We saw the first one as we neared the head of Refugio Canyon, walking across the road and down into the brush. The kids missed it. We saw the second one at the foot of Cañada del Corral, only a stone's throw from US 101. This one the kids saw, to pleasing effect.
A day with two bobcats, one at the ridge line of the Santa Barbara mountains, the other at the bluffs above the sea's edge.
Outstanding! The northern third of the continent is now freed of current hysterical nonsense.
In France where Monsato is attempting to overturn the EU's position against genetically modified organisms being released into the wild, aka "cultivated adjacent to and cross pollinating with" food crops, the politically conservative and pro-corporatist government is prosecuting Monsanto's critics. The sentences being sought by the public prosecutor range from six months imprisonment to thousands of dollars in fines, and two years loss of civil rights, for each person who participated in flatening just under half an acre of Monsanto patented GM "corn" before it went into tassel. Corn normally cross-pollinates over several miles, depending on the surface air movements during the days when it is in tassel.
The attorney for Monsanto claims that the cash value lost by his client for .41 acres of its product is € 313,000, or $413,676, which comes as something of a surprise to us since corn production in Iowa runs to about 150 bushels per acre, plus or minus 25 bushels, depending on land and water and GM or non-GM seed, and pesticide or organic choices. There are 300 bu/acre producers, but the average is ... 150, at $190/bu, or about two thousand times less than Monsanto claims it lost on less than half an acre in France. When the effect of US or EU crop subsidies is factored in, the numbers look a little better, only one thousand times less than Monsanto claims it lost on less than half an acre.
Update: The public prosecutor now wants DNA samples from all of the defendants, under a law promoted by Interior Minister (and Presidential candidate) Nicolas Sarkozy in 2003.
The view from our doorstep this morning.
Looks like an ad for gluten-free cookies, neh?
The Congress was in recess last week and Smoky Joe Barton (TX-06), now the ranking Republican member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, was doing pressers in the district. Here's Barton in the childishly simple Corsicanna Daily Sun:
Barton said the electrical bill on his Arlington house last month was $750, or about twice what it used to be in the winter. However, he said he testified in support of deregulating the power industry in Texas, and he continues to support it. Putting in the coal plants would allow the companies to be less reliant on natural gas, which has fluctuated in price and availability recently. Building all 16 coal plants at once is acceptable, because the technology falls within the current regulations for emissions, he said.He said he’s also not worried about the greenhouse emission, CO2.
"It's not a pollutant," he said. "CO2 isn't dirty. It's a naturally occurring compound."
"In 20 years, the state might decide to go all nuclear, which has no emissions, or use technology like the Future-Gen coal-burning project, which would pump the pollution underground."
TXU has coal-fired electrical generation facilities at Brown Creek (Freestone County), Martin Lake (Rusk County), Monticello (Titus County), and (shared with Alcoa and usually not counted) at Sandow (Miliam County). It has permits and debit structured for 8 more.
Until yesterday. The TXU buy-out by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Texas Pacific Group, and Goldman Sachs abandons all 8 of the planned coal-fired facilities. Das Kapital has done what David Harris could not.
The rest of the interview is just as silly. Deport settled neighbors for statutory infractions, since they can always pay a fine, fill out the INS and the DHS paperwork while on "holiday" in Mexico and resettle without missing a single mortgage payment, because "amnesty undermines the law". Prevent coordinated medical drug purchasing by the largest buyer group, because it would empower ""one federal bureaucrat".
He's got some funny things to say about the SCHIP re-authorization too, but not to the local press, which I'll write up later in the week.
Diane Burns, Native American Lower East Side poet.
Gracias Nezua.
That's all I have to say!
Yes!
(Watching the Oscar's, in case you need context.)
The other shoe is the possibility of regime change, a subject speculated about for a couple of months.
By a US air asset, observed to have walked to a car in Jordan, to Amman's King Hussein Medical City, accompanied by members of his immediate family.
In the past few days Talabani has:
That's three against the Bush-Cheney Gang's puppets and their puppetry.
