Posted on 08/11/2005 8:37:51 AM PDT by Behind Liberal Lines
Today’s Ithaca Journal editorial page is a good primer on what passes for “free speech” in what claims to be “the most enlightened city in America.”
First, there are letters to the editor about recent liberal calls to censor both Rush Limbaugh and "the Wizard of Id" from the city’s airwaves and newspapers.
Then there is the paper’s own editorial, which calls for the end to “inane, insulting and infuriating” Native American nicknames for sports teams.
In support of their call for censoring these team names, the paper trotted out the usual litany of alleged sins committed by the United States against Indians. In fact, the newspaper went so far as to compare the U.S. to Nazi Germany in its choice of team names:
Imagine, just for a horrifying moment, the Nazis won a partial victory in World War II….Move to the 21st century. Sitting in a giant football stadium in Berlin, you get set to watch Paris play Warsaw for the German national collegiate title. The Frogs vs. The Ghetto Fighters, complete with a tall man dressed like Joan d' Arc on a paper mache horse chasing a short Moses parody with foam rubber tablets and oversized staff. …Inane? Insulting? Infuriating? Good. Now you get it. Native Americans have been enduring this cultural insult for decades.
Ironically, however, the paper, in using hypothetical “European” nicknames as “The Frogs” and “The [ Warsaw ] Ghetto Fighters” to illustrate what would be “hostile and abusive” towards those of European descent, did not bother to condemn other “ethnic” nicknames, such as the “Fighting Irish” or “Trojans.”
This would seem to demonstrate that, in Ithaca, “cultural insults” are apparently fine against some ethnic groups, but not others.
In fact, between the Indian nicknames, “the Wizard of Id,” and Rush Limbaugh’s radio show, it would seem to demonstrate that even the local newspapers support censorship, as long as the “right” voices are censored.
Scratch a Liberal...
I don't see what all the hooplah is about. If I was native American I would see it as a badge of honor to have teams named for indians. It is a recognition that many indian tribes were FIERCE fighters and would not easily accept defeat.
When was the last time you saw a team named the New York Vaginas? or the Boston Victims?
Typical liberal devotion to freedom and tolerance.
I had to endure two years in that hell hole while I was getting my MBA. I never, ever want to go there again.
Its control. That's what Liberals want. They want to control the language, your thoughts, etc.
How 'bout those Washington Wimps?
To be perfectly fair, the Trojans have been extinct as an ethnic group for perhaps 3,000 years.
BTW, is naming teams after condoms a new trend? That ought to make liberals happy.
The Ithaca Imbeciles has a nice ring to it.
It's a stacked argument. Terms like "Fighting Irish" are positive. It brings to mind an image of stalwart Irishmen. But a term like "Ghetto Fighters" is intended to be insulting.
It is painful to contemplate just how blindingly stupid these people are.
But why are "the Braves" or "the Warriors" not positive then, bringing to mind an image of stalwart Native Americans?
What's Cornell University's nick name?
Oh yeah, The Big Red.
I finally get it.
I highly doubt Jews would consider "Warsaw ghetto Fighters" to be a kick in the teeth.
I stand with Governor Bush on this one, who said the NAACP and liberal groups are insulting Native Americans by saying, "No, you don't understand, you should be really upset by this. We're much better versed on Indian issues than you!"
Each day in the Free Republic Canteen I post the citation of a Medal of Honor recipient. A few days ago the recipient in question was a crew meber of the USS Metacomet. When I looked the ship up, I found out it was named after an Indian chief who had died fighting against settlers in Massachusetts, in a war his tribe had started.
Yet, his fierceness, valor and just leadership of his tribe caused the Congress to name a ship after him.
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