a question...
been so long, I thought I forgot my passoword.
Anyway, I'll return to our regularly scheduled blogging shortly. For the time being, I have a question: anybody who follows the rightie blogs knows the name of Ward Churchill. One of the things he is being bashed on is his assertion that at one point the US army intentionally gave smallpox-ridden blankets to his "brothers", the American Indians.
So, his particular story has pretty much been proven to be bullshit. Based on footnotes that never existed, and all that. My question is, is he the only one that has posed this event, and is it true at any time or another? I know Churchill's is bunk, but is there a more factual record of us deliberatly poisoning indians?
The reason I ask is because I had an American history course last semester, and the teacher repeatedly mentioned this scandal. She taught it as a proven fact, a regualar part of the lecture. I'm pretty sure it even showed up in one of the videos she had us watch. And wow, would I love to tell her that she is wrong on this one. I don't want to say I'd throw it in her face, but she'd certainly be getting an email from me. But I can't really do that if it actually happened, except when Churchill asserted it did. I need to find out if there are any
proven records of it.
Anybody out there on the vast internets know? Did the American Army, at any point, deliberatly give Indians smallpox? And if not, want to help put the "Ah ha!" to a hardcore lefty college prof? Or if so, then put the smackdown a rightie blogger? All I want is somewhat substantial proof one way or the other, if possible.
UPDATE: (I hate that. There has to be a better way to say "I have more to say about this" than that ridiculous "UPDATE" tag, like this is some kind of serious news story)
I HAVE MORE TO SAY ABOUT THIS STUPID NON-INVESTIGATION:
This essay by a prof at Lamar University (which, presumibly, is a real school that I've simply never heard of, unlike Churchill's degree-by-mail alumnus) named Thomas Brown pretty much says that, although there was a smallpox epidemic, there is not and never was any evidence that it was intentionally perpetrated by the US Army, although apparently some folks considered it, which still ain't pretty but not nearly as bad as actually doing it. I haven't finished it yet, but that seems the general thrust of the argument.
And I think my history prof may be getting a
Christmas present, suggested by
Ilyka as a referance in the comment(s). The only decision to make is whether to buy it and give it to her, or buy it, read it, and then constantly argue with her. As if I didn't allready.