Two nights ago, it rained here in the Santa Ynez Valley. Buckets and buckets of much needed rain. When we awoke the following morning, we were rather surprised to find this view:
It's the first time we've seen real snow this year, even from a distance. Kezzie begged to go play in it, despite our lack of any proper snow gear (all in storage in Pennsylvania.) It made me a bit wistful, but, to be honest, I'm thoroughly enjoying my first winter ever without frozen precipitation of any form.
Being married to a physical anthropologist, in remission, I've learned a little about mortuary ritualisms, and several of our trips to Boston include walks in the Old Granary Burying Ground. Death's Head is followed by Soul's Effigy and is followed by Willow and Urn. The trajectory from Puritan to Enlightenment.
Elizabeth Tudor issued a proclamation under her own hand restraining all "ignorant, malicious, and covetous persons" from breaking and defacing any monument, tomb, or grave, under penalty of fine or imprisonment.
The stone is from the Old Granary Burying Ground. Other burying grounds on the Shawmut peninsula (original Boston town) are Windham Hill (1659), and Johnson's Field (1658).
The current vendors of corn syrup and carbonated water have their antecedents.
ABC runs a two-pager by a political reporter. Maureen Dowd does a drive-bye, forgetting that there actually is a factual record. That's a banner year for Peltier copy in the MSM.
Brigitte Mohnhaupt will be released on March 27 and then remain on parole for five years, after 24 years of incarceration for participation in the Red Army Faction, also known as the Bader-Meinhoff Gang1. The Oberlandesgericht Stuttgart [senior district court] held the statutory parole hearing at the conclusion of the minimum 24 year sentence and concluded:
"The court sees no indication that the defendant poses any further danger. The parole ruling is justifiable in terms of public safety."
In addition to participating in operations that engaged or attempted to engage German conservative politicians, politically active corporate executives, and collaterally, ten police officers, she participated in an attack team that engaged the transport vehicle of the commander of the NATO Central Army Group with an RPG-7 in September 1981.
Like Mohnhaupt, Eva Sybille Haule's minimum period in detention expires this year. She was convicted of participating in operations that attempted to engage a NATO school (currently the NATO Geographic Officers Course and related senior staff courses) with a car bomb and engaged an armaments CEO. She too will be eligible for parole.
Nathalie Menigon, Jean-Marc Rouillan, and Georges Cipriani, former members of Action Directe, have served 20 years for operations that targeted the CEO of Renault and the head of sales of the French Ministry of Defense.
I don't think it matters which theory of the case one subscribes to, good Special Agents Ronald Williams and Jack Coler, bad Bob Robideau and Darelle Butler (acquitted, self-defense) and bad Leonard Peltier, or the reverse. The 1977 War, and it was a Dirty War, between the FBI and many others acting in a conspiracy of crime under the color of colonial oppression, and the (pre-faction) AIM and many others also acting in a conspiracy of crime under the color of indigenous resistance, has been over for nearly three decades. Over 100 people died in and out of custody during those years, and Indians die every year in custody. Even New Hampshire under Howard Dean had a statistically demonstrable over-incarceration rate for Abenakis.
The point is, its over. Unlike Geffen, I was not shocked when Bill Clinton declined to grant clemency to a political prisoner that politics has long ago passed. More problematic is the Individual Indian Trust issue, and the conduct in question didn't begin after the December 2000 coup d'état. It began early on Bill Clinton's watch.
1 Ulrike Meinhoff died by hanging while in custody in Stuttgart-Stammheim on 9 May 1976. Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin, and Jan-Carl Raspe died of gun shot wounds on 18 October 1977, and Irmgard Möller survivied four stab wounds inflicted the same day, all while in custody in Stuttgart-Stammheim. All are officially "suicides" or "attempted suicide".
