Response to Indian Killer

I really enjoyed the book as it was a story that reflects and reveals the prejudices and revenge that are faced in cities across the United States on a a daily basis for many citizens. Ignorance and learned environments have always been around. These are the causes of prejudice and the violence associated with this sometimes horrid examples of revenge. John Smith heard Father Duncan's voice and saw him in his dreams. He felt Duncan around him. He kept his feelings inside after Father Duncan dissappeared into the desert. He felt as if he was being poisoned. He imagined what living life on his real mother and fathers reservationwould be like, but he didn't know where they were or where the reservation was. He didn't know who he was. He only knew that his life was unreal because he was an Indian living in a white mans world full of hate and prejudice. Eventually he lost control and started a violent streak that was directly aimed at that prejudice, in the form of revenge. Even though he was educated, he couldn't stop until he finally flew off of the last skyskraper built in Seattle which he had helped build. In John's mind he could now get to know his parents in the great reservation in the sky. This particular book demonstrated the hatred which exixted in th 90's, especially towards the Indians in the Seattle area. He started the war by brutally murdering his victims. (i.e.) removing their eyes, eating their hearts, stabbing them repeatadly, and then leaving his calling card of the owl feathers behind.( The sign of a relentless and merciless hunter). To me this represented his true hate for the white man. Many examples of hate and prejudice were prevelant throughout the book: He was called Chief,the incident on the bridge, Aaron and his father shooting at the Spokane gathering lilies, the white man getting battered on the football field by Jesse and his Indian friends, the homeless couple getting beat by Aaaron in the doorway, and even the different Indian tribes using terms like salmon fishers and sheep eaters showed anomosity. I liked the authors connection when he described the different types of Indians at the basketball tournament. To me this showed a picture of all the different mixes of Asian, black, white and how they had conformed to a new way of life constantly laughing and appearing to be happy. The horrid part was the amount of poverty and degregation that existed among the Indians who had not conformed faced, as they couldn't forget the past and held onto the beliefs of their ancestors at all costs. To me it would be hard to give up my culture and belief system, especially if my freedom had been violently taken from me. We as citizens fight terrorism and have fought many battles in the past to retain our way of life. Would I conform if it were taken by another country? Would you? Would we continue to revolt years later knowing that it was our ancestors that were changed and that the people we know live with weren't responsible? These are very difficult questions for me to answer. I can imagine how they felt and how the Indians and other cultures whom are terrorized and prejudiced against today feel. Isn't it a shame that we can't all live together in a society that love comes first? If you really think about it, there's no reason to be prejudic or think you are better than any other person or culture , because there will always be someone more intelligent, better looking, or that has more. Make sense?