Osama bin Laden’s demise has generated much celebratory outbursts in America, and I assume some even abroad. I suspect that there are some few in Muslim communities that even share this feeling. Yet there have been several who take umbrage that we Americans should celebrate the death of another human being. (A questionable premise in my mind if applied to Bin Laden.) I hold to the belief that there will be shouts of joy in Heaven when Satan is finally disposed of in the Lake of Fire. So I’m not too upset with the celebratory outbursts over the death of a murdering terrorist. Sort of like the joy in Oz when the “Wicked Witch of the East” was killed. And if it’s good enough for Dorothy and a kid’s classic, then it’s good enough for me.
But that’s not what intrigued me the most. Turns out that the Senate Indian Affairs Committee has a real problem with the Operation’s use of the code name “Geronimo” for Bin Laden.
Per Loretta Tuell, Staff Director and Chief Counsel for said Committee, “It was inappropriate to link Geronimo, whom she called one of the greatest Native American heroes, with one of the most hated enemies of the United States.”
Well, I sort of agree with her that it is not very complimentary to Geronimo to be linked to Bin Laden. I’m not certain that I would even condone linking Charles Manson to Bin Laden; well I may have to rethink that one.
But when I contemplate the career of Geronimo and what he did to settlers on both sides of the border, I can’t help but think that they just might call Geronimo the same type of murdering, torturing terrorist that Bin Laden was. I really doubt that Geronimo was viewed as a hero by them. What he did to innocent folks on night time raids shouldn’t be discussed in mixed company.
I also find it interesting that Ms. Tuell, a member of the Nez Perce tribe, thinks of Geronimo as a “hero”. But I guess if I grew up on an Indian Reservation as she did, I too might not consider myself as an “American” but as a “Native American” as she does. No wonder we have problems in our society. Indians still feel as if the ‘whites’ are enemies; Blacks still feel like they are still mistreated slaves; Whites think they have bent over backwards and are now the discriminated against ones; and the Orientals, well heck they just seem to be going to school, making good grades and getting on with things.
The good news out of all this is that while the U.S. faces the single largest financial crisis since the Revolutionary War; one that threatens the very fiscal future of our kids, heck even ourselves. While all this is swirling about us, the Senate Indian Affairs panel (whatever that is) had already scheduled a meeting for 5/5/2011 to discuss “racial stereotypes of native people”. Ms. Tuell has now assured us that the use of “Geronimo” in the Bin Laden raid will be discussed.
It’s comforting to know that while things seem to be crumbling down all around our nation’s Capitol, we can focus on such issues of paramount importance. By the way, weren’t our “Native American” Indian folks once Orientals?
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