What if the chief of your tribe were insane and everyone knew it?

[Cyrano]

Yeah, I know. Some of the more barbaric tribes would have used him as buffalo bait. But what if the assistant chief was a guy who bit the heads off live quails? Hmm, definitely a bad omen.

Well, what was a tribe to do? You'd expect them to call together the council elders to fix things.

But what if the elders feared the medicine man who spoke to the Gods, not to mention the bucks who were his followers? Then there were the more fanatical bucks who demanded that everyone fly a scalp from their tepee and pony.

My guess is that the elders would have done nothing. They would have feared losing their status, given that they were really at the mercy of a bunch of fanatical or demented bucks.

[BrklynLiberal]

1. He should be put on a small boat,all alone and set out to sail late at

the night in middle of the ocean.

[0007]

2. The the Witch Doctors would know how to handle this situation.

[enigma000]

3. You are thinking Iranian President Ahmadinejad ?

I'm not sure how they do things in Persian tribes, but I suspect the mullahs (elders)in Iran are soiling their shorts listening to - big chief Armageddon, er, Ahmadinejad spout off his rhetoric. The mullahs will act, I don't think they are in any hurry to meet Allah.

I expect Ahmandinejad to be found dead in a ditch any day now.

[Cyrano]

4. Sorry, enigma000, wrong continent. Aside from which, I doubt if their

number two guy bites the heads off live quails.

[enigma000]

8. I was having trouble with parts of your analogy

I just I had the wrong country in mind......

[Dora]

5. Question to you about your word choice....

What do you intend to convey by using the word "bucks" in your post?

When I hear the word "bucks" used in a human context, I immediately hear connotations of slavery. The comparison is to man as an animal, implying that men of color are inhuman, and therefore they are "bucks."

I'm not trying to argue your point - I understand that. I just wanted to alert you to something that may be muddying your water.

[Cyrano]

9. Just to set your mind to rest, young native American warriors were

referred to as "bucks." There is no racial connotation here.

Why do I suddenly get the feeling I'm going to regret having posted this simple little allegory???

[Dora]

11. I'm not trying to incite anything, I promise.

Thank you for explaining your usage. If I were in school I'd probably try to dialogue further about it (I still question its use), but this is DU and my concern is off-topic - I'm cool with that. I can see that a deconstructionist argument about colonialism and bla-bla-bla would accomplish nothing of use to anyone here.

Thanks for hearing me out, though. :*

[TechBear_Seattle]

6. Being of Celt and Viking ancestry

Specifically, Welsh, Irish and Swede...

The clan/tribe chief holds power only for as long as he is an effective leader. Once he ceases to be effective, he is deposed and the strongest leader is elected to take his place. While chieftanship often passed from father to son, the position was open to anyone with the will to claim it. Any lieutenant of the chief might take the chieftanship, but usually he is a lieutenant because he is a beta male, not an alpha.

[rodeodance]

7. well, on Star Trek, # 2 would take over

[Cyrano]

10. I get the feeling that before this thread is through, I will have an

irresistable desire to go where no one has gone before.

Live long and prosper.

Cyrano