“Turn in your weapons. The government will take care of you”
“Turn in your arms/guns/weapons. The government will take care of you” is a saying that has been printed on many posters, usually with a picture of Native Americans. The anti-gun control message refers to the Battle of Wounded Knee on December 29, 1890. The Lakota (located near Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota) were instructed by the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment to turn in their weapons. A massacre ensued.
“Give up your guns. The government will take care of you, said Hitler to the Jews, and the US to the native Americans” was cited on Twitter on December 18, 2012. “Turn in your weapons. The government will take care of you” (with an illustration of Native Americans) was cited on Twitter on January 19, 2013. The saying, along with its illustration of Native Americans, made national news in the United States in March-April 2013 when billboards were posted.
Wikipedia: Wounded Knee Massacre
The Wounded Knee Massacre (officially Battle of Wounded Knee) occurred on December 29, 1890, near Wounded Knee Creek (Lakota: Čhaŋkpé Ópi Wakpála) on the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in the U.S. state of South Dakota. On the day before, a detachment of the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment commanded by Major Samuel M. Whitside intercepted Spotted Elk’s band of Miniconjou Lakota and 38 Hunkpapa Lakota near Porcupine Butte and escorted them five miles westward (8 km) to Wounded Knee Creek, where they made camp.
The remainder of the 7th Cavalry Regiment arrived, led by Colonel James W. Forsyth and surrounded the encampment supported by four Hotchkiss mountain guns.
On the morning of December 29, the troops went into the camp to disarm the Lakota. One version of events claims that during the process of disarming the Lakota, a deaf tribesman named Black Coyote was reluctant to give up his rifle, claiming he had paid a lot for it. A scuffle over Black Coyote’s rifle escalated and a shot was fired which resulted in the 7th Cavalry’s opening fire indiscriminately from all sides, killing men, women, and children, as well as some of their own fellow soldiers. The Lakota warriors who still had weapons began shooting back at the attacking soldiers, who quickly suppressed the Lakota fire. The surviving Lakota fled, but U.S. cavalrymen pursued and killed many who were unarmed.
By the time it was over, more than 200 men, women, and children of the Lakota had been killed and 51 were wounded (4 men, 47 women and children, some of whom died later); some estimates placed the number of dead at 300.
Twitter
Lily in space = /\ =
@LucilleBorg
“Now is the time to disarm America” but don’t worry, Americans, the government will take care of you!
9:34 PM - 14 Dec 2012
Twitter
Kathy Rice
@KatyKat66
Give up your guns. The government will take care of you, said Hitler to the Jews, and the US to the native Americans.
10:18 AM - 18 Dec 2012
Real Science
Turn Your Weapons In – And The Government Will Take Care Of You
Posted on January 13, 2013
(A Native American with a rifle is shown.—ed.)
JUST TURN IN YOUR WEAPONS AND THE GOVERNMENT WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU
DIFFERENT TIME
SAME LIE
Johneville
16TH JANUARY 2013
(A Native American is shown.—ed.)
Just turn in your weapons, the government will take care of you…
Twitter
James Morgan
@theredgunny
You believe the government will take care of you when you turn in your weapons. Ask an American Indian how that worked out.
9:20 AM - 17 Jan 2013
Twitter
A Libertarian
@jfktruther
Turn in your weapons. The government will take care of you. ~ U.S. govt to Native Americans
9:17 PM - 18 Jan 2013
Twitter
Princess McLeia
@CateMcCalling
Turn in your weapons. The government will take care of you.
6:20 PM - 19 Jan 2013
Twitter
El Floyo
@Fingersflying
Remember, Give Up Your Guns & the Government Will Take Care of You Too http://twitpic.com/c97z26
7:34 PM - 6 Mar 2013
Google Groups: rec.sport.football.college
Gun Control
J. Hugh Sullivan
4/8/13
The Indians listened when the government said…
“Turn in your weapons. The government will take care of you.”
Twitter
Nicholaus Sorrentino
@AgainstCronyCap
A compelling American Indian image: Give up your arms, the government will take care of you. http://www.againstcronycapitalism.org/2013/04/a-compelling-american-indian-image-give-up-your-arms-trust-the-government/ … #NRA #p2 #tcot
11:00 PM - 25 Apr 2013
CNN.com
Pro-gun billboard featuring Native Americans draws ire
By Holly Yan and Carma Hassan, CNN
Updated 10:19 AM ET, Tue April 30, 2013
A pro-gun billboard that features images of Native Americans is drawing both contempt and support in Colorado.
“Turn in your arms. The government will take care of you,” the sign says.
While the sarcasm is evident, the group behind the message is not.
Lamar Advertising, the company that owns the billboard, told CNN affiliate KUSA that the group who paid for the message wants to remain anonymous.
YouTube
Native Americans in Pro-Gun Billboard: “Turn in your arms. The government will take care of you.”
YouHotNews
Published on Apr 30, 2013
Juan Williams, Eric Bolling Argue Over Pro-Guns Billboard
A pro-gun ad in Colorado is causing controversy for featuring Native Americans holding rifles. The billboard reads: “Turn in your arms. The government will take care of you.”
Google Groups: alt.survival
Traitors All
Gunner Asch
5/2/13
(...)
Two billboards erected in Greeley, Colorado are coming under fire for being way too politically incorrect. First off, they’re billboards with pro-gun messages. Secondly, they used Native Americans to argue their case. And thirdly, it was paid for by someone who wishes to remain anonymous.
http://media.salon.com/2013/04/native-americans-guns1-620x322.jpg
The billboard depicts three Native Americans, one of whom is holding a rifle. The caption reads, “Turn in your arms. The government will take care of you.”
The billboard seems to make reference to what happened in 1890 to a group of Sioux Indians. Personal Liberty Digest recounted:
“Perhaps the most famous example occurred in 1890 — decades before the 1924 guarantee of Constitutional rights for Native Americans — when Federal agents murdered 297 Sioux Indians at Wounded Knee Creek on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Before the Native Americans were killed by the agents of the state, they were notified that the 7th Cavalry had come to confiscate their firearms for their own safety and protection.’”
Obviously, the point of the billboard is to impress the viewer with the historical significance of gun control, and what it’s really about. It’s about “safety and protection” now as much as it was for the Native Americans over a century ago at Wounded Knee Creek.
Quarterlifeman
Turn In Your Arms, The Government Will Take Care Of You
By Adrian Wilcox | May 27, 2013
(...)
To summarize for those who may not know the history (because it’s not really taught in schools anymore), on December 29, 1890 at Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota, the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment went into a camp to disarm the Lakota Indians that had been corralled there during the mass indian relocations of the late 1800′s.
(...)
So while the debate of political correctness over the billboard will surely continue, the underlying message will probably go largely unmentioned. Those who say that the government would never seize your guns will conveniently ignore the times they did just that in the past, including those times in recent history. Typically a societal reaction based on fear and ignorance, resulting in meaningless laws that will do nothing to curb the violence perpetrated by those who choose to ignore them. It is not just about our right to own guns, it about our willingness to surrender that right or not, even in the slightest amount. Because at the end of the day if we are willing to surrender our liberties in this matter, regardless of the degree, what else are we willing to surrender?