A few weeks ago I received a wonderful selection of student responses to Neither Wolf nor Dog from Bill Davis, a teacher of philosophy and East Asian Studies at Blue Valley North High School in Stillwell, Oklahoma. The very fact that they have those courses speaks to the quality of education available to the students, and their papers on Neither Wolf nor Dog confirmed that quality.
I can’t always carve out writing time to offer a worthy response to the emails and contacts I get. But the efforts of these students merited something more than a short note of thanks and appreciation. I thought I’d share my response to them with the rest of you. Perhaps it will be of some value to those of you who teach Neither Wolf nor Dog in your classes.
It’s a long read, so get your cup of coffee.
Here goes:
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In all my time talking about your book with people, and all the relatively knee-jerk responses I’ve received (like white racism is still racism! or that Dan was holding us all responsible, etc.) I think you’ve not only answered nearly all of them beautifully here, but given me a good grounds of doing so in the future.
I recently spoke on my blog about
…about Thanksgiving (and it turns out if I hit enter in the wrong field, it posts before I’m ready… sorry bout that!) and how when I look around me all I could see is conquered and raped land, and a people who have in absolutely no way learned from it nor have they began living in any way different than that of the conquerors of their past. In no way did I mention feeling guilt, but sorrow… yes. I was of course shouted down by a myriad of responses that I was just a stupid hippy full of “white-guilt” and should take my “claptrap” somewhere else, and STFU (a very sad and stupid acronym the meaning of which is sadly obvious). I said I could not feel thankful when all I see is us continuing to kill everything around us, when everything that is beautiful will soon be dead. I could not feel thankful for knowing nobody even cares, and that any attempt to say something about it is insulted and ignored by the vast majority, with only a few outcasts daring to care.
Over 500 insulting replies. Some of them gathered their friends to help them insult me further. It was overwhelming, discouraging, angering, and just made me wish my whole species would become endangered already.
I fear we are not moving in any new direction at all. I’m sorry to be the downer. I feel Dan is more than in his rights to speak generalizations about our people. When we thought we were killing ozone, did anybody change… I mean, really? No. When we thought cell phones might be altering the bees enough that our whole lifestyle would be threatened, did anybody give up their cell phones? No. Knowing what the extraction of oil does to us, how paying for it fuels an economical holocaust, and how many ways we support companies that create chemicals so carelessly in volume, so insanely toxic, and so stupdily are used or spilled, do we stop anything at all? NO!!!
But to dare care about the offense towards those whose land we’re raping, we are shouted down and insulted. There’s this bizarre and special hatred held nearly subconsciously toward the indigenous. That’s why you’ll never see a sporting event between, for example, the Boston Jiggaboos vs. the San Francisco Chinks! But Redskins, Indians, Braves… hey, no problem! Who are they? Just primitives who need to “get over it”.
I don’t care what kind of insults are thrown at me for hating my people for their continuation of this insane style. I know even Dan said he doesn’t respect those who have no respect for their own people, but I’ve tried. I’ve tried so damned hard. All I can see is a people not worth respecting at all.
Kent..
I can’t agree with you more. You, as always,
say it so well. Thanks for sharing your gift
of insight.
I frankly can’t say Happy New Year. I can wish you,and all of us, moments, however. Happy seems hardly appropriate given the state of affairs.
~moe
It’s funny…..I’m in the midst of a second reading of the book (which is what brought me to this website) and I can’t find blind spots or misconceptions or over-generalizations in Dan’s words.
They are simply his truth, which like all truths, stand pure and still and clear for those who can see.
It seems that the essential effort of your response is to help the students see more clearly, just as Dan’s (and Grover’s and Fatback’s) efforts were to help you see more clearly.
Many thanks for your writing.
Reading this made my day. I LOVED this book, and have recommended it constantly when I worked as an assistant librarian. Now, reading Kent’s response, and the comments following made my day, knowing that at least a FEW PEOPLE share the same thoughts and feelings about Dan’s perspective and message to us, and overall white-American ignorance, arrogance and selfishness. I applaud any and all who open their minds and hearts and dare to look at themselves with true eyes and make an effort to not only gain understanding and “become the change”, but to help others to do so also. Some things change quickly, and others very slowly. It is, however, the dawn of a new age. In my near fifty years in this life, I have seen a lot of changes in our culture and in our world. Not all of them good, either. The best we can all do is to try to lead by example. Ghandi had this to say about peaceful resistance and activism: “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”
I remember my sister telling me about this book, and I really want to check it out. I think that she was taught Neither Wolf nor Dog in school, and she thought that I would really like it.
I know I’m late to the party (better late than never) but just wanted to say thanks Mr. Nerburn for writing this book… I don’t even remember how I came across it so many years ago before Amazon and Google; but thanks all the same.