Kezzie told me she found a bird with green eyes. That sounded interesting enough, so I followed her in whatever pseudo-random direction she headed in next when she'd a parent in tow and a discovery to disclose. Just above the present reach of the current tide's waves on the beach was a bird with green eyes. An adult male Melanitta perspicillata, 
The bird wasn't able to do much more than blink its eyes, so I left Kezzie with The Bird With Green Eyes and instructions to keep the mordant gulls away and walked up the beach to the trailer to fetch a carrier. Indy and Max were curious about The Bird With Green Eyes, as was Grace and Sam. Jonah managed "bird" and for the rest of the morning TBWGE, graced the top of the ice chest, warmed by the sun, open to the sky, and unbothered by the beaks of other birds, until it stiffened in death.
Some sage, an opportunity to discuss non-action and listen to Kezzie, always mordant, talk about death. And the opportunity to see a beautiful bird and handle its body, articulate its joints and limbs, and know the bird by touch as well as by sight.
I've sailed through great rafts of sea ducks, both in Monterey Bay and Penobscot Bay, but I'd never seen one so close. The coloration of the beak and head are remarkable. Surf scooters winter along both coasts, they nest in the northern interior boreal forest, and the birds that winter in central and southern California summer in the Great Slave to Great Bear lakes.
A few weeks later, when we'd moved camps to the more sheltered coast south (actually east) of Point Conception Kezzie told me she found another bird.
. Gracie and Kezzie had found a Western Grebe resting, or perhaps also dying, on the beach just above the present reach of the current tide. Non-action was non-acted and later in the day the grebe was no longer on the beach.
We're no longer beach camping, having moved inland to the Los Padres coastal interior zone. A recent weekend-morning she and I went for an early bird walk looking for an Acorn Woodpecker.
This is a test post. I'm using it to debug the RSS aggregator module in drupal, and I need some place to stick this string.
Abdel Kareem Nabil Suleiman just drew a four year sentence for writing unflatteringly about religion and the head of state. He'll be 26 when he next sees a keyboard or contributes to a blog. Of course, that was in Egypt. Nothing like that could ever, ever happen here.
Its White Rose Day. On this day in 1943 Sophie and Hans Scholl and Christoph Probst were guillotined.
The central point of this op-ed by Nick Coleman is that it's time for North Dakota's "Fighting Sioux" to follow in the footsteps of U of I's offensive mascot. However, I liked his lead in so much, I thought I'd put it up:
Nick Coleman: Illinois shows North Dakota what is the truly honorable thing
Goodbye, Chief Illiniwek, and good riddance. Next up, the North Dakota Fighting Sioux.
By Nick Coleman, Star TribuneChief Illiniwek gets the ax tonight. The Fighting Sioux nickname should be next.
Sometimes, despite everything, there is progress.
For 80 years, "Chief Illiniwek" has been what fans of the University of Illinois have called the barefoot white boys who have sported buckskin and feathers and aped American Indian dances during football and basketball games. The Chief is a throwback to the days when a conquering culture thought it could spoof racial stereotypes and "honor" people by making them into tumblers and clowns.
But after tonight, the Chief will be history.
In retiring him, Illinois will have succumbed to rulings from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
More importantly, Illinois will have bowed to common decency: You can't "honor" people by offending them.
Chief Illiniwek makes his last dance when the Illinois men's basketball team hosts Michigan. The end of the road for this symbol of -- what, exactly? White boy nimbleness? -- has not brought out the best in the students and alumni of Illinois. But it has proved that the NCAA is on the right track.
"If They Get Rid of the Chief I'm Becoming a Racist" was the name of an online site joined by more than 100 students, whose vile posts about Indians showed they didn't need to worry about becoming racists.
They are well on the way.
Mahmud Ali Durrani campaigned for the emancipation of women, for reform of the laws concerning rape laws concerning marriage. She organized a marathon open to men and women. In the peculiar mix of military dictatorship and participatory multi-party democratic contrivance of Pakistan, she was, until yesterday, the Minister for Society in the government of General Pervez Musharraf.
She was shot once in the head yesterday while participating at a political rally at the headquarters of the Moslem League. The man who shot and killed her disapproved of political feminism.
