from "Vilify": Part II

from "Vilify": Part II


Native Americans are notoriously and
ironically patriotic. During college,
while drinking with a few Nex Perce
Indian buddies--all of us loudly and
drunkenly ranting and raving about
broken treaties--a white guy walked
up to us and said, "Man, I hate what
our country did to you Indians. I hate
being American. I hate the United
States. It's evil, mank it's evil."
One of the Nez Perce guys, the oldest
one, jumped up from the table and
slugged the white guy in the face and
knocked him out. As we dragged our
violent friend out of the bar, he
shouted, "Nobody gets to talk shit
about my country except me!
You hear me! Nobody gets to talk
shit about my country except me!"


Sherman Alexie

from his book FACE.