Formerly Pork Chop, the mascot's new name is Ferrous

Allentown Morning Call ^ | 12/04/2007 | Arlene Martínez

[Flavious_Maximus]

WHAT'S IN A NAME? ferrous (fer' es) adj. 1. of, containing or derived from iron; 2. Chem. designating or of divalent iron, or compounds containing it. pork chop: A racist term referring to Puerto Rican people; also slang referring to Portuguese people. It is not offensive to call someone of Portuguese descent a pork chop because it is considered humorous and endearing. When Guillermo Lopez picked up his newspaper Sunday morning, he froze at the sight of a prominent headline, alongside a photo of a fuzzy, human-sized pig. There, in bright red ink, was the name of the IronPigs new mascot: PorkChop. The word brought back uncomfortable memories of Lopez's time working at Bethlehem Steel, where he said racism was overt. ''If someone wanted to talk to me in a derogatory way, they'd call me 'pork chop','' said Lopez, whose family came from Puerto Rico to the Lehigh Valley in the 1940s to work at Bethlehem Steel.

[nothingnew]

The word brought back uncomfortable memories of Lopez's time working at Bethlehem Steel, where he said racism was overt.

Funny. Try being a white guy working at the Miller Packing Plant (Swift's) here in Hyrum, Utah.

FMCDH(BITS)

[Fiji Hill]

The puppet was, indeed, "Lamb Chop"--which, I suppose, is halal to those who follow the Religion of Peace.

[Starwolf]

Supply Corps in the USN is also called “Pork Chops”

[SilvieWaldorfMD]

Puerto Rico ping

[SilvieWaldorfMD]

I’m a full-blooded Puerto Rican, born & raised, and I’ve never heard this term being used against me or my people. I was also raised in an urban setting and not with a silver spoon in my mouth, so I know what I’m talking about.

If anything, Puerto Ricans should be offended that they are the # 1 diabetes-laden country in the world and that’s because they eat too many pork chops covered in lard. Pure lard.

As Homer Simpson might say: “Mmmmm.... Pork Chops.... Pork Rinds...”