To the Victor Goes the Spoils, Get Over It

Measured in terms of development and the Western expansion of the North American continent in what is now the United States, you can conclude that the efforts of the expansionists were widely successful. From a Native American Indian point of view, the same Western expansionism was disastrous. Preceding the Westward expansion, on the West coast there was a Northern expansion by the Spanish that was equally disastrous to Native Americans Indians. We don’t hear much about that little trivial part of history.

What we are hearing is that the Southwestern portion of the U.S. was stolen from Mexico and somehow Mexican/American Indian heritage entitles those with such blood lineage to have a legitimate stake in the claimed U.S. territory. Well, excuse me. The early Americans stole most of the continent fair and square. And the losers have no basis to claim foul since each dispossessed tribe got their territory by engaging in the exact same behavior with other Native American tribes. Not only that, but I suspect that most of those making the claim hail from Mexico and do not have any bloodlines from American Indians in what is now the U.S.

In the current comic series Alley Oop, the Kingdom of Moo just repelled an invading King’s attempt to take control. Alley comes up with the astute observation that it is the victor who writes the history.

And, to the victor goes the spoils, get over it.