Rob's Blog

A History of Violence

I find myself reading a lot about Native Americans these days. I've always admired their culture, their respect for the land and the natural world. Unfortunately during the mid 1800's we essentially decimated their population and culture, by either slaughtering them or forcing to live in inhospitable reservations where they were unable to live according to their traditions. We also introduced them to smallpox and alcohol as an added bonus. We encroached upon their land and manipulated them into signing absurdly one-sided treaties, which we kept revising. Many of the Native American tribes were openly hostile towards the white settlers and the threat to their way of life, which is understandable. However, there were many Chiefs and tribes that struggled to attain a lasting peace with the U.S., notably Black Kettle of the Cheyenne Nation.

From Wikipedia: At dawn on November 29, Chivington (Colonel in the U.S. Army) attacked the Sand Creek reservation. Most of the warriors were out hunting. Following Indian agent instructions, Black Kettle flew an American flag and a white flag from his tipi, but the signal was ignored. The Colorado forces killed 163 Cheyenne by shooting or stabbing. They burned down the village encampment. Most of the victims were women and children. For months afterward, members of the militia displayed trophies in Denver of their battle, including body parts they had taken for souvenirs.^[3]

At a later battle, Black Kettle was eventually killed along with others, while trying to escape the Battle of Washita River, when and his wife were shot in the back. By that time all prospects of peace were lost and the Amerian Indians were essentially wiped out at Wounded Knee .

Shamefully, we destroyed a great legacy of culture, knowledge and wisdon. All this in the name of "manifest destiny", which really meant greed, brutality and racsim. The quest for gold, the vested interests in the railroads and the irrepressible drive towards commercialism and commerce. It's especially painful to realize that while all this was happening African-Americans were enduring the horror of slavery. It's a legacy than none of us can be proud of. Perhaps when we played "Cowboys and Indians" as kids, we had the wrong side as the "good guys."

I recommend reading Dee Brown's classic, "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee", "Black Kettle: The Cheyenne Chief who sought peace, but found war", "Hear That Lonesome Whistle Blow", also by Dee Brown about the building of the transcontinental railroads, and "Black Elk Speaks."

 

 

 

Related articles

Today in History, November 29th

IN MEMORIAM: The Sioux at Wounded Knee 1890

Wounded Knee Massacre by Christians Crusaders

Wounded Knee Anniversary

Clara Blinn Battle of the Washita

Military History Monday: Sand Creek Massacre

Wow, man, it's like, the 60's - with blackberries!

I visited Zuccotti Park yesterday, site of the Occupy Wall Street demonstration. It was like being back in college in the 60's. Hundreds, maybe thousands of people gathered, of all ages, colors and religions, and you could smell marijuana wafting through the air (I'm told!) It was very peaceful, cooperative, and politically correct - recycling cans everywhere, kids preparing and distributing healthy food, playing guitar, drums, accordion, singing, listening to workshops, meditating. It was kind of "soft" politics, not strident, just expressing the frustration of the average person (the other 99%) who are suffering from the excesses of the last 10-20 years. And college kids who are in debt and un- or underemployed. It's a worldwide phenomenon, and mostly peaceful, though evidently the Rome demonstrations were hijacked by Anarchists who started burning things. But the movement itself is adamantly against that. Whether this will have any effect on U.S. politics and government, which I think people any political persuasion find frustrating, unresponsive and impotent, remains to be seen. It's not anti-corporate, it challenges whether the present political climate is representative of the majority of Americans who are not rich or powerful, and the near economic disaster caused by the financial excesses and greed of the financial firms, many of whom reside at nearby Wall St. The tsunami engulfing U.S. society is a man made disaster, not a natural one. 

