Ronald Reagan on Indians

[Zorra]

Spoken like a true republican.:grr:

Ronald Reagan: Maybe we made a mistake
APRIL 18, 2001

Text of remarks by President Reagan at Moscow State University. May 31, 1988.

"Let me tell you just a little something about the American Indian in our land. We have provided millions of acres of land for what are called preservations -- or reservations, I should say. They, from the beginning, announced that they wanted to maintain their way of life, as they had always lived there in the desert and the plains and so forth. And we set up these reservations so they could, and have a Bureau of Indian Affairs to help take care of them. At the same time, we provide education for them -- schools on the reservations. And they're free also to leave the reservations and be American citizens among the rest of us, and many do. Some still prefer, however, that way -- that early way of life. And we've done everything we can to meet their demands as to how they want to live. Maybe we made a mistake. Maybe we should not have humored them in that wanting to stay in that kind of primitive lifestyle. Maybe we should have said, no, come join us; be citizens along with the rest of us. As I say, many have; many have been very successful.

"And I'm very pleased to meet with them , talk with them at any time and see what their grievances are or what they feel they might be. And you'd be surprised: Some of them became very wealthy because some of those reservations were overlaying great pools of oil, and you can get very rich pumping oil. And so, I don't know what their complaint might be."

http://64.62.196.98/News/show.asp?ID=pol/4182001-1d

[LibertyorDeath]

1. What an ignorant racist shit he truly was.

Thanks for reminding me.

[Sugarbleus]

3. Upper Classist and racist.......why didn't the bulk

of the country see it? Are there more of "them" then there are of us?

It's disheartening. I sometimes don't envision that liberals will ever bring in a pure agenda; nor any of our special brand of reforms ever come to fruition--at least not in my life time. It's sad. I cling to hope.

[Arianrhod]

9. We made a huge mistake in the 1960s.

We failed to take over the political system. As a result, we were unable to implement the kind of society we were creating for ourselves in the counterculture. Instead, we allowed the Machine to break up our demonstrations, shoot our students, and assassinate our leaders.

Now, I don't think there are enough people left who are genuinely committed to the kinds of things we wanted. The lure of easy living and the rise of apathy destroyed everything we stood for. Reagan was the beginning of our demise. * may be the completion of it.

[Sugarbleus]

33. I think you hit it spot on, sadly..........I still cling to hope eom

[the Kelly Gang]

2. what a generous man..free to leave the reservation !!

considering they owned the whole goddamned place

[Jose Diablo]

4. Reagan made bigotry a virtue

Thats why he was 'popular'. He encouraged peoples baser instincts. Let people be who they really wanted to be, even if those ideas were wrong and immoral.

That is Reagan's legacy.

Edit: Being 'popular' is not necessarily a 'leadership' quality.

[moof]

6. correct, racism/reaganism , a new name for the same old ignorance. n/t

[Piperay]

5. Native Americans were always

a sore point with ronzo, clear back when he was Governor here he would give speeches and make jokes about the Bureau of Indian Affairs being to over-funded. One 'joke' that I remember is Raygun says he goes to the BIA, which has a huge room with many many desks and agents, he finds an agent sobbing his heart out and says 'what's the matter'? the agent replies 'my indian died'....oh har de har har, aint that a kneeslapper, really funny joke (NOT)! :puke: I heard him tell that joke again and again, at the time I was just a teen-ager but I heard it so many times I could never forget it. :mad:

The media this week has gone on and on about his great sense of humor but his jokes had a cruel edge to them, shows what kind of man he was. x(

[Stephanie]

7. This is the Reagan I remember

I don't know who that guy was they were talking about all week.

[OneTwentyoNine]

8. Well Ronnie ....There you go again

That speech shows the true Ronald Reagan. Just like his take of the poor where their like a dog and will be at your back door looking for another handout the next day.

This 9-10 day worship of that asswipe while most people fawning over him don't really know how cruel the real RR was.

David

[Tellurian]

45. kick~

[dbt]

10. That excerpt points up the True Evil of Reagan.

He could say the nastiest, most demeaning shit in such an elegant manner. He was of an era when public speaking was High Art. On the Republican side of things, that Art is gone now, buried with Reagan.

All the compelling speakers who remain are Democrats. BWAAAHAAHAAHAAAA!

