Colorado Billboard

[RX8er]

It's on Fox news mobile

Two billboards in which images of Native Americans are used to make a gun rights argument are causing a stir with some Colorado residents who say the image is offensive and insensitive.

The billboards in this northern Colorado city show three men dressed in traditional Native American attire and the words "Turn in your arms. The government will take care of you."

[lrpettit]

It's on Fox news mobile

Two billboards in which images of Native Americans are used to make a gun rights argument are causing a stir with some Colorado residents who say the image is offensive and insensitive.

The billboards in this northern Colorado city show three men dressed in traditional Native American attire and the words "Turn in your arms. The government will take care of you."

I see it now. Free Speech On Billboards is not covered under 1A (newest bill passed in Colorado).

[Keith B]

http://www.fox19.com/story/22112952/som ... nsensitive" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Dadtodabone]

http://news.yahoo.com/pro-gun-native-am ... 33535.html
While the activists quoted in the article were opposed to the billboards, the comments, even those made by alleged Native Americans, were positive.

[TexasGal]

I can't imagine the ones complaining have already taken a poll of Native Americans to see how they feel about the billboard. But they feel they can speak for them nonetheless. It does seem dicey to depict any group even if the message is historically true without some kind of prior discussion with the tribal leaders. It is prone to backfire. I can see where they might have a visceral reaction to being portrayed in native garb by anyone other than their own for any reason.

[The Annoyed Man]

This particular ad does distort the history by implying that Native Americans were subjected to injustice ONLY because they surrendered their guns. The actual truth is that they were murdered or pushed onto the reservations, whether or not they were armed with guns. Some peoples were more heavily armed than others. Some were barely armed or not armed at all. Some were more willing to wage war and resist, and others were more willing to assimilate into the white man's culture, with predictable results for either. Those who refused to assimilate suffered more greatly than those who didn't. Add into the mix the fact that some tribes allied themselves with the white man to wage war on other tribes. I'm not passing judgement here, just stating the facts. Furthermore, just as there are tens of millions of white Americans who have never once read the Constitution, let alone just the Bill of Rights, and who are therefore unqualified to comment on their own history, there certainly exist any number of Native Americans who are fundamentally ignorant about their own people's history, and are therefore themselves no more qualified to comment on it than any white man.

I reject the notion that only the group being portrayed gets to "control the message" about that group. That's the same crap that says that only African Americans are qualified to comment on black history, or only european-Americans are qualified to comment on white history. Of course, any such claims are absurd on their face. We have a first amendment, and it doesn't protect a right not to be offended. It goes without saying that common courtesy demands we be respectful of one another, but when "respect" turns into "politically correct censorship" which in turn buries the truth, then it is no longer respect but fear that governs the dialog.....fear of being thought to be insensitive. "Feelings" become more important than facts, and control of the message serves more to divide than to heal.

The message of this billboard is absolutely true in a philosophical sense, but it is a little vague in the historical sense.

[MeMelYup]

The message of this billboard is absolutely true in a philosophical sense, but it is a little vague in the historical sense.

That is true. It would not have the impact without the picture. It would not be a complete statement.

[xring]

This particular ad does distort the history by implying that Native Americans were subjected to injustice ONLY because they surrendered their guns. The actual truth is that they were murdered or pushed onto the reservations, whether or not they were armed with guns. Some peoples were more heavily armed than others. Some were barely armed or not armed at all. Some were more willing to wage war and resist, and others were more willing to assimilate into the white man's culture, with predictable results for either. Those who refused to assimilate suffered more greatly than those who didn't. Add into the mix the fact that some tribes allied themselves with the white man to wage war on other tribes.
.

This seems to be a better billboard for uncontrolled immigration than for gun control.