Geronimo died a prisoner of war at Fort Sill, Okla., in 1909. A longstanding tradition among members of Skull and Bones holds that Prescott S. Bush — father of President George Bush and grandfather of President George W. Bush — broke into the grave with some classmates during World War I and made off with the skull, two bones, a bridle and some stirrups, all of which were put on display at the group’s clubhouse in New Haven, known as the Tomb.You can read the full story here.
The story gained some validity in 2005, when a historian discovered a letter written in 1918 from one Skull and Bones member to another saying the skull had been taken from a grave at Fort Sill along with several pieces of tack for a horse.
My first reaction upon reading the headline on the N Y Times website was one of mild amusement, but upon further reflection, it seems clear to me that regardless of whether the skull actually belongs (belonged?) to Geronimo, the skull had to come from somewhere, and at some point somebody broke into somebody else's grave, which isn't fine. The very fact that members of the Skull and Bones would claim (or even pretend) to have Geronimo's skull shows a terrible lack 0f respect for Native Americans. Not that anyone really expects the Skull and Bones to be particularly enlightened, but I had hoped that their reputation was less than wholly deserved.
Your two cents?
4 comments:
I don't see where that leads to a lack of "enlightenment," by any reasonable sense of the word. Juvenile, sure. But then again it's Yale =P
Whether Native or not, whether Geronimo or not, the fact that 90-some years of Skull & Bones members celebrate having robbed a grave is all that really needs be said about their society.
please dont steal ivygate stories.
Dear Anonymous:
Kindly check the timestamp. This blog post was put up on Thursday night, whereas IvyGate posted it on Friday morning. The source for this story, as credited, is The New York Times.
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