Russel Means

[Muttly]

[MENTION=10851]WhoMe[/MENTION]

Thank you for sharing a great story!!

[Zeke]

I may not of agreed with some things he said and did, but I did look up to him at one time.

That's probably true of every adult we'll ever know. When we're old enough, it will likely be true of us.

Good stuff, though.

My specific beef with Means is that he continued selling even when he knew the message was bogus. It's as if Malcolm X went to Mecca, had an awakening, came back to the United States and kept preaching the hypocrisy of Elijah Muhammad even though he knew it was crap.

1. He didn't.
2. It got him killed.
3. That's true leadership.

Russell Means had a single shining moment (which is more than most of us get) that, eventually, did more to harm Native causes than help. Hindsight is 20/20, however, and it is difficult to assess any judgment for those actions at the time. But when you realize what you're doing is a pooch screw, you should stop doing it.

Flip-flopping on his own sovereignty dogma when it suited him to avoid prosecution for assault was just the cherry on top for me, conclusively proving that not he even he believed his own BS anymore.

For the past thirty years, Means was a caricature whose existence undermined attempts by progressive Natives to improve themselves. Considering he didn't believe his own agenda, that's an unforgivable failure.

[Atehequa]

It's like a litmus test. (edited for inappropriate language)

[yaahl]

It's like a litmus test.

Atehequa:

This is your last warning. If you want trouble, I suggest you go figure out how a mobilus strip works.

[Zeke]

It's like a litmus test. (edited for inappropriate language)

Those who think you an idiot as opposed to those who aren't very bright?