Offended by the use of 'Geronimo' as codename

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moshquerade

moshquerade

No Lifer
Nov 1, 2001
61,504
12
56
Onondaga Nation leaders blast 'Geronimo' codename for Bin Laden


Published: Wednesday, May 04, 2011, 6:35 AM Updated: Wednesday, May 04, 2011, 8:12 AM


Onondaga Nation Territory -- Leaders of the Onondaga Nation blasted as “reprehensible” the code name used for Osama bin Laden in the commando assault that killed him: “Geronimo.”

“We’ve ID’d Geronimo,” U.S. forces reported by radio Sunday to the White House. Later, word came that “Geronimo” was dead.

Geronimo was an Apache leader in the 19th century who spent many years fighting the Mexican and U.S. armies until his surrender in 1886.

“Think of the outcry if they had used any other ethnic group’s hero,” the Onondaga Council of Chiefs said in a release Tuesday. “Geronimo bravely and heroically defended his homeland and his people, eventually surrendering and living out the rest of his days peacefully, if in captivity.”

“Geronimo is arguably the most recognized Native American name in the world,” the chiefs said, “and this comparison only serves to perpetuate negative stereotypes about our people.”

See coverage of bin Laden's death in stories, videos and photos.
The chiefs said the incident revived memories of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s remark last year that Gov. David Paterson should “get yourself a cowboy hat and a shotgun” to deal with Indian affairs.

“It’s typical,” said Onondaga Tadodaho Sid Hill, the nation's spiritual leader. He said Geronimo was a hero to American Indians and it was incomprehensible that “they use him to identify a man like Osama Bin Laden.”

“Why would that be honorable to us?” he asked.

“All they know is just cowboys and Indians, the stuff they saw on TV.”
Hill said he had higher hopes for President Obama, who he said was adopted by the Blackfoot tribe during the 2008 election campaign. “Nobody seems to be able to see our side."

Loretta Tuell, staff director and chief counsel for the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, had a similar same reaction.

“These inappropriate uses of Native American icons and cultures are prevalent throughout our society, and the impacts to Native and non-Native children are devastating,” Tuell said.

Tuell is a member of the Nez Perce tribe and grew on the tribe’s reservation in Idaho.

Steven Newcomb, a columnist for the weekly newspaper Indian Country Today, criticized what he called a disrespectful use of a name revered by many Native Americans.

“Apparently, having an African-American president in the White House is not enough to overturn the more than 200-year American tradition of treating and thinking of Indians as enemies of the United States,” Newcomb wrote.

“It’s frustrating,” said Hill. “We just can’t let this slide again.”
Click to expand...
It was a codename for the mission. How is that offensive? It's actually a badge of honor symbolizing bravery!
 
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F

Farang

Lifer
Jul 7, 2003
10,913
3
0
I see how it is offensive, but they are just going to have to get over it. The codename was probably given by a soldier, not a politician, you can't expect them to care about that sort of stuff.
 
J

jalaram

Lifer
Aug 14, 2000
12,920
2
81
He said Geronimo was a hero to American Indians and it was incomprehensible that “they use him to identify a man like Osama Bin Laden.”
Click to expand...

This is the key. It wasn't the name of the mission, it was the code name for a terrorist.
 
NuclearNed

NuclearNed

Raconteur
May 18, 2001
7,850
342
126
Political correctness has reached level 11. The day is coming when the only words we'll be allowed to use will actually be nothing more than a series of grunts and howls. Vonnegut looks more like a prophet all the time.
 
moshquerade

moshquerade

No Lifer
Nov 1, 2001
61,504
12
56
jalaram said:
This is the key. It wasn't the name of the mission, it was the code name for a terrorist.
Click to expand...
Whose interpretation was that? From what I've read it was codename for the mission. You are reading the interpretation of someone looking to get offended.


"Geronimo was the code name for the operation that sent two teams of 12 SEALS zooming by Blackhawk helicopters to a walled compound in Abbotabad, Pakistan, on Sunday to kill or capture the most wanted man in the world."
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/osama-bin-laden-operation-code-geronimo/story?id=13507836
 
Paladin3

Paladin3

Diamond Member
Mar 5, 2004
4,933
878
126
How they used Geronimo's name is most important. If it was only "Operation Geronimo" I wouldn't care as much, but if Bin Laden himself was referred to as "Geronimo" then it was most inappropriate and disrespectful.

"I've got Geronimo in my gun sites, permission to fire?" should never have happened, if it did.

Can you imagine the outrage if Bin Laden had been referred to as "MLK" or "JFK?"
 
Z

Zargon

Lifer
Nov 3, 2009
12,218
2
76
moshquerade said:
Whose interpretation was that? From what I've read it was codename for the mission. You are reading the interpretation of someone looking to get offended.


"Geronimo was the code name for the operation that sent two teams of 12 SEALS zooming by Blackhawk helicopters to a walled compound in Abbotabad, Pakistan, on Sunday to kill or capture the most wanted man in the world."
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/osama-bin-laden-operation-code-geronimo/story?id=13507836
Click to expand...


that statement contradicts the statement of 'we id'd geronimo'

you id'd a mission? or a target?

wTF did they want? his codename to be hitler or stalin?

they pick easlily recognizable names that are hard to confuse with other words
 
J

jalaram

Lifer
Aug 14, 2000
12,920
2
81
moshquerade said:
Whose interpretation was that? From what I've read it was codename for the mission. You are reading the interpretation of someone looking to get offended.


"Geronimo was the code name for the operation that sent two teams of 12 SEALS zooming by Blackhawk helicopters to a walled compound in Abbotabad, Pakistan, on Sunday to kill or capture the most wanted man in the world."
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/osama-bin-laden-operation-code-geronimo/story?id=13507836
Click to expand...

From your link, I now see that the operation was named Geronimo. My bad.
However, from the text that you quoted:

“We’ve ID’d Geronimo,” U.S. forces reported by radio Sunday to the White House. Later, word came that “Geronimo” was dead.
Click to expand...

That seems like OBL was given the codename Geronimo.
 
IndyColtsFan

IndyColtsFan

Lifer
Sep 22, 2007
33,655
687
126
jalaram said:
This is the key. It wasn't the name of the mission, it was the code name for a terrorist.
Click to expand...

Who gives a crap? It was a code name. I'm sorry, but I don't expect elite special forces to clear all mission code names through a PC clearinghouse prior to undertaking a mission.
 
moshquerade

moshquerade

No Lifer
Nov 1, 2001
61,504
12
56
jalaram said:
This is the key. It wasn't the name of the mission, it was the code name for a terrorist.
Click to expand...
"Guys, Geronimo was the name of the OPERATION, not bin Laden himself. In the rush to report the story, a bunch of idiots on twitter and blogs misreported the transmission as "Geronimo is KIA" or even "We've IDed Geronimo." They just obviously misunderstood and garbled up the code– the message was actually "Geronimo-E KIA," where "Geronimo" identifies the operation, "E" stands for "enemy," and "KIA" is short for "Killed in Action."
 
blurredvision

blurredvision

Lifer
Oct 19, 2000
17,860
4
81
Paladin3 said:
Can you imagine the outrage if Bin Laden had been referred to as "MLK" or "JFK?"
Click to expand...

But Geronimo isn't anywhere near as prevalent in our society as those two, so big fucking deal. I'd be willing to guess that whomever picked Geronimo as the codename had no clue who it actually was, or if they even knew it referred to somebody and wasn't just a term.
 
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