I've been asked countless times about my opinion of the Standing Rock Sioux standoff over the Dakota Access Pipeline, (DAPL). My answer has been consistently the same: I'm in favor of the pipeline, but I'm totally against running it through sacred Indian lands or through an area where a rupture could destroy anybody's access to water. I'm also certain that if the pipeline were to go through a cemetery in Fargo or laterally down the Missouri River, it would never happen.
So, I cheered the decision by the Army Corps of Engineers to delay its construction and I supported the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and its allies in their efforts to move it or stop it. That having been said, I was glad to see Trump's decision to give the go ahead to both the Keystone XL and the DAPL. But, I presumed that the Trump administration would see it the way I and many others do and condition the completion of the DAPL on rerouting.
But, that evidently isn't the way it came down.
Now, hundreds of protesters have been ordered to leave their encampments by today. This is likely going to lead to an ugly showdown and we're to blame.
The fact is, we have been conditioned to think of Native Americans as being "dumb Indians" and somehow as being sub-human. So, what does it matter to us if we threaten their water or ruin their sacred sites?
Well, my friends, just remember two words: "Bad Karma."
Do what's right. Stand up and stand with the Standing Rock Sioux. Let's get the pipeline completed, but lets have the contractors spend a few extra bucks to move it a few miles so we can all sleep at night.
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