to give up on words

I found this selection written as well as research performed by Keith Basso to be very interesting to say the least. Before i got as deep into the article I thought to myself how can people be in the same social setting for extended periods of time as the Apache tribe did and not talk to each other? But the more i read I started to realize that their periods of silence meant several things.

The first is that it is my belief that at times the silence was an utter display of distrust for example when children returned from their stay at boarding school,the parents felt like there was a strong possibility that the kids were brainwashed or their way of thinking or interacting had been tainted by the white man. However it is not clear to me whether the distrusts were for their own children or for the white man they felt may have altered their way of being.

Another assumption I made was that their not talking to each other was a show of respect and condolence. In situations where death had occurred they believed that talking would require a great deal of physical effort and did not want to place extra burden on the mourning.

As for being cussed out; that's a classic case of taking the high road. They knew that refraining from response would avoid fueling an already heated situation which could result in physical altercation or even much worse when alcohol was involved.

The beginning quote: "It is not the case that a man who is says nothing"more than sets the tone for this particular piece. The Apache speak many words in there silence. It is my opinion that their silence was not out of hatred, disrespect, nor ill will;but a very noble gesture.