Posted on 03/05/2002 5:03:33 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
North Dallas suburb's school board changes nickname from Coons
03/05/2002
The Associated Press
FRISCO, Texas — The Frisco Fighting Coons are no more.
Some students and parents in the North Dallas suburb had complained the nickname was racially offensive, and the Frisco School Board agreed Monday night, voting unanimously to change the nickname from Coons to Raccoons.
Superintendent Rick Reedy recommended the change.
Of several dozen people at Monday night's board meeting, many were vocal in their desire to keep the nickname the same as its been for 78 years. Some wore T-shirts and had signs in their yards reading, "Don't Rac my Coons."
Supporters said they had never learned to use "coon" as a racial slur and were proud of the nickname, created in 1924 when no one attached any racial significance to the name.
But school trustee Jimmy Gaffney said Monday night that it's time for a change.
"My dad thought it was the greatest thing going, and he is a racist, I'll be honest with you. I never taught this to my children. I don't want them to be a part of it. And I think our children today don't want to be a part of it," Gaffney said.
"I don't see any walls built at our school between our children, and I don't want to start that," Gaffney said.
Coon Memorial Stadium already had been changed to FISD Memorial Stadium. Frisco's water tower will have to be repainted, and T-shirts, bumper stickers and other signs will have to be changed to reflect the new nickname.
Students' reactions varied. "No one has ever said anything, ever, that I know of," said Jenny Forwark, who is white.
But black student LaVaughn Oliver, a sophomore, said, "I have a friend whose grandfather was killed by a Klan member, and he had that etched in on his chest, and it bothered him."
Valarie Blackman, another black student, said, "A lot of what's happening, you have new people moving in who have a tendency to take offense to that, as compared to the people who have always been here."
Track coach Steve Anthony, who is white, told Dallas television station WFAA: "If we're the Powder Puffs and we win football games and track meets, I don't care, that's my opinion. But for the kids to be made fun of, I don't think it's the appropriate thing."
Trustee Jane Whitledge said earlier, "I'm hoping that people understand that using the word raccoon in its full spelling is a way to maintain the tradition."
The superintendent late last week recommended the change, adding, "I feel that all decisions we make must come down to what is right for kids. It's important for students to be able to be proud of their school, and that includes its mascot. If one student is made to feel uncomfortable, that is one too many."
(ap.state.online.tx 0800 03/05/2002 01:36:02 )
The name of the town, and likely the team, comes from the St. Louis- San Francisco Railroad, popularly known as the Frisco [a name not real popular in some corners of California, BTW] the shape of whose logo is said to have been derived from a stationmaster who tacked a coonskin to the side of a depot to dry.
Though the Frisco railroad was later merged into the Southern Pacific, the politically correct will no doubt now want to burn down any surving restored depots....
I'm in one of my diet cycles (long story) so I haven't had steaks in awhile but I love them (and miss them).
The word's origin is unclear: folk etymology claims that coonass dates from World War II, when Cajun GIs serving in France were derided by native French speakers as conasse, meaning "dirty whore" or "idiot." Non-French-speaking American GIs allegedly overheard the expression, converted it to the English "coonass," and introduced the term back in the United States. There it supposedly soon caught on as a derisive term among non-Cajuns, who encountered many Cajuns in Gulf Coast oilfields.
It is now known, however, that coonass predated the arrival of Cajun GIs in France during World War II, which undermines the conasse theory. Indeed, folklorist Barry Jean Ancelet has long rejected this theory, calling it "shaky linguistics at best." He has suggested that the word originated in South Louisiana, and that it derived from the belief that Cajuns frequently ate raccoons. He has also proposed that the term contains a negative racial connotation: namely, that Cajuns were "beneath" or "under" blacks (or coons, as blacks were often called by racists).
Despite efforts by Cajun activists like James Domengeaux and Warren A. Perrin to stamp out the term's use, coonass continues to circulate in South Louisiana and beyond. Its acceptability among the general public, however, tends to vary according to circumstances, and often depends on who says it and with what intention. Cajuns who dislike the term have been known to correct well-meaning outsiders who use the epithet.
I grew up in Boston in the 40's and 50's. I know enough racial epithets to make a Klansman blush. I'm not proud of it, that's just the way it was back then.
I got over it and so should everyone else.
Here's the FISD Home Site. Maybe they can help or refer you. . .
F.I.S.D. Home Site
http://www.friscoisd.org/
I didn't say in that particular order either, I simply implied that those communities are encountered when going 'north' of Dallas before Frisco is ever even seen ...
As a side note - one could nearly make it from one of those cities to another while still tacking at least partially north each time (again, not in the order I gave) ...
My point still stands. I wouldn't have been quite so hard on the AP story writer if he had said 'an outlying Dallas suburb' (which it may legitimately be called).
Dallas doesn't even abut Frisco ... were it not for Renner having been annexed into the legal entity known as The City of Dallas (technically speaking) would be even FURTHER away from Frisco (the center of Frisco is approximately 1/3 the way up in Collin county whereas central Dallas is located centrally in Dallas county and the closest the City of Dallas boundary lies to Frisco is only about 1/16 the way up into Collin County).
Incidently, I didn't mention "The Colony" (a *real* city), Parker, Hebron, Murphy, Lucas, Fairview or Allen *all* of which are further south than Frisco ...
Bingo! Louis Sockalexis bump!
And thank goodness, as well. "Cleveland Indians" (although I think "Cleveland Iroquois" is cool) sounds quite a bit better than the "Cleveland Spiders," no? ;-)
This sounds cool. Mind if I borrow it from time to time?
Oh, thank you! I couldn't come up with his name!
LOL!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.