One of my favorite sayings (forget where I heard this):

"There are two types of people in this world: those who divide people into two groups, and those who do not."
~~~~~

That is solid good stuff, wisdom that makes you laugh.

Native Americans, like all Americans, cannot be simply pigeonholed into "all of us believe X."

One of my favorite sayings (forget where I heard this):

"There are two types of people in this world: those who divide people into two groups, and those who do not."

-CW

>What Seminoles snafu? Do tell!

It was local.. Florida Seminoles were on the NCAA's shitlist because of the Seminoles mascot. The Seminole tribe here in Florida told the whiners and "politically correct" types to, basically, "shut the hell up!"..

Unfortuanatly, I couldn't find the original Sun Sentinel (Miami) article but did find a BLOG reference to it:

I have linked an article in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel which reports that the Seminole Nation of Florida has adopted a formal resolution supporting Florida State University and its use of the Seminole name and mascot images. Max Osceola, a tribal council member said, “We thought it would be appropriate to put in black and white our endorsement.” T.K. Wetherell, FSU president, was invited to the Seminole Tribal Council on 17 June 2005 to receive the resolution at the Big Cypress Seminole Reservation. Wetherell said, “The tribe believes that they haven’t signed a peace treaty with the federal government, and they are not about to roll over for the NCAA.”

I issue an open challenge to Father Wild and any Marquette faculty member or student who can cite any major study that suggests Native American nicknames and mascots are offensive to the majority of Native Americans. Sports Illustrated published a study (4 March 2002 issue) which reported that more than 80% of Native Americans both on and off reservations are not offended by Native American nicknames and mascots. The entire “Warrior” nickname issue as presented by the Marquette administration has been nothing but a sham. The Seminole Nation of Florida won’t be putting up with any shams perpetrated on them.

Also, this google link:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&channel=s&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&hs=jYH&q=Seminoles+Support+Mascot&btnG=Search

Gives you a lot more info.. I am just too lazy at the moment to go thru all the links and find out which would give you the best info. :D

>"Song of the South" should be released
>by Disney, I agree with you about that.

Actually, that came to mind from a HUFFPO commentator who blasted Disney for that overbearing bit of "political correctness"..

>what I'm suggesting is that they pay
>a licensing fee to use the names and images.

Well, I am of two minds on this.. I guess the deciding factor in my mind is how long has the franchise been using the image/name/whatever..

My particular pet peeve in this whole issue is when people and groups who have NO DOG IN THE HUNT whatsoever, stick their noses in things. The Seminole incident is a perfect example of "political correctness" gone way WAY too far..

Michale.....

What Seminoles snafu? Do tell! Must have been a local story, or I probably missed it because I just don't pay all that much attention to sports.

"Song of the South" should be released by Disney, I agree with you about that. Where else are we going to see "Zip-I-Dee-Doo-Dah" performed? Seriously, though, SOTS actually is available in Canada and (I assume) elsewhere outside the US. So it's not like Disney is adverse to still making money off it or anything.

As for the Redskins, number one, football is close to being Washington's official religion, so I don't see them changing the name any time soon. Native American groups have been trying to get the name changed for a long time now, with no luck. Number two, it's not about their "right" to use the name, with free speech everyone has the right to call their team anything they want. But teams self-censor, to make money. Could you conceive of a team with an obscenity in their name? It wouldn't last very long, because fans wouldn't support it. Or how about "Child Molesters" for a team name? I bet the stadium would be empty when they played.

Al Franken, in one of his very first appearances on Saturday Night Live, did a hilarious sketch (this was in the "Franken and Davis" days)... if the Native Americans had won and were running things. It's full of offensive ethnic slurs, and I sincerely hope his opponents in the Minnesota Senate race don't start quoting it out of context. In "Powwow With the Press," (brought to you by the new model "Polack" car), they discuss the Lacrosse teams the "Milwaukee Dagos" and the "Cleveland Kikes."

They were obviously making a point, and the sketch is still funny today, but it's a valid point. A team is free to call itself the "Cleveland Kikes" or the "Cleveland Negroes" but would public outcry force them to change the name? You bet it would. There are less Native Americans, so their public outcry is less noticable, but aren't they just as right as African Americans would be to protest the "Washington Blackskins"?

I'm not saying censor the teams or force them to change, what I'm suggesting is that they pay a licensing fee to use the names and images. OK, it's a radical idea, but hey, that's what I'm here for, right?

-CW

Suing America When You Shouldn't Be Here
Friday , September 28, 2007
By Neil Cavuto

Michale.....

The recent Seminole snafu comes to mind.

It seems to me that most issues of this kind are whiners who go out of their way to act offended at this or that... The Washington Redskins have been in existence for 75 years. Surely they have earned the right to the name...

Take Disney's SONG OF THE SOUTH. It's a classic, even though it's filled with politically incorrect cliches and stereotypes. Should we disregard it's literary value, solely because it makes one group uncomfortable.. The banning of books like Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn are more examples of this politically correct world gone stoopid..

Where does it end???

Michale.....

Since profit is the only thing ML sports seems to understand these days they should be made to pay!

...Stan