Finally Illinois U Wakes Up

god i'd love for a team's mascot to be 'the cracker'. and have it just be a white guy in a suit with a briefcase.

ryan198 wrote:

Chief Illiniwek danced his last racist dance. Could it be that Illinois realized it was acting in a ridiculous manner by allowing an offensive mascot to survive for 81 years, or was it the threat of NCAA sanctions that have ended this minstrel act performed in red-face? Either way it's a step in the right direction, and hopefully others will follow suit.

Meanwhile the Dallas Cowboys get off the hook.

Rue D'Awakening wrote:

god i'd love for a team's mascot to be 'the cracker'. and have it just be a white guy in a suit with a briefcase.

Meh....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fighting_Whites

inmytree wrote:

as to the washington redskins....

:eek:

This issue cracks me up. I've never been able to figure it out if its insecurity, stupidity, insanity, or all of the above.

inmytree wrote:

are you Native American...? if so, then I support your statement that it's cool, if not, perhaps you should look at the other side...

I'm curious...would accept this ridiculous argument from those in favor of these names?

farfromglorified wrote:

:eek:

This issue cracks me up. I've never been able to figure it out if its insecurity, stupidity, insanity, or all of the above.

I think it's real issue...

I wonder if the next NFL team should be the Idaho Yellowskins, or the Raliegh Rednecks....I wonder if they would be accepted...

Rue D'Awakening wrote:

american indians probably have more serious grievances than just mascots, but i don't think they're just being hypersensitive. it is so fucking condescending on the part of whoever it is that comes up with this crap.

So is this post. And I support your right to make it.

inmytree wrote:

I think it's real issue...

I wonder if the next NFL team should be the Idaho Yellowskins, or the Raliegh Rednecks....I wonder if they would be accepted...

It would be by me, and I doubt most people would really care. The "Raleigh Rednecks" is quite good, actually.

http://www.honorthechief.org/tradition.html

What do actual ancestors of the Illini tribes think of Chief Illiniwek?

Over the years, the Chief Illiniwek tradition has had continued endorsement of Native American descendents. Since the tradition's inception in 1926, there has been considerable support for the Chief by Native American leaders, including several that trace their lineage to the original Illini tribes.

In the past two years, the only scientific opinion polls on the subject have concluded that the majority of Native Americans are not opposed to the use of Indian nicknames—at the high school or college level, or in professional sports. In 2002, a Peter Harris Research Group poll showed that 81% of Native Americans support the use of Indian nicknames in high school and college sports, and 83% of Native Americans support the use of Indian mascots and symbols in professional sports. The accompanying commentary concluded that the “poll suggests that although Native American activists are virtually united in opposition to the use of Indian nicknames and mascots, the Native American population sees the issue far differently.”

In September 2004, the University of Pennsylvania’s National Annenberg Election Survey reported the results of a year-long poll which showed that the vast majority of American Indians say that calling Washington’s professional football team the “Redskins” does not bother them (90% of Indians took that position, while 9% said they found the name “offensive”).

farfromglorified wrote:

So is this post. And I support your right to make it.

in that case you confuse condescension with empathy.