More anti-Angryindian blather from Newspaper Rock

4.6.09

As expected, the anti-Ward Churchill war wagon rolls on and IIN’s humble editor-in-chief is again dragged into the conflict when I have absolutely nothing directly to do with the debate. Cartesian common sense would dictate in a rational universe that when folks take ideological issue with a public entity, they would stick to needling that particular individual entity. But as we have seen over the past eight years under the Bush administration and more recently with the doltish whining of the Limbaugh-led republican party disinformation machine, character assassination takes precedence over examination and analysis.

Neo-conservatives, be they Euro-settler, assimilationist American Indian or otherwise spend more time lobbing insults and focusing on non-issues than they do actually working to address real life concerns. If there are folks highly upset with Prof. Churchill over his self-identification as an American Indian take it up with him, not me. But neo-cons, regardless of ethnic affiliation, have demonstrated a peculiar habit of picking arguments and outright fights with people and groups who have done little more than state that their chosen enemies may have a point. Apparently this is verboten in their skewed view of the world, a rather narrow universe of dichotomies based on fear, loathing and a childish obsession with total dominance over any given issue they decide threatens their emotional security.

I have no idea who Melvin Martin is and frankly could care less. As far as I am aware he represents no one but himself and perhaps those who care to pay him and whatever he claims he does any attention. I’ve never heard of him until he began harping on Churchill’s ethnicity in Newspaper Rock and a smattering of comments to the articles of other people. I’m not even sure if he is the Melvin Martin of the Oglala Lakota’s or the Melvin Martin of the Navajo Nation and outside of NR, his Indian political activity is a mystery, at least online. He may be extremely active within his own community or he may be a liar, who knows. All I really know about him is that he likes to make statements he seems to think are highly profound and morally negate other, more radical voices he finds personally offensive.

Such as this non sequitur that I suppose was published to put me in my proverbial place:

To Angryindian, a little ditty:

“Oh, where-where were you? When I needed you?
“You-a-who-who, might be Cherokee or Sioux?”

If the reader can find some value in this gibberish please explain it to me for I can see nothing here but neo-con emotive vomitus no less inane than the rubbish Karl Rove or Dick Cheney gleefully spew forth to anyone who is willing to listen.

I’m not Ward Churchill. If you have a problem with him, take it up with him and leave me out of it. As I have mentioned in earlier articles, the anti-Churchill lobby is making him a counter-cultural and political superstar by attacking him as often as they do. If he is that much of an irritant, ignore him and the media spotlight will go away. Every article and hate-piece written about Mr. Churchill only raises his political stock higher. He has no personal website, no blog and no public relations organ outside of a committed band of political supporters. On the other hand, American Indian Movement activist John Trudell does have all these extras and even sells merchandise while saying the exact same things Churchill says. In fact, the very same position I take on the debate surrounding his ethnicity is espoused by Mr. Trudell, so why not bring his name into this issue as well? If the anti- Churchill naysayers are insistent on using the racist U.S. Government policy of ethnic classification cards as a basis for defining who is and isn’t Indian, how is this any different than the policies of Nazi Germany during the 1930’s? And even more ugly, how much personal integrity does an Indian have when he or she not only upholds such genocidal practises but defends and zealously promotes such eugenics?

Perhaps Mr. Martin’s own written commentary provides a clue:

“I do know a few things though given my experiences “back in the day” when I hit the bricks answering job ads that specifically mentioned “Native Americans strongly encouraged to apply.” One, a giant turkey feather tucked into the huge Afro hairdo of a very, very black man wearing a choker and turquoise jewelry who simply said he’s Choctaw was no laughing matter: he was hired over me. Two, if a statuesque Anna Nicole Smith look-alike who claimed 4/4ths Cherokee, and who worked in the same department as I did doing the same exact job, is made supervisor one month after I applied for the position, what was a "lame" like me to think?”

Sounds like Mr. Martin has some personal identity and racial tolerance problems of his own to deal with. As is often the case, people with internal identity issues tend to project their inner discord towards others rather than face their own demons. This is an individual who takes pride in his Euro-settler colonial-state issued CDIB pedigree ID card. Evidently he needs to be told by a White government authority that he really is Indian before he could believe it himself. To me that is a sign of internal confusion, the mark of a slave not sure if his freedom can or should be considered if it contradicts the dictates of his master(s). Perhaps this is really the crux of the debate. It’s quite possible that the animosity directed towards Ward Churchill and this writer is just that, antagonism and maybe an unmentioned envy for those of us subjected to genocide, eugenics and colonialism that have the courage to define ourselves rather than ask the White man for qualification to be what we are.

Whatever the reason, I’m not the issue, Mr. Churchill is. Take the animosity to him, not the periphery.

- The Angryindian