Indian Country Today compiled statements from Native American leaders reacting to the US Military’s code name “Geronimo” for the operation that killed Osama bin Laden. For instance, the Onondaga Nation Council of Chiefs writes, “This is a sad commentary on the attitude of leaders of the U.S. military forces that continue to personify the original peoples of North America as enemies and savages.”
And Navajo native Chris Stearns, Vice-Chairman of the Seattle Human Rights Commission, writes this:
Who knows what they were thinking. Perhaps the military realized the irony of possibly sending in Apache gunships to take out ‘Geronimo.’ Or perhaps George W. Bush amused himself with the thought that finding bin Laden would be just as difficult as retrieving Geronimo’s remains from the Skull and Bones compound at his alma mater, Yale. At any rate, it shows that America still has a long way to go in order to understand us as people, not just labels easily affixed to malt liquor, mascots, and terrorists.
Even if you don’t agree that the decision to link a Native American leader with one of the most hated men in history is “illogical and insulting” or “reprehensible,” their explanations are an insightful read.
There’s plenty of valid shit for Native Americans to bitch about white people doing to them. This is not one of them.
Or perhaps they didn’t give it a damned milisecond thought, given that for the overwhelming number of Americans “Geronimo” is what you yell when skydiving/bungee jumping/splashing into a pool.
Seriously, I could see it maybe had they called him “Redskin” or “Injun”, but this? I’m certain the Native American populace must have a list of about 12098191 more important problems that could and should be addressed before this.
yeah, Native Americans are toooooo thin skinned. I’m sure no anglos would have been bothered had the seals been told to use the name “Kennedy” or “McArthur” Right? Right? Right?
Could they simply use something neutral Like “Target 1” or “Blue” or “Dubya”?
George.
Ernie.
Roger.
Oscar.
Nora.
Ida.
Mary.
Oscar.
All Caucasian names, but takes too long to pronounce.
I’m glad you posted this, Cienna. It’s an improvement over the flippant Slog poll of yesterday, to say nothing of the ugly comment thread that resulted.
http://quiz.ravenblack.net/haxor.pl?n=Os…
Or… http://www.playerappreciate.com/pimphand…
It’s moments like this you understand why the loony left can’t win elections in the US….
The world will be a better place when white people stop responding to all concerns of racism with “You’re too sensitive” or “You should be more worried about x than y,” or “No, racism would be z,” like there’s a limit on how many things can be racist. Who made you the arbiter?
A basic property of oppression is that the oppressed can see it more clearly than the oppressor can. So when people of color speak up about racism, we white people should generally shut up and listen, not tell them they’re wrong.
And for what it’s worth, when I read “Geronimo” I thought of the person. I’ve never jumped out of a plane and didn’t know you were supposed to shout anything when you did.
” when people of color speak up about racism, we white people should generally shut up and listen”
Damn right!
Just goes to show, 99% of identity politics is silly.
Geronimo was a nickname given by the Mexicans, not a real name, to a leader of irregular troops who eluded capture by the US Military for many years. Makes sense to me.
I’ve jumped out of an airplane and never yelled, “Geronimo” ever and thought of the guy, too, when I heard. The fact that the reflex of some is to say, “They have a lot to bitch about but not this,” is indicative of the psychological extent of Empire.
As MikeB said, “Geronimo” is not a Native American name. This isn’t like calling the operation “Kennedy” or “McArthur”, because those were actual names of leaders. “Geronimo” was not. It’s Italian and shows up as a surname in a lot of people, including Brazilians, Filipinos, Mexicans, etc. No Native American tribe actually has a claim on the name because it wasn’t his name. You can say it’s offensive because of the reference, but the name doesn’t belong to any Native people.
And for God’s sake, it is a “Caucasian” name. It’s a Latin form of Jerome. Just because you’re ignorant of Latin names doesn’t suddenly turn them into Native American heritage.
I don’t think one single person was thinking about the detailed history of the man Mexicans called Geronimo when they came up with that code name.
“psychological extent of Empire.”
So move back to Europe then and give back your little piece of the Empire to the Indians. Be sure to leave a beer or two in the fridge before you leave.
“I don’t think one single person was thinking about the detailed history of the man Mexicans called Geronimo when they came up with that code name.”
Actually, you’ll find most Navy officers, especially Annapolis grads and Navy Seals, are far more knowledgeable of history and military history than you. So yes, I do think the officers involved in this namesake knew its history. It’s you who didn’t.
I think they have a stronger argument over the word “Jackpot.” It’s obviously a reference to all the casinos on reservations, demeaning all Native Americans and reducing them to the stereotype of purveyors of gambling.
@9
So now the speech of colored folks is worth more than that of everyone else?
Most of the commenters in this thread already probably bothered to read through at least some of testimony of these “people of color” (a ridiculous way of getting around “colored people). And here many are presenting criticism. What you’re really counseling is for white folks not to hold their own fucking counsel.
White guilt bullshit.
Also “vae victis.”
Amazing how some white people get terribly offended when:
a) they’ve been informed that they’ve offended a race of people
b) they learn they need to cut a word from their vocabulary they probably never had any interest in until they learned it offended someone
c) anyone else says or does something that disgraces their heritage, history, culture or religion.
Why is it so hard to say, “Oops. Never thought of it that way. Reminds me of how I was offended when X mocked my Z. Won’t do it again.”
mitten@20, It’s offensive in this context. I’m not arguing against that. But to say people can’t use the word Geronimo is flamingly stupid, because it isn’t a Native American name. Many, many, many white people have that name, only they pronounce it correctly.
Would you all give us a list of our grievances, in order of importance, so we can make sure to prioritize the way you want us to? After all, no one in the Gay community complains about sports figures using homophobic slurs, or religious leaders complaining about how Gay Glee is, because you’re all focused on only fighting to end violent crimes against Gays, right? So, yeah, let us know what our priorities should be. Thanks.