On my way across the Oxnard plain this morning I caught part of a morning show on AQ and the tribal areas of Pakistan. I missed 10 minutes getting breakfast tacos at Dona Roas's, and more when the Santa Monica mountains cut off everything.
I wasn't impressed with the questions posed to the Ambassador of Pakistan, so this evening I wrote and asked if the Ambassador would be willing to exchange some notes here.
From a defender of the great John A:
On the other hand, the Illini never have the Chief travel, and the only time that he is "seen" is at half, when the same ceremonial dance is performed, and then he exits. This ceremonial dance is taught to whomever portrays the Chief by descendants of the Illini tribe--we're talking actual Native Americans here.(link)
Whatever drugs this guy is on, I want some.
The Maine Public Utilities Commission suit against Verizon, in which the Maine Civil Liberties Union has intervenor status, has been combined with similar cases filed in Missouri, New Jersey, Connecticut and Vermont, and will be heard by Judge Vaughn Walker, in San Francisco.
Is wiretap a regulatory question, or is it really a civil rights and constitutional matter buried under a regulatory facade? Chris Miller's been on top of this, and it is much, much more important than anything else that is in front of the Maine Legislature this session.
Judge Walker appears to be profoundly unaware of the workings of the commercial DBMS market, he's hearing the DOJ's anti-trust suit against Oracle, which means he may fall back upon obsoleted model of how tap works in a modern switched voip+circuit hybrid voice fabric provisioned by ILECs and CLECs.
I was trying to clean up "junk comments' in Movable Type, and inadvertently deleted the last 20 real comments at Wampum. I apologize.
Just call me John A., I guess.
NB: Just want to point out that neither Chris nor Nezua's interfaces are accepting my comments at the moment...harumph....Not that that has anything to do with my over-eager digits...
Tim Giago's latest op-ed on the mascot issue is up at Indianz.com. A few wonderful excerpts (please go read the whole thing):
Many of the fans and alumni of the 'Fighting Illini' were at first puzzled and then angered at the audacity of this young Indian lady. Some spat on her as they walked past and others flipped burning cigarettes at her. But she tearfully stood her ground because she had grown increasingly sick and tired of having her people insulted every Saturday for the sake of a football game.
To stand alone in the face of such fury and anger from a supposed educated segment of America's white society took courage and determination, but the constant insults and abuse soon caused Ms. Teters to waver. Her fear was mostly for that of her children and not herself. But tell me this; why should any person fear for their very lives for protesting the use of Indians as mascots for America's fun and games?
And while I'm flogging good writing on the subject, go read Nezua too. And I've been remiss in linking to Chris' magnificent take-down of Aravosis.
I just learned Aravosis erased all the comments to his racist screed of Friday. Fortunately, I had that window open only a couple of hours ago, and was able to copy them all. They're in the extended entry, should you want to see both the rational position of many of his readers, along with his digging himself deeper and deeper. I guess someone finally convinced him to drop the shovel.
Update: John apprently didn't delete all the comments, just changed the original URL and delinked the comments from Blogger (he kept a link embedded in the post.) I'm curious to see if that embedded link remains over time.
Dump your big bank and credit cards and disinfranchise the international crime syndicate today! (hat tip: www.dunwalke.com; more resources at www.solari.com)
Anonymous | 02.16.07 - 1:11 pm | #
overreacting i see
leeroy | 02.16.07 - 1:15 pm | #
There is only one group of people who can say if the mascot was offensive. The Illini. If they say it is, it is.
dorothy | 02.16.07 - 1:16 pm | #
We're facing a simlar issue at the school I'm at now. The University of North Dakota. We're the Fighting Sioux. Local tribal councils say they are okay with the school using the name, but the NCAA isn't. What to do?
Kage no Kami | 02.16.07 - 1:19 pm | #
Were the Greeks massacred by invading American settlers and was their culture and way of life destroyed by said Americans until not much was left except watered-down, misappropriated, reinterpretations/stereotypes of what it means to be Greek?
