SECOND GUESSING AND THE BLIND SQUIRREL

Here’s the reality as I see it – people can second guess anything that a person says or does, and that usually depends on their own opinion or what they say they would have done or said.

Often enough people will second guess their own decisions, sometimes it’s appropriate to do so and sometimes it isn’t.

So what does it amount to? Second guessing or speculation that could like the blind squirrel actually find a nut or two.

Some things are so obvious, so transparent, second guessing is entirely irrelevant, but almost a given that on the internet it will be a part of any discussion or narrative.

We all do it, but without the ability to verify we ought to at least include words like “maybe”, “perhaps”, or “seems like”.

Who knows, it could jog someone’s memory or inspire them to step forward, it could lead a discussion in a new direction that bears fruit or becomes mired down in conspiracy theories.

Annie’s decision to return to PR after having been labeled a snitch has also been second guessed – speculations and opinions abound inspite of her own words describing her reasons for doing so as quoted on multiple occasions.

The same can be said of another AIM victim, Perry Ray Robinson Jr.

Why did he go to WK2? Maybe he was an “informant” as AIM would have you believe, or nobody saw or even heard of him as Russell Means went on about – but if anyone did only when Ray was walking out of the area eating a candy bar ignoring the obvious reason that he was a man who had dedicated his life not just to civil rights but equity for all people ……. yet the more gullible continue to second guess.

Second guessing can also be that little intuitive voice saying hold on something isn’t right here and when that happens people should have the integrity to pursue it whether it fits into their beliefs or not.

On those occasions when I work with people I tell them what is important is the quality of the work, if they have a particular way of going about it they’re comfortable with that produces the desired end result go for it.

Sometimes I may second guess them during the process wondering  what exactly are they doing, ask for an explanation, or I may even suggest a different method that works well, might be easier, quicker, and sacrifices nothing, as in the construction trades it’s not only about doing the job right but in a timely manner as well.

Sometimes I learn a new a trick or two and second guess the previous way I may have done something as I’m not locked into anything related in the sense that I believe I know it all, that there’s nothing new to learn.

The qualifier in all things is bullshit is bullshit and should be recognized as denied as such.

That’s the way it was when I supported Peltier – I went from believing the bullshit that there wasn’t anything new to learn until that little nagging voice began to say “hold on something isn’t right here” leading me to ask questions and discover that there was indeed a great deal more to learn.

If any want to prioritize second guessing and present it as fact or conspiracy begin with the decades of bullshit AIM has been slinging around, maybe in doing so they’ll find a nut or two like that blind squirrel and be man or woman enough to accept it.

If any were born on the rez, ever lived on the rez, or spent anytime at all
around traditional elders and medicine people they would know they take a very deliberate approach to things and consider their words carefully before speaking them.

They don’t rush, get loud, want to be first as though a contest exists or resort to a lot of vitriol, but you can believe they make their point in such a way that only the hardest of hearts ignores.

That’s an approach I admire and do my best in the day to day physical
world to follow the example they provide as a life lesson.

They understand their position and responsibility and conduct themselves accordingly because to them it isn’t about them but the common welfare.

I’m neither an elder nor a medicine person so my aspirations often enough fall short as I like everyone else have strengths and weaknesses.

I recognize that and make an effort to move forward rather than remain static or in retrograde.

No one can ever convince me there is something wrong with calling a spade a spade, but if opting to do so we ought to know what we are talking about and be willing to be persuaded if it can be demonstrated we are wrong. We ought to do so with a little dignity if the situation
allows or warrants it.

I could care less about the absolute extremes that have been taken when it comes to “political correctness”, a concept or perhaps more appropriately the latest feel good internet meme I will not allow to put a muzzle on what I think or say, nor blinders to obscure or obstruct what can be seen.

No respect, no courtesy for the shAIMster wannabe “warriors” of AIM, the murdering, lying, thieving, cultural genocidists of the “leadership” or the Peltierites and their bogus make believe “political prisoner”.

They’ve had decades to do the right thing and refuse to – the membership has had decades to take control of the so called “movement” and made no effort to, so to hell with them.

I will afford a common courtesy and respect if warranted, if that isn’t enough and some believe they deserve more then earn it, if not, deal with it or second guess my motives if you like.

 

“FOR HUMANITIES SAKE”

http://www.upworthy.com/i-dont-think-these-kids-trusted-their-teachers-very-much-and-they-were-right-not-to?c=ufb1

The end goal of conquest is about more than “victory”, it is about dominance, resources, reeducation, and assimilation – the “burden” as characterized in the above video.

