Put someone in a village 100 miles from the nearest town, deny them the basic infrastructure you provide for everyone else, deny them proper education, skimp on government job programs provided to other struggling towns that would eventually lead to wealth flowing in and free enterprise, and let this wealth divide grow for decades and you’ll see you’ve successfully made a hole to trap people in.
It’s not bigotry. Even if you want to ignore the centuries of active destruction of their families, the infrastructure gap is huge. Take a look at, say, the difference between Japan and Vietnam. Both got absolutely leveled by the US. One of them had infrastructure rebuilt by the US and investment in local enterprise by the US government. One is a rich country. One is a very poor country that’s only recently rising up… because other people are coming in and helping build infrastructure and providing jobs for a people who were crushed and isolated from the world for decades.
There’s a wealth and basic life standard gap that is impossible to bootstrap. Any successful place built from “nothing” got there through getting outside investment in some form, or through centuries of time left to grow through their own means. Plus their lands continue to be exploited. When oil or water or something is used by an outside company, instead of letting them have it and enriching the people on the land, eminent domain is exercised or companies buy it from the gov for pennies.
The point isn't "are they poor?" or "why are they poor?" but "how do you lift a community out of poverty?".
There are many poor communities across the country, in all races and creeds. The past can't be rewritten- focusing on "you are poor because X happened in the past" is just telling someone there is no reason for hope.
The way out involves both external and internal forces; external in the sense of support for development of infrastructure and economic activity, internal in the sense of a willingness and belief of capability of change. Many tribes who have successful casinos don't see significant improvements depending on their payout structure, because simply giving money to people with no financial literacy is a recipe for loss.
Also because a casino isn’t infrastructure. A casino is the equivalent of building liquor stores and calling it a job well done. Amidst a thriving economy it’s fine. Otherwise it’s making a few wealthy at the cost of community health.
Casinos are a way tribes found to generate wealth as an exception to state laws. It’s one of the very few possible “true” bootstrapping examples. But no healthy community is dominated by casinos.
I’ve just explained what’s different. A successful genocide campaign carried out over centuries that has slowed but not stopped and certainly not reversed course.
Many of those crossing illegally are also descendants of repressed peoples, either African and / or already native at the time of Spanish settlement. They come from communities facing brutal repression, either at the hands of government military or drug cartels.
You seem to view the world as if any of these problems are unique to America.
Well yes, the problem of being targeted by a centuries-long genocide campaign carried out by and within the borders of the wealthiest and most advanced nation on earth is, in fact, unique to American indigenous peoples.
I'm not saying "bad things only happen to native Americans." I'm saying "the American campaign of genocide against native Americans only happened to native Americans."
At this point you seem to be willfully ignoring the numerous modern day examples of injustices perpetrated on these people. This is not some long-gone history. As mentioned in other threads, governments kidnapped native children as recently as the 1970s. They showed up to houses, stole children, shipped those children to boarding schools to be raped, tortured, and killed en masse - optimistically to be brainwashed out of their culture. Governments are continuing to wrestle natural resources from tribes as recently as today. Right now. Across the entire country.
While Vietnam is a poor country, the quality of life for those who make $200/month is still good. It doesn't have the overtime or societal issues that Japan has. Vietnam has a better trajectory for its population count and does not face stagnation. What's the point of being a rich country if your people are broken inside?
I know you're saying that countries can't develop themselves without external support, but I'm not convinced that a richer country = better quality of life for people which is an assumption you made.
Vietnam very much has overtime issues. Americans work more hours than Japanese. Many Viets work 6 days a week at typical office jobs which is more than both countries. Vietnam is currently rapidly trending to under replacement-level births.
I chose those examples because I’ve worked in each, but hours worked and birth rates really aren’t too relevant here. Vietnam was a nice country, but be honest: you wouldn’t want to live there making an average wage if you had a choice of living in a typical US or Japanese town with decent infrastructure and average wages.
It’s not bigotry. Even if you want to ignore the centuries of active destruction of their families, the infrastructure gap is huge. Take a look at, say, the difference between Japan and Vietnam. Both got absolutely leveled by the US. One of them had infrastructure rebuilt by the US and investment in local enterprise by the US government. One is a rich country. One is a very poor country that’s only recently rising up… because other people are coming in and helping build infrastructure and providing jobs for a people who were crushed and isolated from the world for decades.
There’s a wealth and basic life standard gap that is impossible to bootstrap. Any successful place built from “nothing” got there through getting outside investment in some form, or through centuries of time left to grow through their own means. Plus their lands continue to be exploited. When oil or water or something is used by an outside company, instead of letting them have it and enriching the people on the land, eminent domain is exercised or companies buy it from the gov for pennies.