:evilgrin:
dbt

[DeerHunter]

11. Wrong On This One!

You guy's are way off on this one.
A friend of mine who lives on the Round Valley Reservation in California was berating Reagan the other day when I ran accross an article that told of a bill to flood the reservation and run all it's inhabitants off.
Reagan Vetoed the bill, saying that white man had had already done enough wrongs to the Indians.
I think some folks just get in lockstep with their party and put blinders on as to the truth!
There are good AND bad people and deeds in both the Democrat and Republican parties.
PLEASE THINK INDEPENDENTLY

[Q]

13. Wrong? Are you saying he didn't give that speech?

- It's not a matter of 'independent thought'. It's about accepting the truth about Reagan and those like him. You have every right to 'worship' him...but it's well-known and documented that he was a bigot and cared no more about the 'little people' than GWB*.

[dbt]

14. That WAS an independent thought.

Reagan WAS a brilliant speaker. He could hang with Churchill when it came to declamation. Reagan had the gift of making the hearer think that any words put before him (by any writer at all) were his own thoughts.

Welcome to DU.

:evilgrin:
dbt

[lumpy]

16. Well, isn't that precious.

Reagan vetoed 'a bill to flood the reservation and run all it's inhabitants off'. Whatta guy ! Great man !

[leesa]

19. Probably was some oil beneath them that he was hankering

to steal. Harder to do if it's flooded...we'll just give em some pretty colored beads....

[Piperay]

22. Who isn't thinking independently...

I agree that people need to but the ones I see that don't are the repukes who always tow the party line with no questios asked.

[Joanne98]

25. Bye bye

You forgot to take the DU IQ test. No dummy's allowed. :)

[Judi Lynn]

39. Your info. was so fascinating I had to run off and get more like it

You really can't get enough pro-Reagan news, can you? Here's what I found:

Police racism is undoubtedly a factor in much of what has transpired, but some residents suspect there may be even more to it. "They have a stake in keeping this community divided," says Pickett. "They haven't given up the idea of damming the Eel and flooding this valley. There was a plan to do that before, back in the late '60's. The only thing that stopped that was Ronald Reagan, when he was governor. He came here and looked it over and said they shouldn't flood it. But people here feel that he said that because Lousiana Pacific wanted to wait until they could take out all the timber." And, of course, it is the traditionalists that have been fighting the depredations of the big timber companies.
(snip)

http://www.mecgrassroots.org/NEWSL/ISS21-2/21-2.16RoundV.html

[mitchum]

44. The only good freeper is a...

[Nlighten1]

12. This is why the cowboy image is so important to "them".

When you watch those old Hollywood westerns that show the Indians as "savages" it is just myth making to wink at the racists. In truth though the Native American Indians had a very civilized society with cities and trade routes.

The racists need a derogatory image of the enemy to justify their raping and killing of them.

Its all been done before.

[PfcHammer]

15. What crap ! Darn those dirty Injuns. What goes around, comes around. n/t

[SammyWinstonJack]

17. Sounds like something * would say

Reads like a * speech. :crazy:

[Zomby Woof]

18. I remember that one!

That was also when he mispronounced 'paradigm' as 'paradiggum'. :crazy:

A truly horrible piece of crap he was.

[Fenris]

20. Oh, yes, the Apache LOVED Bosque Redondo!

And the Sioux LOVED that prime piece of real estate known as Pine Ridge! And the Cherokee LOVED that they were kicked off of their Westernized farms in the South and marched to Oklahoma because the whites coveted their property!

Those Injuns sure do love life on their crazy reservations!

:grr:

[John_Shadows_1]

21. Howard Zinn ....

"They, from the beginning, announced that they wanted to maintain their way of life, as they had always lived there in the desert and the plains and so forth"

We, of course, first encountered the Native American in the Eastern United States where there were no plains or deserts, and we drove them into the West, often in spectacles of cruelty like the Trail of Tears. In People's History of the United States, Howard Zinn just lays out the history of the Indian's submission better than I ever could. I'm white, and I can't stand racial apologism, but Reagan's unblinking dismissiveness, his unthinking assumption of superiority, is the heart-and-soul of white supremacy.

[DeerHunter]

23. You Are Making Fools Of Us All!

It is a SAAAAD commentary on the state of the Democratic party to see the seething hatred that pours off this site.
The filthy language,The name calling,the total refusal to accept the fact that there is good in most all people regardless of their party affiliation.
I thought we were the party of peace and inclusion.
The line between the parties is getting very thin.
We could get alot of those fence sitters on our side if we all cleaned up our act and quit acting like animals.

[Solly Mack]

24. LMAO...the truth seldom hurts......unless it oughta

and you sound like you're in pain.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

26. "We, we, we, we, we, we....."