NOTE FROM JOHN: Actually, the Greeks weren't allowed to even work in real jobs when we first came over, that's why my relatives had to work on the transcontinental railroad, only "dirty work' was considered acceptable for 'dirty people." The Irish, and many others went through the same thing. I'm not a big fan of comparing whose suffering was worse. And in any case, it's irrelevant. If the mascot pays homage to native Americans, then it's irrelevant if they were once slighted - the mascot pays homage so they lose the argument about it being critical of them.
Edited By Siteowner
E190 | Homepage | 02.16.07 - 1:20 pm | #
FSU got an exemption from the NCAA because the Seminole tribe gave it's support to the name/mascot. FSU works with the Seminoles to make sure the tribe is treated with the respect it deserves and still there are groups who protest (like the American Indian Movement).
How do you spell anonymous | 02.16.07 - 1:20 pm | #
there were nos Illini indians - that's liberal revisionist history. Illinois never had natives living on it's land. The grass was too tall....or something.
When Columbus got lost and ended up on this side of the world, this continent was completely empty. There were no indians at all in fact. A few in New York, but we bought them off. There never were any Illini indians. Anyone who tells you differently is a liberal.
Amerikagulag | 02.16.07 - 1:20 pm | #
John
The problem is that the Chief had sweet-damn-all to do with the actual Indian heritage of the state of Illinois. It was a walking cliche, with Souix regalia, historically and culturally inaccurate. And the vast majority of Illinois' native Americans were run out of the state in the 1830s, so if we want to honor the native heritage of the state, an empty space would do better.
If it were a private entity--the major league baseball club in Cleveland, the NFL team in DC, the Catholic University in South Bend--that's one thing. But my tax dollars support the state university, and I'm against having stereotypes flaunted this way. Native Americans on the U of I campus have been harrassed about this, and that alone should be reason enough to get rid of it.
Bill
bill | 02.16.07 - 1:20 pm | #
I couldn't disagree more! The mascot was an insult to native Americans and the exhausting dance was a characture of native dancing and no better than a minstrel. Native Ameican civil rights organizations condemned it. It would be like the Palistinians adopting the fight heb and having mock rabbis take the court at half time or Old Miss having an Uncle Rhemus half time show. The Professional Organization of Native American Psychologist and Psychiatrists related such shows as attributing to suicide and low self esteme in Indian children. The culture of Illinois that it related to was one of genocide, land grabs and death. As a gay man, I stand with my Native Brothers who say, Please Stop It. Please dont do this to us. To me it is akin to the Snickers issue. If you say you are honoring someone and they say "please, stop, you are hurting me." Why won't you stop!!!!!
vistaguy | 02.16.07 - 1:21 pm | #
Off topic but still major breaking news: Anna Nicole Smith's will will be read in a few minutes. CNN will announce the will news willingly.
UNcensored | Homepage | 02.16.07 - 1:24 pm | #
Off topic but still major breaking news: Anna Nicole Smith's will will be read in a few minutes. CNN will announce the will news willingly.
Is she still dead?
How do you spell anonymous | 02.16.07 - 1:26 pm | #
What about the Snicker ad?
Larry | 02.16.07 - 1:26 pm | #
This is getting ridiculous. The YMCA has a program that my girls and their dad was involved with. It was called Indian Princess. I wonder how long it will be before they have to change their name, too. Like the Fighting Illini, the Native Americans were treated with respect and they had a guy dressed in full Indian Chief mode and they had a beautiful ceremony at the beginning of every year.
2liberal4myowngood | 02.16.07 - 1:26 pm | #
Nicole News is No News
vistaguy | 02.16.07 - 1:26 pm | #
I went to Florida State, and we have similar issues. The use of the name "Seminole," as well as the clothes worn by the mascot Osceola and the gear on the horse he rides, are all approved and endorsed by the Seminole Tribe of Florida. There is an activist in Oklahoma who is a member of the Oklahoma Seminoles who does not approve, however, and brings it up in some fashion every few years (even though the Seminoles of Oklahoma as a body do not object to FSU's symbol and mascot). I understand the issue in general, especially with names like "Redskins," but applied to schools like Illinois or FSU, where the states involved have a strong association with the Indian tribes at issue, I just don't see the offense. Calling a bunch of Catholics "Fighting Irish," on the other hand-- now THAT is offensive.
