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Apparently the leader of the Ft Seal Apache tribe has demanded an apology for the use of the name 'Geronimo' as a code name for Osama Bin Laden.  They say it is insulting for us to use the name of an Apache and great American hero because Bin Laden was a murderer and terrorist who killed innocent people.

Hellooo?  So was Geronimo.   Whole Geronimo did fight for his own people, he was an enemy of the US govt, and he did kill and murder and terrorize Americans at every opportunity.  Then he became a drunken old man and died a sad pitiful death.  But there are many similarities between Geronimo and Bin Lauden.

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one man's terrorist another man's freedom fighter? couldn't the same be said of andrew jackson? or general sherman?

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Of Course!  If you werent an Indian. (our enemy at the time) we probably would have loved Jackson (the hero of N. Orleans).  

But ya know...I'm not an enemy of the United States.  I'm an American.  Geronimo wasnt.

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They can get over themselves.  Its not a big deal.  

-Line58

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Originally Posted by Bryant Platt:
They can get over themselves.  Its not a big deal.  

-Line58

x2

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Originally Posted by Dennis Young:
Of Course!  If you werent an Indian. (our enemy at the time) we probably would have loved Jackson (the hero of N. Orleans).  

But ya know...I'm not an enemy of the United States.  I'm an American.  Geronimo wasnt.

No he wasn't, but it is easy to see his side of the struggle......not so easy to see UBL's side.

Anywhay, I don't see the problem. Next thing you know we won't be able to yell Geronimo when we jump out of a plane.

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Originally Posted by Mark Simmons:


Next thing you know we won't be able to yell Geronimo when we jump out of a plane.

How the hell did that start anyway?

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Hmm, this is the kind of thread where you'd miss Mato from the myspace days, he could keep this thread alive and busyfor days if not weeks with his persecution complex about the white man.....  

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lol don't even start. i think it is much adieu about nothing. it would be one thing if the u.s. military came out and said, "we named it op. geronimo because we are drawing a direct comparison between geronimo and bin laden. p.s. screw you indians, we won!" but they didn't. it was simply the codename designation. did the greeks get all pissy over op. odyssey dawn?  

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Originally Posted by Dødherre Mørktre:
did the greeks get all pissy over op. odyssey dawn?  

Pah, who listens to the greeks anyway? They're too busy rioting over the economic meltown & austerity measures and planning to leave the euro zone to be annoyed about getting name-checked in some military operation.

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Yeah, Mato was a real Pistol.  Dont miss him one bit though and I'm sure the feeling is mutual.

Oreilly (a show I love) and I disagree on this issue.  He speaks highly of Geronimo and gives him American heroic status too.  But...well, yall know what I think.  

He was also mistaken about the use of the term Geronimo as well.  His staffers said it was because of an old movie around in the 30s or 40s.  But actually it began when 1 American paratrooper jumped from a plane and for some reason yelled the name.  

World War II paratrooper Aubrey Eberhardt was the first to scream "Geronimo!" while jumping from great heights.  Retired First Sergeant Ed Howard explains how it happened:

In 1940, the United States' first Parachute Test Platoon was formed. It consisted of 50 volunteers who trained in the sweltering heat of Georgia's Fort Benning. The days were mighty hot, so the paratroopers wanted to stay cool in the evening. One night, Private Eberhardt and three friends watched the movie Geronimo at a local (air conditioned) theater.

After the film, the group discussed the jump they were to make the following morning. According to Howard, one paratrooper asked Eberhardt if he believed he could jump "without fear." Eberhardt, eager to prove his toughness, said he'd show everyone he wasn't afraid by yelling "Geronimo!" as he jumped. Eberhardt believed that if he had the presence of mind to remember the word, it would prove he wasn't scared.

Long story short, Eberhardt jumped, yelled "Geronimo!" as promised, and the shout quickly caught on with his fellow paratroopers. Some time later the phrase was outlawed because officers felt it would draw unwanted attention to paratroopers landing in hostile territories. That said, the "Geronimo" motto is still seen on certain military insignias, so Eberhardt's legend lives on.

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Originally Posted by Dennis Young:
Some time later the phrase was outlawed because officers felt it would draw unwanted attention to paratroopers landing in hostile territories.

So what, a bunch of guys with guns coming down on parachutes shouting "Geronimo" is suspicious, whereas a bunch of guys with guns coming down on parachutes not shouting anything is perfectly ok.... Besides, if they were shouting it as they jumped out of the plane, how was anyone on the ground going to hear it?

:-P

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well dennis, i think it's obvious we share conflicting views on this one. obviously i can't condone attacks on women and children (but that's something both sides wound up doing), but i don't fault the natives one bit for trying to defend their lands, and their way of life. would you expect us to do any different if an advanced race came to earth and tried to stick us all on reservations, and began claiming the land that our people had lived on for thousands of years? or would you fight back?

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Clearly I'd fight back.    But my point is that Geronimo was a great Apache Indian hero.  He was not a citizen of the United States as the Apache tribe is hoping to make us believe.  The indians have been conning us with political correctness for decades...to the point that they have gotten us to give them breaks, special hand-outs and reparations.

Few would agree to reparations to blacks, but they will the indians.  Apparently  there is a double standard in our country.  The special handouts today are going to people who werent born yet, and are being paid for by taxpayers who werent around at the time and had nothing to do with the indian wars.

Hmm...wonder if England would give me reparations because my ancestors were Irish?

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Grr...double post again.