Speak for yourself, Kemo Sabe.

[Joanne98]

28. Your a fool

For thinking you could bring your ignorance to this website. If Ronald Reagan didn't drown an Indian Reservation, it's only because he didn't think he could get away with it. Reagan was a BLATANT racsist and everybody knows it. Except you apparently. It's interesting that he mentioned oil in that speech, since then they've had money stolen from their trust fund by the Nazi Republicans. Eleven billion dollars. Will have to create a "special tax" for rascist Republicans to pay that one off. :)

[Piperay]

29. This site???

If you want to see real hate check out the freeper site, I'm sure you can find it easily enough.

[Fenris]

30. Us? We? Please.

If "this site" doesn't speak for the majority of Democrats, then by that logic neither do you.

[Joanne98]

31. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

Go away Cochese!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:)

[Lorien]

36. So, having compassion for the ORIGINAL Americans

makes you look foolish? Anger at bald faced greed and bigotry is "acting like animals"? What a monsterous comment.


You sure as hell bet I'm angry. You haven't begun to see anger from the Democratic party. Anger is what is needed to reclaim America from the racist, fascist madmen that are doing all they can to destroy our democracy and ruin us in the eyes of the world.

[Lorien]

37. So, having compassion for the ORIGINAL Americans

makes you look foolish? Anger at bald faced greed and bigotry is "acting like animals"? What a monsterous comment.


You sure as hell bet I'm angry. You haven't begun to see anger from the Democratic party. Anger is what is needed to reclaim America from the racist, fascist madmen that are doing all they can to destroy our democracy and ruin us in the eyes of the world.

[Rex]

42. Nancy is that you?

LOL! Love your nonsense post! Keep fighting the good fight against something that's way over your head!

[eleny]

27. Sounds like Archie Bunker on Thorazine

n/t

[kwolf68]

32. Love the Indian culture

I love the bumper sticker that I saw that has a picture of an Indian on it with the quote

"Where was the INS when we really need it in 1492" or something like that

[Geo55]

34. Also

get a chuckle when I hear how well the casinos are doing

[Lorien]

35. primitve?

My Chippawa cousins grew up on a reservation, and there sure as hell isn't anything "primitive" about them!!!(Unless being POOR is primitive to Raygun)!!

Fuck Reagan. Fuck him and all his bigoted oily robber barons!!!!
:mad: :mad: :mad: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke:

[Duncan Grant]

38. Great post, Zorra!

My peeve with Reagan has always been his negligence regarding HIV/AIDS...but this article truly captures his arrogance and entitlement.

Your post captures the Reagan I remember - not that apotheosis we all witnessed during the last week.

Thank you! :hi: :yourock:

[Zorra]

43. You are very welcome.

That speech, to me, transparently manifests the essence of Reagan's personal mental processes and belief systems, and can be used as a basis for understanding why the US regressed so rapidly, in so many ways, during the Reagan era.

I believe the speech is also a perfect general representation of the neo-conservative consciousness and world view. Shallow, at best.

It just occurred to me that our country is essentially being run by counterparts of the children that were characters in the novel "Lord of the Flies".

[thebaghwan]

40. As I have said for some time now; Rweagan always had Alzheimer's. Rot in

hell you worthless f**k.

[Rex]

41. Wow, makes one wonder what Stupidhead would have done

to force Native Americans off the reservation. Would he have given them diseased blankets? Notice how he mentions oil, I bet he wanted the land and thought "Indians" were just a speed bump in getting it.

[Duncan Grant]

46. Kick

This thread deserves a least one more kick because not everyone at DU has the opportunity to read GD over the weekend. :hi: :kick:

[AntiCoup2K4]

47. Everything Reagan knew about Native Americans......

...he learned from John Wayne movies :eyes:

[Rick in Maryland]

48. Not true

I think someone is trying to pull a leg or some other body part. I did a google search of "Reagan Moscow State University" and I got the following link:

http://www.nationalreview.com/document/reagan_moscow200406070914.asp

It is a complete transcript of his speech that day in Russia. Not one mention of Indians.

[Duncan Grant]

49. Yes, true! See links:

Still trying to find a 'bulletproof' transcript but these will do for now.

1) http://www.presidentreagan.info/speeches/moscow_state.cfm

ctrl F - indians

Looks like the remarks were made during a question and answer session.


2) http://www.powersource.com/campbell/sencamp.html#11 footnote #11
Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell