Gold Rush Days...

Oh, my.

I Wandered through Sacramento this past weekend during the annual Gold Rush Days celebration in Old Sacramento.
Okay, it was a tourist attraction, but through my eyes, it was a little unsettling.

There was a 'gunfight show' where people getting shot accidentally, because of two men trying to shoot each other on a public street was portrayed as humorous. And this was just a reenactment.

Just imagine a whole state or region full of barely educated peoples west of Kansas - drunk on wars and following their 'Manifest Destiny' west - twisted on alcohol, and all the while carrying high-powered weapons. Oh, and while killing a tribal people along the way; just think.

Seeing this 'Old West' spectacle was disturbing;
especially when a short column of Union Army troops rode through town.
Even as the 'good guys' there was just something not quite right about the way they looked.

And while I saw "Indian" flutes, "native" textile motifs and inspired art, no, I did not see one Native American booth, display or representation.

"Gold Rush Days..." Old Sacramento...
It was a little disturbing.