@20: Why is it so hard to say, “Oops. Never thought of it that way.”
Because, that’s a dishonest and patronizing thing for a white person to say when what we’re really thinking is “This is a bunch of silly nonsense.”
Unfortunately, the military is a fickle beast, and I doubt that the code names they use will change anytime soon.
@21: we use non-native names regularly, Geronimo was the name he went by regularly and has heaps of history behind it. His grave is marked Geronimo and his descendants took that as their name. He took it as his name. Native names can and do change as you grow. The “it’s just a word” argument is dishonest, at best.
Important to note in all this is that Seattle is named after a man, but Seattle wasn’t his name. And yet, we apply the history of his life to this name.
@14 This would be fine except for the fact that there’s a historical figure that we call Geronimo and there’s a preponderance of sources that call him by his non-native name.
It’s like Confucius. Was his name actually Confucius? Of course not, that’s a Romanization. Or, speaking of Rome, what if we were talking to a 1st century BCE citizen about “Africanus”–then we’d probably be talking about Publius Cornelius Scipio. So I don’t find this line of argument very compelling as it’s his given historical albeit Romanized name.
dirac@26 Did you read the entirety of what I said? It’s offensive. The reference, which is obviously going to make people think of the historical figure, is insulting. The people trying to act as though the name Geronimo refers solely to Native American heritage are either ignorant or disingenuous, though. It’s as much a “Caucasian” name as Jerry. It’s insulting because of the reference specifically to the man known as Geronimo, not insulting because Geronimo is an Indian name.
@27: Geronimo is a very rare name and in American culture refers very specifically to one person. Your argument is nonsense.
I read it all and you do qualify the “reference” but you still come off claiming that Geronimo is not the name of actual leader(s). But yes it was and that’s the history.
Is it really being argued (wrongly) here that because it’s an Indian name it’s insulting? No, it’s pretty clear that the association is being made between historical figure and bin Laden. Sounds like a red herring to me. I don’t think it’s intentional but it is a red herring nonetheless.
Those above who are using every possible argument to prove that this discussion is silly, irrelevant, mis-guided, or thin-skinned are in fact, proving the opposite. None of your arguments hold water and all show insensitivity and lack of understanding pertaining to issues of race or culture other than your own
Could you imagine the uproar if they caught Bin Laden and then brought him out in a ‘paddy’ wagon?
Always fun watching the loony left debating themselves into political irrelevancy and infighting with their ‘identity’ politics.
dirac@29 My apologies. Rereading it, you’re right that that is how it comes across. I should have directed my comment directly at #4, as that mis-characterization of “Caucasian” names was what I was trying to respond to. I wanted to see the emphasis on tainting and insulting his memory, not on an Anglicized version of whiteness or misunderstanding of where the name comes from, but I really didn’t make that clear.
His name is whatever he used in life, whatever his descendants take in pride now, and how he is remembered in the history books. Geronimo is as much his name as Augustus is the name of Rome’s first emperor. It should not have been desecrated this way.
Baconcat@28 I was reacting to the Anglo American tendency to racialize names they’re unfamiliar with, such as treating Latin identity as a “race.” Wrong place, wrong time on my part. His name was his name.
Time to order up a round of cultural sensitivity training for SEAL Team Six?
This is like a bad Monty Python skit: a bunch of liberals worried about the cultural sensitivity of naming the mission for one of the most elite, violent bunch of killers on the earth off to whack one of the world’s worst terrorists.
SEAL Team Six must be having a good laugh at your expense, as I am.
Three-way tie for Thread Win: 9, 20, & 30.
I have to admit, I flinched when I heard that they’d used Geronimo’s name in connection with bin Laden. For a raid that was otherwise stunning in its pinpoint accuracy and flawless execution (no pun intended), this was a remarkably clunky – and needless – gaffe. The dust-up that has resulted is interesting and will hopefully do its part to enlighten some folks.
Now if we can only do something about that damn Cleveland Indians “mascot”………
I think it’s symptomatic of the larger problem, which is that America has stolen the land and the culture of our native people, and we continue to thoughtlessly disrespect them. Throwing the name around like that is ignorant at best, and downright offensive at worst. We really should think about the words we use and what they may represent to other people and cultures.
“America has stolen the land and the culture of our native people”
So give your piece back.
“We really should think about the words we use and what they may represent to other people and cultures.”
You’re right, I’m pretty sure that wasn’t on the minds of SEAL Team Six before they went in. Amazing. Maybe Mayor McGinn can invite them to Seattle to learn about our race and Social Justice Initiative?
We are on the verge of allowing openly Gay and Lesbian men and women into the armed services, some of them will eventually be Navy Seals, Army Rangers, and Green Berets, some probably already are. There is going to be a certain level of understanding required for this. Those above who have exempted service people from being sensitive to race and culture because they are rough, tough killers are not making any sense. You are also casting them as being unable to relate to humanity in any positive way, which is de,eaning to them and their mission. All soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines learned to live with and work with people of color, which was not required before WWII, so cultural sensitivity is not out of the question, just because they are trained to fight and kill.
FYI for those who think Seals are just too tough to think about cultural issues.
From The Washington Post
“I was celebrating that we had gotten this guy and feeling so much a part of America,” Tom Holm, a former Marine, a member of the Creek/Cherokee Nations and a retired professor of American Indian studies at the University of Arizona, said. “And then this ‘Geronimo EKIA’ thing comes up. I just said, ‘Why pick on us?’ Robert E. Lee killed more Americans than Geronimo ever did, and Hitler would seem to be evil personified, but the code name for bin Laden is Geronimo?”