What is done is done, most of which is beyond our reach as a people, but our emphasis must be the resurrection of our roots, not a marketable facsimile of them or one driven by the expectations of youtube videos, the media, or theater, for such in a less overt way are to a degree a continuation of the boarding school process requiring a certain level of performance.

We as a people are neither “quaint” nor a petting zoo- our communities something more than a tourist stop, they must reflect who we are, the values once held now in disarray .

A key ingredient is education, an education inclusive of our history, our language, and our traditions as well as those essentials that will enable our children to succeed in a way to break the cycle of dependency, poverty, and domination.

The battle for conquest has always been to capture the minds of children, to “re educate” them – it is battle we cannot afford to lose.

A fight that must be waged within our communities where the front line is, and a fight that can only be won by providing a secure environment and examples.

Our “humanity” is at stake – a humanity that must not and will not accommodate corruption or nepotism, drugs and substance abuse, gangs, rogue elements personified by the AIM leadership, or any form of abuse directed at women and children.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRsU0XMpb0M

INDIAN FOR A DAY

Indian for a day – apparently there is a notable segment of society that wishes it could be so.

But I don’t really think they would like it, not the reality – it isn’t about Running Bear and Little White Dove, buxom e card “princesses”, or stoic warriors with six pack abs, both surrounded by adoring wolves or romping with horses as a raptor sits on their shoulder.

It isn’t about the one percenters of the AIM leadership, or those who live in comparative comfort having ascended to that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow known as a tribal government position.

It’s about the struggle, about poverty and unemployment, over the top teen suicide, gangs, alcohol and drug abuse.

Liars and thieves in your midst hustling everything you or your ancestors ever stood for, ever believed in, and calling themselves warriors and liberators.

It’s about cold in the winter, commodities,spam, peanut butter and other government issued delicacies like that slimy brick referred to as cheese.

It’s about the health related issues and the heart attacks, diabetes, cancer, birth deformities, the still born this diet and the stress from the aforementioned problems will lead to.

Doesn’t sound all that romantic does it?

It’s about no running water or contaminated water, outhouses or outbushes, and in places no electricity – that means no internet, no boob tube, no electric toothbrush.

You want to go to the Mall? Then scrounge up the money for gas to get you there, hope the tires hold together and you can window shop to your hearts content.

It’s about propane, having the money to purchase it and then waiting your turn.

Hungry children and elders in the house? No problem, pop open a can of spam, or slap some peanut mortar on a piece of bread. Little one crying? Pop a bottle of that powdered milk in their mouth and swallow the parental desperation in knowing there isn’t enough of anything.

Your sister or wife got raped? Hey no big deal she probably “asked for it”, and it wouldn’t due to assail a fellow warrior that he and his entire family will swear to is as a fine an upstanding man as Crazy Horse or Sitting Bull were.

Maybe he’s merely burdened with the Dennis Banks syndrome of “elk medicine” and not really to blame.

It’s about night crawlers, broken bottles strewn everywhere, syringes, and neighborhoods decorated with graffiti.

Yet in the midst of this, even this, good people survive and remain,  they are the last real Indians, a vanishing breed that knows and accepts the responsibility of being one of “the people”.

If you want to be an Indian for a day trying being one of them. It won’t be glamorous, but it will be honest.

THE PEOPLE

From the below linked blog:

“Been busy and first chance to respond – what has always served to validate the nations prophecies for me is even though they may vary from nation to nation there are common threads they share, and goes to a belief  I’ve expressed numerous times in this blog and elsewhere that each nation was given what they needed and could understand related to language, custom, and geography.

If that is true then none are meant to take precedence or another, they are threads that when woven together compose the fabric of the nations, a guideline and blueprint to live by not just as individuals but as “the people.”

Every one of our nations has referred to themselves in some manner or another as “the people”, with an understanding of what that meant – if we are to be honest though the numbers living their life as “the people” is declining as time marches on.

Animated movies such as Pocahontas employing bloated gas bags to do the “voice” of Powhatan are neither reflective of who we are or even historically accurate.

If they entertain that is the extent of their merit, that, and nothing more.

One could hardly expect Hollywood to make an animated film depicting Powhatan as a man with multiple wives and a single child by each, an alliance building effort – or Pocahontas as anything but a “princess” unless it was filled with gratuitous sex, violence, and came with an R rating.

I respect the beliefs and customs of all the nations and see them as part of a fabric as stated above.

Fabrics become frayed over time and fade if not cared for, this ceremonial fabric of the nations faces the same threat, a threat originating first with the invasion, then the reservation system, and now by those who offer them up as commodities to be purchased.

“Those” being individuals like the AIM leadership and their plastic shaman Crow Dog who never saw a dollar they wouldn’t bend over for.

