish to ask, is the issue of whaling really what your angry about? From your postings it sounds like you were really irked about how Eugene handled his interview. That is a valid point to contest and one that should really be addressed. We at KBOO wish to have open and fluid discussions and disagreements. This is natural. This is necessary if we wish to make a better radio station and world. Everyone has the right to talk and express his opinion. We should also be open to changing our ways as new thoughts presents themselves. I hope you have taken the opportunity to talk about everything that was bothering you. However, if whaling was the main issue I also hope that you’ve taken other actions to try and stop it.

Thank you,

Brian Keith Soderberg