Jeff in Texas | 02.16.07 - 1:26 pm | #
I agree with dorothy and vistaguy. If Native Americans don't feel honored by such mascots, then get rid of the mascots. It's such a simple thing to do - far easier than reparations for centuries of annhilation and property theft.
Ed Sikov | Homepage | 02.16.07 - 1:27 pm | #
Didn't an Indian school awile back change their mascot to the Whities?
TomsOld | 02.16.07 - 1:27 pm | #
OT
McCain will skip Saturday’s Iraq vote.
AP: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), “a staunch supporter of sending more troops to Iraq, will skip a Senate vote on the war Saturday to campaign in Iowa while other candidates rearrange their schedules.”
lauren | 02.16.07 - 1:29 pm | #
I grew up in Urbana Illinois -- no, we never referred to ourselves as Illini. But I do remember, as a small child, watching Chief Illiniwek's halftime performance. It was spellbinding. Maybe I was just an impresionable kid -- and it was a long time ago, but it was considered and honor and responsibility to get the Illiniwek gig, and there was nothing that was insulting or mocking about the performance.
Babs in Buffalo | 02.16.07 - 1:29 pm | #
Nicole News is No News
vistaguy | 02.16.07 - 1:26 pm | #
Like it or not, Anna Nicole Smith is major news and will be for months to come. They still must learn who the real father is and the rightfull heir to the fortune her dead hubby left still hasn't been settled. Get used to it because this is going to be spoon fed to us for months.
UNcensored | Homepage | 02.16.07 - 1:30 pm | #
I disagree, Dorothy. I would argue that your argument is what the term "PC" is all about. PC isn't demanding an end to prejudice. It's demanding an end to prejudice when you haven't proven your point. Just because a native American, a Jew, a gay person, a white guy claims to have been slured doesn't mean they've been slurred. You always have the burden to prove your case - it's a burden I've always felt arguing for gay rights. I don't just holler, I prove. And to do otherwise turns one into a whiny special interest - PC - rather than a civil rights movement.
John Aravosis | 02.16.07 - 1:30 pm | #
I never thought of that dance as a parody or minstrel as vistaguy says, but it's a good point.
naschkatze | 02.16.07 - 1:31 pm | #
Meaning no disrespect, allow me to remind you that local discretionary decisions were swept away after the unfortunate misunderstanding of 1861-1865. Federal decisions are local decisions; it's the law since 1865. Smile.
Indigo | Homepage | 02.16.07 - 1:32 pm | #
The reason there were very few Indians here when Columbus arrived is because 90% of them had been killed by DISEASE...spread to them by the Spanish when they arrived, BEFORE Columbus.
prairiedog | 02.16.07 - 1:33 pm | #
"no better than a minstrel" -- in fact, JUST LIKE someone in blackface.
neabinorb | 02.16.07 - 1:34 pm | #
Who care if Native Amreican's are offended anyway???? We have a war against Mars Bars to wage!!!!
The American Public | 02.16.07 - 1:34 pm | #
People have argued that it was a minstral show, but that doesn't mean it was. Joe and I have a favorite term we use about the Bush administration, a phrase that Murtha came up with: Just because they say it doesn't make it so. I'd apply the same here, and in every situation. We proved why the Snickers ad was offensive, because the back-up ads were violent and the players' reactions were full of disgust, not homage, to gays. I simply don't buy the argument being made by native Americans here. And while calling it a minstral show is cute, it doesn't make it so until you prove your point with facts. I don't recall minstral shows being done to pay homage to the proud nature of African-American history in America, leaving the audience with a sense of pride in the role AFrican-Americans paid in their own history.