They too may provide entertainment for some, but nothing they do can be said to be reflective of “the people”.

https://rezinate.wordpress.com/2012/08/06/new-age-sundance-shaman-2/

GUILT, PREJUDICE, AND ASPARAGUS

There is a very real difference between being ashamed of history and assuming a sense of guilt over it.

My feeling is a person isn’t guilty of anything based on the color of their skin, guilt requires participation, and some would argue indifference would qualify as well.

That’s kind of a fine line with multiples of variables but I tend to agree as it goes to the adage you’re either part of the solution or part of the problem.

The point is “white guilt” is often cultivated, and when it is the one sowing the seeds usually has a less than honorable agenda.

I’ve said before in this blog that guilt related to the nations has a generational application to the government, it’s approach and related policies – I firmly believe that – but an across the board all encompassing guilt for every descendent of the first euro boat people? Not on my radar, though I admit there was a time when it was.

The AIM leadership has a history of playing this guilt card while they themselves are laden with the guilt of murder and cultural genocide – the pot calling the kettle black, and that being the case little more than a facade.

An agenda to position themselves as being representative spokespersons for the nations and to reap the benefits of “donations”.

What we should all be about is righting wrongs, and in doing so finding unity and common ground with those of like mind.

Poverty and injustice doesn’t exist singularly among indigenous people of this or any other hemisphere, and as long as it exists anywhere we are all ultimately impoverished by it.

If you’re hungry, poor, homeless, abused, disenfranchised, or any of those things it feels the same regardless of who or where you are.

Equity and a respect for diversity are the only remedy for these things, that and for people to recognize prejudices for what they are…destructive.

It could be said that even one’s individual likes or dislikes of something so mundane as food or clothing is prejudicial, and I suppose at times it may be, while benign in other instances.

An example would be my lifelong dislike of asparagus, I may even be prejudiced against it’s very existence.

But my dislike for it neither impacts or impedes another who favors it. If it’s served as  part of meal and there’s no dog lurking under the table fool enough to accept it on the sly then I’ll consume it out of respect for the effort of preparation and the willingness to share.

I’m basically omnivorous, having learned at an early age to eat what was available and placed on the table – no whining, no tantrum, just eat. Never threw myself on the floor or held my breath attempting to turn blue.

I never thought of my mother or any other woman as a short order cook whose duty it was to cater to individual food orders – that’s what Diners are for.

I enjoy a good meal but a part of me born of necessity has been to view food as fuel, something essential to function and remain upright – better of course if it’s enjoyable, but still fuel in the end.

People have at times been perceived as fuel – a fuel whose efforts power the construction of empires, slave fuel in the construction of the Black Robe churches, plantations, railroads, and a host of other inequities. There is a distinct guilt associated with such things, an undeniable one.

Prejudice often is born of the environment children are raised in with racism being a learned behavior, one need only to watch young children play and interact to know the truth of that.

I’ve had my own share of prejudices, but believe I’ve overcome the majority of them.

That asparagus thing though? I’m not ready to give that up…. call me a “hater” or whatever, but that’s just the way it is.

Gave me a chill just to upload the photo.

A QUESTION OF HONOR

Everything is ultimately a question of honor-the manner in which we conduct ourselves, our daily affairs, both openly and in the privacy of our homes.

Without honor regardless of any excuses made we as individuals and as a collective society suffer for the lack of it….one  need only look around at current and historical events to know the truth of this.

And yet it seems to increasingly be in short supply-more so among those the responsibility of position or public office rests upon.

Honesty can hurt at times, but never in like measure to a lie, especially a lie exposed accompanied by a sense of betrayal.

As indigenous people we have historically placed a great value on honor and the way it is reflected in the words and deed of individuals, in our communities, unfortunately this isn’t always the case now.

Now liars and frauds like the AIM leadership are praised by some, followed, their very words and deeds mimicked as though honor exists in both, and yet nothing could be farther from the truth.

In this day and age of internet access it is all there-the lies,  the scams, the egos, and even the undeniable evidence of numerous crimes and murders committed.

We see parents who fail to honor their children, and children failing to honor their parents-men dishonoring women, themselves, and their responsibilities, with women doing likewise -politicians so lacking as to view the masses as little more than something to manipulate, and corporations who care about nothing more than the profit line.

In one way or another we all pay it forward-the good, the bad, and even indifference-whichever it is should be our decision, not the influence of liars and dishonorable men or women.

Below, Sarah Brightman: A Question of honor…what a magnificent voice.

Friends of mine who own a coffee shop I do all the repairs etc for always have music playing for their customers-how I came to know about Brightman  and groups like Enigma. Anyone who hasn’t watched the Harem dvd by her should, the cinematography is stunning and Brightman has a singular voice.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkdDSxQFhQQ