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As long as you have multiculturalism you will have conflict. But diversity is enriching to any culture. I think there's a distinction that American people haven't been able to make.
I grew up on an Indian Reservation with ranches, and John Wayne befriended many of them in real life. He literally went to visit Native Americans on rural ranches in AZ long ago. That was at a time when the reservations still had full-blooded members (brown-complected) who spoke the indigenous language very fluently. John Wayne befriended thoses types of full-blooded "Rez" Indians in real life. His wife was also Hispanic - which means his children are part Native American and part African. In reality, Hispanics usually have a mixture of indigenous and African ancestry far back in time.
With that said, I think the historical context has to be applied. Back in the 60s and 70s, blatant racism and segregation were still very common compared to now. An interracial couple faced the real threat of being assaulted in such a way that an all-white jury would not convict the perpetrators. The Civil Rights Movement was very new, and much of America was still pro-segregation in a lot of ways. In the early 1970s, John Wayne was at the elderly stage, so he was born at a time when blatant racism was commonly accepted.
The point is that relative to his time and environmental upbringing, John Wayne was actually liberal and progressive. The same happens to Sheriff Joe in Arizona. He is often labeled as racist, but he is actually very liberal and progressive compared to the truly racist and oppressive cops of the 1940s in rural AZ.
John Wayne showed his compassion for Native Americans in the film "Undefeated." The film has a subplot about a Native American scout for the US Army he had adopted -a full-blooded Cherokee. The scout falls for a white southern belle - the daughter of a Confederate Colonel. That type of relationship was extremely common in the "Deep South" - many modern "white" southerners have a small amount of Native American ancestry due to relationships like that back in the 1700s to 1800s. Elvis Presley was part Cherokee. So was Burt Reynolds. John Wayne knew all about it and put it in one of his best films. This was done at a time when interracial couples were taboo on TV and television. So, John Wayne was actually progressive for his time and age group. A lot of people don't see that.
And a fading legend at that.
He died in 1979. 40 years ago. Over half of us now living know next to nothing about him or his politics.
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