Depressive Progressives

My wife, who is a social worker and adamant Democratic supporter, recently made this observation in light of the contentious debate around health care reform. When facing obstacles and frustrations, the Democrats and Liberals tend to wring their hands, blame each other and blame themselves. The Republicans tend to lash out, blame those with whom they disagree, and speak in one voice, right or wrong. Do they really believe that Obama wants to euthanize seniors? Do they really believe that government run health care is an anathema, in the face of the relative efficiency of Medicare, which seniors are loathe to have changed, and the VA health plan? And is he really a Muslim foreigner who wants to turn the U.S. into a socialist republic? Prior to the election I met an otherwise intelligent woman on a plane who was utterly convinced that Obama, if elected, would insist on swearing in on the Koran, not the Bible. Really! In psychological terms, according to my wife, the Democrats suffer from neurosis, whereas the Republicans have a personality disorder. A neurotic blames himself when things go wrong, and is subject to second-guessing and self-recrimination. Someone with a personality disorder sees nothing wrong with himself, lacks introspection, and thinks any problem is caused by "the other guy". Perhaps both parties should undergo some psychotherapy to work out some of these issues, although it's unclear whether that would be covered under the present health care system.

Barack Obama - Galvanizing youth

My son Zachary posted on his Facebook page, what I think is an eloquent reaction to the election of Barack Obama. One of the exciting things about this election has been the record turnout, and the excitement that it's generated, particurly among our younger citizens. I hope it bodes well for the future, for their sake. Here's the post:

Earlier I wrote that I thought the song "Summer, Highland Falls" was the theme song to this campaign, and that, as the song goes, I would experience either "sadness or euphoria" by the time all the votes were counted. Luckily, euphoria won out.

"They say that these are not the best of times, but they're the only times I've ever known."

I still haven't really processed this yet. I was optimistic, but I wasn't sure our country had it in them to elect an African-American. Well, I was proved wrong. I have regained faith in our nation. And now it is up to us to work with our new president to set this country back on the right track. And it's going to take a lot of work. And all of that work might not be able to be completed in an Obama administration. Even two terms might not be enough to completely repair what George W. Bush has done to our nation. But he can set us on the right path. I truly believe that.

I first decided I was going to support Senator Obama after I read his book, "The Audacity of Hope." It was mainly a policy book, but it all made sense to me. And I was struck by the lack of partisanship Obama displayed. He was and is not an ideologue, and I knew that was a quality I admired. But as much as I liked him, it seemed all but certain that Hillary Clinton was going to be our nominee. I was proven wrong. It was a grueling primary, one that I thought at the time would hurt Obama in the general. I thought the longer it went on, the worse shape we would be in. Again, I was proved wrong.

So after a particuarly nasty general campaign, it has all turned out for the better. We have a truly unique opportunity here. We have to take advantage of it. Because if we sit back and don't work hard to improve our nation with President Obama, we will be no better off than we were a day ago, let alone four years ago.

"So as we stand upon the ledges of our lives, with our respective similarities.  It's either sadness or euphoria."

Yes we can.

When Communism meets Capitalism

The East German Ampelmännchen, or "little traffic light man"

Ampelmännchen and more conventional form

There has been almost a comic controversy going on between two businessmen, one from East Germany and one from West Germany about the use of the Ampelmännchen, or "little traffic light man" (Ampelmannchen), an iconic symbol, orginating in the East. So what used to be idealogical differences transformed itself into patent litigation about who has the commercial rights to the symbol. It's no small matter, as related memorabilia sales generated almost $3 million in annual revenue as of 2005. I couldn't find any udates on sales figures or the status of the litigation. Actually, the use of the Ampelmännchen represents the cultural and political divide that obviously still exists between the two, now united, Germany's. Whereas the West used a skinnier, more traditional version traffic symbol, or the typical red light/green light, East Germany utilized the more prosaic one. There was actually quite an uproar upon reunification when the West Germans wanted to impose their version. A committee was formed, protesting the decision and now you see traffic lights with either the West German version, the East German version, or both. Those wacky Germans!

Laughing Liberally

KATIE HALPER

"DeLay retired...Rumsfeld resigned...Bush became a lame duck...Cheney shot a dude in the face...who can forget 2006?"

Be sure to catch Laughing Liberally at Town Hall tomorrow night for an evening of leftist stand-up comedy, with special guest, Congressman Charles B. Rangel.
I'm particularly proud that my niece, Katie Halper is one of the performers. Check out her Blog , it's hysterical.

Katie's blog

Before I collapse tonight, I wanted to link to my niece Katie's hysterical blog
Halpyourself . Good work Katie. Keep up the Halper tradition of humor, sarcasm and disbelief!