How I hate eating crow! In fact, it may surprise NO ONE that crow is not one of my favorite delicacies, but I will eat it when I need to...and I need to.
More about crow eating in a minute, but first...I would like to pose this question: If a person who claims to be someone who his is really not, in other words, he LIED about himself and his background, then can ANYTHING this person has said or written be credible? I will answer that myself, class. If a liar says something that he wants to pass off as the truth, and someone knows the liar IS in fact...a liar...it is up to that someone to fact check the liar's information. Some of the information may prove to be true, and some may not. But if a person is "fooled" by a known liar, shame on that person.
So, back to the crow filet mignon. In one of my recent blogs I cited as a good and well-written book on the atrocities the American government has perpetrated on Native Americans, the people of the Middle East, the people of Japan, the people of Africa, of Latin America, and on into infinity and beyond, a certain book entitled On The Justice of Roosting Chickens. This book, written by Ward Churchill, is a listing of atrocities mentioned above. Now first let me say that we as Americans cannot deny that our government and its agencies (sometimes including the armed forces) have wrought much pain on various nations throughout the world and throughout the years since 1776. Since getting a little older and studying things for myself, I have come to the conclusion we as American citizens have sat by idly for many years while these atrocities were committed. Or as one person said "the Silent Majority was irrelevant."
I do believe those things. The problem was that I used "facts" provided by a person who had carried himself for a quarter of a century as a "Native American" when in fact he is just as White as I am. Not only that, but this man, Ward Churchill, stated his mission was to get rights restored and reparations made to the remaining Native American population, given that EVERY SINGLE TREATY our government made with Native American nations has been dishonored by US - the United States. Now it is TRUE that the United States nullified its treaties (whether formally or "de facto") with the various Indian nations. But Ward Churchill went beyond good scholarship by making up some facts and/or the numbers associated with those facts.
Above all, Churchill is simply NOT CREDIBLE because he manufactured his Native American identity. A little research will show that he was made an "honorary" member of one tribe, but that was ceremonial in nature, and in no way "made" him a Native American. So Ward Churchill and his writings can no longer be considered credible, which is tragic, since he had raised awareness of both the maltreatment of Native Americans by our government, and the war crimes committed overseas by our government. But, I unfortunately cited Churchill's book as a credible source of said atrocities. So I am now having a crow sandwich for dinner.
Ward Churchill did a great dis-service to the Native American cause, and to Americans in general, and I have done a dis-service to all my readers. I find that I am nearly a decade behind in learning of Churchill's lies, which he spread through apparently credible, academic means. Had I done my homework, I would not have cited Churchill's book or relied on any of his "factual" information. So I apologize for my own error in not looking further into this man's background.
God Bless America
(while I eat my crow dinner)
More about crow eating in a minute, but first...I would like to pose this question: If a person who claims to be someone who his is really not, in other words, he LIED about himself and his background, then can ANYTHING this person has said or written be credible? I will answer that myself, class. If a liar says something that he wants to pass off as the truth, and someone knows the liar IS in fact...a liar...it is up to that someone to fact check the liar's information. Some of the information may prove to be true, and some may not. But if a person is "fooled" by a known liar, shame on that person.
So, back to the crow filet mignon. In one of my recent blogs I cited as a good and well-written book on the atrocities the American government has perpetrated on Native Americans, the people of the Middle East, the people of Japan, the people of Africa, of Latin America, and on into infinity and beyond, a certain book entitled On The Justice of Roosting Chickens. This book, written by Ward Churchill, is a listing of atrocities mentioned above. Now first let me say that we as Americans cannot deny that our government and its agencies (sometimes including the armed forces) have wrought much pain on various nations throughout the world and throughout the years since 1776. Since getting a little older and studying things for myself, I have come to the conclusion we as American citizens have sat by idly for many years while these atrocities were committed. Or as one person said "the Silent Majority was irrelevant."
I do believe those things. The problem was that I used "facts" provided by a person who had carried himself for a quarter of a century as a "Native American" when in fact he is just as White as I am. Not only that, but this man, Ward Churchill, stated his mission was to get rights restored and reparations made to the remaining Native American population, given that EVERY SINGLE TREATY our government made with Native American nations has been dishonored by US - the United States. Now it is TRUE that the United States nullified its treaties (whether formally or "de facto") with the various Indian nations. But Ward Churchill went beyond good scholarship by making up some facts and/or the numbers associated with those facts.
Above all, Churchill is simply NOT CREDIBLE because he manufactured his Native American identity. A little research will show that he was made an "honorary" member of one tribe, but that was ceremonial in nature, and in no way "made" him a Native American. So Ward Churchill and his writings can no longer be considered credible, which is tragic, since he had raised awareness of both the maltreatment of Native Americans by our government, and the war crimes committed overseas by our government. But, I unfortunately cited Churchill's book as a credible source of said atrocities. So I am now having a crow sandwich for dinner.
Ward Churchill did a great dis-service to the Native American cause, and to Americans in general, and I have done a dis-service to all my readers. I find that I am nearly a decade behind in learning of Churchill's lies, which he spread through apparently credible, academic means. Had I done my homework, I would not have cited Churchill's book or relied on any of his "factual" information. So I apologize for my own error in not looking further into this man's background.
God Bless America
(while I eat my crow dinner)
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