[Back In The Saddle]

Originally posted by rainmaker

Sheez, BITS, do you suppose you could quit being so specific and generalize a little?

Isn't it at least possible that there are some people somewhere who ARE offended and that they have expressed this opinion, and that they deserve to have their feelings considered? This whole issue was begun not by "the self-appointed elite intellectual class seeping from academia" but by Indians themselves who found that the stereotypes and prejudices of "mainstream" people were promoted and reinforced by the mascots.

I'm not surprised that some Indians don't object to their own tribe's name being used. That doesn't change the fact that many are hurt by the practice of 10,000 fans doing the Tomahawk" and that false stereotypes are reinforced by pictures of "indian heads" with "war bonnets" who are chanting in a minor key.

The fact of the matter is that those "on the fringes of society" deserve to be treated with respect, and their wishes deserve to be considered. Virtually everyone in the "mainstream" today was once on the fringes of society. They are now in the mainstream only because our constitution and set of laws give those "on the fringes" the same privileges, rights, and responsibilities as those "in the mainstream". You know that holds for the Mormons, and there have been numerous other groups who have prospered and succeeded in life because of our respect for decent law-abiding citizens, regardless of which group they belong to.

For us to take the names and drawings of Indians, and use them in ways that they find offensive is arrogant and self-serving. Basic human dignity should include the right to control, at least to some extent, my image and my name. Why doesn't that seem reasonable?

This entire debate is based on generalizations, Juulie. All uses of Native American images, names, nicknames, stereotypes, etc. by non-Native Americans are bad. All Native Americans are always demeaned by war whoops, tomahawk chops, and other caricatured references to Native American culture. All Native American-based team names must be abolished. All American's who don't agree with this are unenlightened, bigotted, tomahawk chopping racists. And apparently all Native Americans who don't agree with the NCAA's ruling are irrelevant.

It is becoming clear that Native Americans themselves are all over the map on how they feel about this. So how is it that the NCAA has appointed themselves as the steward of this issue when they are not directly affected and why have they chosen sides where no consensus exists?

Because this isn't about the Native Americans, as usual it's all about us us us. It's about how the self-described enlightened thinkers of our society believe that we should all feel about this issue. One part of our society is trying to force another part of our society to adhere to what they have decided is best for the Native Americans' society. So the University of Utah may be forced to drop the Ute as its mascot over the objections of the Ute tribal elders, the very people who are supposedly being so offended and demeaned, because we have decided what's best for them.

Don't step in the enlightenment.