John Aravosis | 02.16.07 - 1:35 pm | #
So when will a college team have the "Negros" as a mascot? That would be absurd, right? The same should apply to any race of people used as a mascott.
bejammin075 | 02.16.07 - 1:35 pm | #
Hey John,
I didn't know you went to U of I. When were you there? I was just a drunken fratboy during my time (1980 - 84). I have many fond memories of Chief Illini-wek, my favorite being a hypnotist at a party we had who convinced a friend that he was Chief Illini-wek, who then went on to reproduce the Chief's dance to a fault. It's sad, I think, but inevitable. It's not like we had many actual Illini Indians to draw from, so it was always a little bit of a white man's version of a Chief, although they always claimed they used genuine Native American dance moves in the routine. I hope that they find some way to replace it with something that captures a bit of the same spirit, as it always got the crowd fired up when Chief came out for his routine. I am almost tempted to fly out and see the last performance and yell out "CHIEF" one last time.
steve ex-expat | Homepage | 02.16.07 - 1:35 pm | #
Yeah, and there is nothing insulting about Little Black Sambo from Sambo's restaurant or the Frito Bandito from Frito Lay. What is the world coming too when you can't represent an ethnic group the way you want too?
Some people are just so sensitive, jeeze. snark.
karol | 02.16.07 - 1:35 pm | #
Anna Nicole: Paying attention now?
Posted by Mark Silva at 11:45 am CST
Most Americans believe the press has gone overboard in covering the recent death of pinup Anna Nicole Smith at the age of 39, the Pew Research Center has found. Fully 61 percent say the Smith story has been overcovered -- far more than saying that of any other recent story.
More Americans were paying attention to news about the war in Iraq.
Even so, Pew reports, "a sizable minority (11 percent) followed Smith’s death more closely than any of last week’s other top stories.
"This is on par with the number who cited news about the 2008 presidential candidates (13 percent) or the Super Bowl (11 percent) as the stories they followed most closely.''
The war in Iraq was the top story for the week of Feb. 5, with 30 percent following it most closely.
The are the main findings of Pew's first weekly "News Interest Index'', a new initiative by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.
http:// newsblogs.chicagotribune....e_pay.html#more
lauren | 02.16.07 - 1:36 pm | #
I'll say it again. Don't just make assertions, prove it. Prove to me that Sambo and Aunt Jemimah leave people proud of the heritage that AFrican-Americans have in America. It just isn't so. Don't just use PC words, PROVE YOUR ARGUMENT or we're no bette than the far-right Republicans who whine and yell but never prove their point.
John Aravosis | 02.16.07 - 1:38 pm | #
Even George Wallace could find some Uncle Tom Preachers to stand on the podium with him and say they liked segregation and "Negroes" needed to improve themselves and the whites had been really nice to them. Yes there are Native Americans who say they don't mind being objectified, some attention is better than nothing. I would rather see a building or a highway named for a real American hero, such as Leonard Pellitier Health Care Center or Ira Hayes Memorial Bridge, rather than some white boy strutting his stuff to a white audiance pretending he is a mythical chief of a mythical tribe, lets not add insult to injury by saying we are honoring the victims of our genecide by marginalizing them. Now that the buffalo are gone, let us build heath care centers on Pine Ridge and Rosebud Reservations and address the sequeli of White Domination, such as suicide, unemployment, addiction, domestic violence, teen pregnancy etc etc etc.
vistaguy | 02.16.07 - 1:38 pm | #
With all due respect, John, I would say there was a great imbalance between your love for your alma mater and its mascot and the indigenous people of this continent for the land that we murdered them for and otherwise stole. I think they may be just a tad sensitive about the destruction of their tribes, so if there's a small thing Americans can do to make them if not happy then at least a little bit happier, what's the point in fighting them over it?
Mascots are easily replaced. Entire populations aren't.
Ed Sikov | Homepage | 02.16.07 - 1:39 pm | #
I was in the Marching Chiefs at FSU and during the early 90's certain apparrel worn by the Drum Major and Majorettes was changed to reflect the apparrel worn by the actual Seminole Tribe of Florida. Including Chief Osceola (our "mascot"), whose costume is made by the Seminole Tribe of Florida.
