Friday, July 11, 2008
Wounded Knee
By far the most disturbing and eye-opening stories we have talked about in class is the massacre(and yes, I feel confident using that word in this situation) at Wounded Knee. I could not believe the callousness of the U.S. troops in that situation, to open fire on a group of unarmed Indians who are blatantly waving a white flag of mercy. The fact that over 250 women and children were present makes this event all the more savage(oh, how the tables have turned). I was also staggered by the reporter's account of the massacre in the video we watched during class. He was very obviously shaken to the core, amazed at the brutality he witnessed. Even the doctor, who had served during the Civil War, turned ghostly pale. And I have yet to even mention the forlorn silence which fell over that church, the silence that told the whole story.
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3 comments:
Great post! There are many things that have disturbed me while taking this class and wounded knee is on top of that list. I just can't understand the line of thinking that leads people to kill so mercilessly. I mean, these people must have felt that Indians were less than human to be able to massacre them in that manner. I just can't imagine being able to be apart of something like that. I wonder if these troops were able to go on and live their lives in a normal fashion after this or if they were tormented by the images and pain they caused. In a sick way I hope they found it difficult to live with what they had done.
I completely agree. There is no sense in killing all the women and children. It really upset everyone. Whites, Indians, everyone. If you are trying to get people to like you killing the innocent will quickly turn them against you. It goes the same for treaties. People who made the treaties really hurt themselves once the Indians realized that the whites weren't going to keep their "promises."
I must say that I completely agree. The massacre at wounded knee was easily the most disturbing and heartbreaking piece of american history I have ever heard. To open fire on unarmed, peaceful people who have already shown that they are submissive and indiscriminately kill so many was nothing short of heartless. I often wonder in situations like this if it was just mob mentality and prejudice that overcame the troops or if there are other factors that contribute to such horrible catastrophes.
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