The Makah have been in the news again as the battle over whaling rights continues. Animal rights activists have gotten into the act and are using the same racist tactics as the right to get what they want.

These people are understandably upset by whaling; no one wants to see the grey whale hunted to near extinction again.

But this issue is more complicated than it immediately appears. What makes it so difficult to stomach is the unconscionable use of foul, racially-charged propaganda.

We are getting into some pretty weird territory when the lefties you used to count on for consistency start using the same fascist tactics they should be disgusted by.

The Makah hunt one or two whales per year using little wooden boats. Meanwhile, dozens of grey whales will beach themselves in the Pacific Northwest because the water is so polluted they would rather die on dry ground than swim in that soup any longer.

The lefties are using iron-hulled ships to get between the Makah and the whales. The United States Coast Guard got into the action when it became obvious that the animal rights activists were going to kill somebody with their ships.

It was at this point that the lefties began accusing the Coast Guard of helping the Makah locate and kill whales while making the Makah look like retarded dogs who couldn’t find their own tails without radar. How ludicrous.

What is more galling is the racist innuendo flying around the Net that feeds into the worst stereotypes. Every tradition of the Makah has been held up to ridicule as if to show how primitive and evil they are.

Their pre-contact slave practices were frequently used to shock and horrify anyone interested enough to listen to the half-truths. Slavery was practiced across the Pacific Northwest, but it was more like forced adoption than what the rest of the world was practicing.

I make no apologies about my position on Indian sovereignty issues. I might see gambling as an evil in our society that should be outlawed, but when it comes to Indian casinos, I am all in favor of them.

One might well ask, “Isn’t that hypocritical?” The reason I appear so is simple: Apples and oranges, pal. It all comes down to keeping your word and having a “live and let live” policy. The U.S. should no more be telling Indians how to live than Arabs or Frenchmen.

On the one hand, we have the United States, founded on certain principles, most of which are myths and lies resulting in the oppression and death of millions. Who is the U.S. to judge?

On the other hand, we have Indian Country, a series of sovereign nations or “reservations” inside the borders of the United States. Each was granted the right by treaty to determine its destiny and live according to its own traditions. Indians are at once governed by the same laws as the rest of the country while having certain privileges — in theory. This is just a nod to genocide.

No subgroup has suffered more at the hands of the U.S. while working above the call of duty to serve those who have tried routinely to solve the problem of its existence.

The Makah always hunted whales and were allowed to continue doing so by the U.S. after they came under its domination. The Makah voluntarily gave up killing whales to preserve the species and now that the grey whale is no longer endangered, they want one or two a year to keep their traditions alive.

They weren’t responsible for the near extinction of the great beasts, and if anyone should reap the benefits of their greater numbers, it is the Makah.

I have always been in favor of the ethical treatment of animals. When it comes to rubbing makeup in a rabbit’s eyes to see if they swell or opening a monkey’s skull cap to see if it hates it, I say “Stop, you evil bastards.”

But when it comes to the rights of Indians to live free, I say “Kiss off, PETA!”

This isn’t the same as Japanese or Norwegian commercial harvesting. The fact that Greenpeace and PETA can’t see the difference is just one more clear cut example of how otherwise well-meaning leftists can slip right into the same evil, Nazi stormtrooper tactics practiced by corporations and governments these lefties despise.

How easy it is to cross over to the dark side and not even know you’ve done it. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, but the Indian road to extinction has been paved with a nasty combination of good intentions, self-serving lies and misplaced sympathy.

If it isn’t well-meaning Christians doing their best to save our heathen souls through mortification of our flesh and culture, it’s a group of animal rights activists so hopped up on their own superior sense of self-righteousness they can’t see they crossed the line about ten miles back.

While I might fully support these tactics when used against powerful mega-corporations whose purpose is death for profit, I despise them when they are used against Indians.

One man’s desperate attempt to make a dent against a powerful foe is another man’s act of hateful oppression.

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Greg Jerrett is a graduate student in English from Council Bluffs. He is opinion editor of the Daily.