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PrintThe firearms lesson of Wounded Knee
Op-Ed
A lesson to be learned is the anniversary of Wounded Knee, Dec. 29, 2012, which marked the 122nd anniversary of the 1890 murder of 297 Sioux Indians at Wounded Knee Creek on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.
These 297 people, in their winter camp, were murdered by federal agents and members of the 7th Cavalry who had ?come to confiscate the Sioux’s firearms for the Indians own safety and protection.
The slaughter began after the majority of the Sioux had peacefully turned in their firearms.
When the final round had been fired, of the 297 dead or dying, two-thirds (200) were women and children. We do not hear of Wounded Knee today. It is not mentioned in our history classes or books. What little does exist about Wounded Knee is normally the sanitized, official government explanation, or the historically and factually inaccurate depictions of the events leading up to the massacres.
Wounded Knee was among the first federally-backed gun confiscation attempts in United States history. It ended in the senseless murder of 297 people.
Before you jump on the emotionally-charged bandwagon for gun-control, take a moment to reflect on the real purpose of the Second Amendment: The right of the people to take up arms in defense of themselves, their families and their property in the face of invading armies or an oppressive government. The Second Amendment was written by people who fled oppressive and tyrannical regimes in Europe, and refers to the right of American citizens to be armed for defense purposes should such tyranny rise in the United States.
As time goes on, the average citizen in the United States continues to lose personal freedom and liberty. Far too many times, unjust bills are passed and signed into law under the guise of being for your safety, or for your protection. The Patriot Act, signed into law by then-President G.W. Bush, then expanded and continued by President Barack Obama, is just one of many examples of American citizens being stripped of their rights and privacy for safety.
Now, the right to keep and bear arms is on the table and will, most likely, be taken away for our so-called safety. Before any American citizen blindly accepts whatever new firearms legislation is about to be doled out, they should stop and think about something for just one minute.
Evil does exist in our world. It always has and always will. Throughout history, evil people have committed evil acts. In the Bible, one of the first stories is that of Cain killing Abel.
We cannot legislate evil into extinction. Good people will abide by the law, defective people will always find a way around it.
Evil exists all around us, but looking back at the historical record of the past 200 years across the globe, where is evil and malevolence most often found In the hands of those with the power, i.e. the governments.
Many of the greatest human tragedies on record, and much of the loss of innocent human life, can be attributed to governments. Why do governments target, scapegoat and make enemies of their own citizens within their own borders after they have been disarmed to the point where they are no longer a threat?
Ask any Native American and they will tell you it was inferior technology and lack of firearms that contributed to their demise. Ask any Armenian why it was so easy for the Turks from 1915 to 1918 to exterminate 1.5 million of them, and they will answer, “We were disarmed before it happened.”
Ask any Jew what Hitler’s first step was, prior to the mass murder of 6 million human beings during the Holocaust, and they will answer it was the confiscation of firearms from the people.
Wounded Knee is the prime example of why the Second Amendment exists, and why we should not be in such a hurry to surrender our right to bear arms. Without the Second Amendment, we have no right to defend our families and ourselves. Without our rights, liberties and freedom, we become subjects.
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Roger Jack Young is a resident of Sonoma Valley.
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A more complete and accurate history of Wounded Knee, the last battle of the Indian Wars in 1890, can be found at http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/knee.htm. It was a military operation by the US Cavalry, which involved disarming the surrounded Indians (i.e., the enemy), as a modern army would disarm enemies it has surrounded or subdued in combat.
Citing Wounded Knee as an example of what can happen if citizens are NOT armed, Mr. young asks: "(t)ake a moment to reflect on the real purpose of the Second Amendment: The right of the people to take up arms in defense of themselves, their families and their property in the face of invading armies or an oppressive government."
Upon such reflection -- and overlooking that the "real purpose" of the 2nd amendment was not as Mr.Young represents -- it appears the Indians at Wounded Knee WERE indeed well armed, and facing an invading army/oppressive gov't. which had come after them & their guns.
A lot of good it did them. When the shooting started, they & their families were massacred in minutes.
If Wounded Knee has a lesson for today's gun-owners, it is the opposite of that claimed by Mr. Young. Wounded Knee teaches that if an "oppressive" US gov't -- with the most well-equipped military in the world -- decides to confiscate their firearms, it can easily do that even if it means prying them from cold dead hands and blotting up the remains of resisters with their personal copy of the 2nd amendment.
But Mr. Young is correct, in a way, in suggesting that history can repeat itself. Indians at Wounded Knee believed in magic & that their "ghost shirts" made them impervious to bullets. Today, those who cling to their guns likewise suffer from Magical Thinking that renders them impervious to facts, including the real lesson of Wounded Knee.
Totally agree. And the NRA was created to teach recently emancipated blacks how to use firearms for self-defense in the south where they were prevented from even carrying canes, by law antebellum.
I would like to add the thought that an armed guard stopped a school shooting. http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/world/55742445-68/shooting-atlanta-police-says.html.csp
The 2nd Amnd was created for one purpose. The founders
did not want weapons to only be in the hands of the government.
End of story!
"The slaughter began after the majority of the Sioux had peacefully turned in their firearms."
"Wounded Knee was among the first federally-backed gun confiscation attempts in United States history."
Neither statement is true; the firefight began because the Indians refused to give up their weapons out of fear of being annihilated. Brave Indians fought and died that day because, unlike other groups who were rounded up and peacefully disarmed under a white flag, Big Foot's band fought for their freedom; they were among the last warriors being escorted to the reservation.