The future is now in Rochester.
Posted on 03/10/2002 7:27:34 AM PST by real saxophonist
Team picks white man mascot to make point
Story By Julio Ochoa
An intramural basketball team at the University of Northern Colorado called "The Fighting Whities" is turning the tables on the Eaton mascot issue.
Led by Solomon Little Owl, director of Native American Student Services at UNC, the team chose a white man as its mascot to raise awareness and understanding of stereotypes that some cultures endure.
"The message is, let's do something that will let people see the other side of what it's like to be a mascot," Little Owl said. "I am really offended by this mascot issue, and I hope the people that support the Eaton mascot will get offended by this."
The players, made up of a mixture of American Indian, Hispanic and caucasian students, wear white jerseys with the picture of a white man in a suit on the front and the slogan "Every thang's gonna be all white!" printed beneath.
"It's not meant to be vicious, it is meant to be humorous," said Ray White, a Mohawk American Indian on the team. "It puts people in our shoes, and then we can say, 'Now you know how it is, and now you can make a judgement.' "
Judging right or wrong is hard when you don't understand how it feels to be stereotyped, White said.
"We are looking for understanding," he said. "We want change, but you can't force change."
American Indians could go through the general assembly or town meetings to try to change mascots, but the same message might not get through, White said.
"We all live in the same community and want the same things, so it is good to be standing in each other's shoes for a while," he said.
Charles Cuny, an Ogalala Lakota and member of the team, said he went to an American Indian Catholic high school with a mascot called the Red Cloud Crusaders, after a famous chief of the Lakota Indians.
The problem with Eaton's mascot is a matter of respect, he said.
"There are certain words that are accepted and certain words that are unacceptable," Cuny said. "Really a mascot is something that you look up to, and on one hand that is nice, but maybe we could go about it another way."
Having a white mascot is a way to make people more aware of American Indian issues, he said.
"We live in a politically correct society, and sometimes indians get overlooked," he said. "There are so few indians who have clout that there are a lot of things that go unsettled."
The future is now in Rochester.
HAHAHA! Nice try, idiots. You've made a complete mockery of yourselves. And proved our point in the process.
Who could wish for stupider enemies?
WHAT ABOUT THE "FIGHTING IRISH"? Mascot looks white to me. P. J. O'Rourke says it looks like his uncle.
All there is here is someone who wants to force everyone to "respect" him. WRONG! Historically, didn't the young Indian man EARN respect, and the right to be called a warrior, on the battlefield? These people can't force me to respect them. It's got to be earned. But they've forgotten that.
Buttafueco vs. Fisher as part of the Victims Compensation Program. The parole board will allow this if "Mrs. B" gets 60% of the gross from the gate and the pay-per-view.
And if they don't get offended, will Little Owl suck it up and get over it?
I myself applaud this move, because it will show some Indians that being made into a mascot is not an insult.
Talk about backfiring. Speaking as a "whitie", not only am I not "offended" by being "in their shoes", but I think this is hilarious :)
And doesn't change how I feel about team names like "Washington Redskins" one bit.
What's really funny is that some of these guys apparently thought it would! (OH boo hoo, don't use the words "fighting whitie"! My feelings are hurt!!! ;)
"There are certain words that are accepted and certain words that are unacceptable," Cuny said.
Hmmm. Someone hand this man a copy of the Constitution.
"We live in a politically correct society, and sometimes indians get overlooked," he said.
He said a mouthful. First, when was it decided that we live in a Politically Correct Society? I don't remember voting on this issue.
In any event what he's saying is that he's afraid his race is losing ("gets overlooked") in the racial spoils system wars. Which, in a way, I cannot argue with. It's just that racial spoils system wars should not exist in the first place.
go to school, stay off the firewater, work hard and don't look to big chief government to fix your problems for you.
And pretty soon you'll be too busy doing something constructive to worry about whether some friggin mascot "offends" you or not.
LOL
EVERY SPEAKER was some sort of "professional Indian", living on Government money, and exhorting the attendees to raise Hell to get MORE hand-outs.
I did not hear ONE WORD of advice regarding self-reliance, education (other than as a scheme to funnel money to Indians), or anything else that might really be valuable. (Not from the speakers, anyway- I did hear these things from a very few attendees).
We have created several groups of people who are totally dependent on public money in this country- can this be reversed now???
By the way, this "White Mascot" idea is ludicrous. First, who cares???? And what about the Vikings, Pirates, Raiders, Giants, etc- what "race" are these mythical figures supposed to be?
Althought they seem to miss the fact that there are already white mascots. The "Trojans," the "Vikings," the "Boilermakers," the "Fighting Irish."
The "Fighting Whities" is just silly. But there are plenty of silly mascots out there.
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.