But in any case, why should anyone's disapproval of a nickname doom it? When, in the multiplication of entitlements, did we produce an entitlement for everyone to go through life without being annoyed by anything, even a team's nickname? If some Irish or Scots were to take offense at Notre Dame's Fighting Irish or the Fighting Scots of Monmouth College, what rule of morality would require the rest of us to care? Civilization depends on, and civility often requires, the willingness to say, "What you are doing is none of my business" and "What I am doing is none of your business."
Personally I don't think inclusiveness as a general philosophy is a bad idea. For example, I don't take offense when the security person at Target wishes me "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" when I walk out of the store. That said, there is a line with inclusiveness or (even though I don't like the term) political correctness that has probably been crossed here as Will suggests. With everything going on in the world, aren't there more important issues than team mascot names? Just a thought.
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5 comments:
Will is a pompous jackass. He's putting arguments into his hypothetical opponents mouths. Fact is, there are Irish Mascots -- Celtics and Notre Dame. No one cares. Point being there is wrong and right and folks are allowed draw lines between the two. The slippery slope does not always apply. Funny too -- it's always some white guy saying -- we need to draw the line somewhere!
MOD
I agree with you that Will can be a pompous jackass -- he can be hypocritically silent with criticism of the GOP (e.g. runaway spending when they control the entire government).
But I think his point on this issue is valid. You can't please everybody. And if many Native Americans themselves are not offended, then why is the NCAA forcing this? (They should be looking into Tar Heel recruiting violations instead.)
Thanks for commenting amigo.
DR
Personally, I think we have become a nation obsessed with "having to be politically correct." It is going too far! If a person has read "The Greatest Generation" by Tom Brokaw, one would understand the importance of saying "just get over it". GJ
Is the Greatest Generation, the generation that had blacks and white drinking from the different water fountains? The one that prevented generations of southern blacks from voting? Certainly there were many admirable characteristics of the generation that fought in and won WWII among them an increased tolerance for different types of white ethnicities. But our society was not perfect back then and it's not perfect now. We can make this a better country.
If a ethnic charicature really offends someone then why not ditch it? I am not going to go picket for it but if you ask me I am going to tell you I think it's wrong.
What does society lose by changing the mascot? You know besides a really "important" column by a blowhard conservative.
Don't get me started about the NCAA, I think they overstepped their bounds in trying to tell schools what to do. Schools should be doing this on their own (like Syracuse did.) And I also think in certain cases schools have done their due dilligence and should keep the mascot -- but I can think of other cases (aka Redskins) which if you take a step back and look at it are just flat out offensive.
We don't have any teams called the Rednecks, I don't see why we should have any teams called the Redskins.
D
I finally am now an observer of the Rutledge Farm. What a great blog! The pictures are great! I may need to get Brooke to do the same. It makes one feel like he is at your house. How 'bout the cats yesterday? I was ready for another bitter loss. I will have to put up with all the UT crap these next few days since they beat Fl. I'm sure you can relate since you live over with Duke pukies and NC gum heels. I will drop in more often for some pictures. I look forward to seeing you all soon! God bless you all.
Uncle Steve
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