We did go to Notre Dame in 1993 for a game and we were being persecuted for going to FSU because of the Seminole issue, so we held up a sheet at the game that said, "The Irish are a people, not a mascot." I think that some people actually figured it out...
Kris | 02.16.07 - 1:40 pm | #
I don't know about the legitimacy and accuracy of the Illini mascot, but Indians/Native Americans are still being belittled as mascot names all over. The Atlanta Braves and that ridiculous Tomahawk Chop anyone?
In Houston my daughter goes to Lamar High School, home of the Lamar Redskins. Their mascot is an Indian Brave (in a semi-ridiculous costume). I find it offensive and ironic since my family is involved with perpetuating Native American cultures/song/dance. It's especially ironic for the school since the "Lamar" the school is named after is "Mirabeau Lamar," "famous" Texan, mostly known for killing off the Indians here.
I mean, think about it, would there be schools with the George Washington Carver Brownskins? By and large Indian/Native American mascots are extremely offensive to the Native Americans. But we have a continuing history in this country of not caring about Native Americans.
C | 02.16.07 - 1:40 pm | #
So, you don't see the harm here, but that Snickers ad was out-of-bounds! Get a hold of yourself. Maybe Native Americans don't like their ceremonies displayed at halftimes just like some people don't like homophobic ads.
vince | 02.16.07 - 1:41 pm | #
Yeah, they're sensitive. Now prove their point. I don't make policy, I don't live life, based on what people claim versus what is true. Sometimes gays who complain are right, other times they're PC whiners. We owe it to our cause to define the difference.
John Aravosis | 02.16.07 - 1:41 pm | #
Given our country's effed-up treatment of the Native population, I'm a little shocked that John is okay with this.
I clicked on the link, and seriously, that photo is THE SAME AS BLACKFACE. I don't get how anyone can not see that. Please stop honoring me - you're killing me.
sue | 02.16.07 - 1:42 pm | #
sentimentalizing people is not honoring them. it's caricaturing them with a patronizing tone.
Anonymous | 02.16.07 - 1:43 pm | #
There is only one group of people who can say if the mascot was offensive. The Illini. If they say it is, it is.
dorothy | 02.16.07 - 1:16 pm | #
---
I agree. I mean, it's just a mascot to us. It's a heritage to them.
Bush Bites | 02.16.07 - 1:43 pm | #
I can't believe we're spending time on this subject when Anna Nichole is still dead...
TheOriginalLiz | 02.16.07 - 1:44 pm | #
You've got somewhat inconsistent sensitivies - you're hair-trigger for anything you think might relate to you, but then argue against anyone having the same reaction. Odd. Are you using this to try and prove that you don't overreact?
timbnyc | 02.16.07 - 1:45 pm | #
You're seriously asking me to prove that Native Americans have a point when they complain that their religious ceremonies and cultural traditions aren't appropriate subjects for American collegiate sports mascots? They're "PC whiners" rather than a legitimately wronged race of people who have been screwed over for centuries by a conquering force? Come on. Be serious.
Ed Sikov | Homepage | 02.16.07 - 1:46 pm | #
This leprechaun is ugly, but I can deal with it.
http://www.oddjack.com/gambling/ ..._leprechaun.jpg
erin | 02.16.07 - 1:46 pm | #
Hugh Blumenfeld, a folk singer from Connecticut got it right, in my opinion:
(and for what it's worth, I'm also from Illinois--though, proudly, NOT from Pekin, Illinois, where the high school team was once--and I'm SO not kidding--the Pekin Chinks)
Talking Hypothetical American Pastime Blues
I was hoping for another World Series
With the Indians vs. the Braves
I loved the tomahawk chops and the teepees
And the war whoops with the waves
But I'm really looking forward to the series
When we finally get to choose
Between the Detroit Negroes
And the fighting New York Jews
- I can see the headlines now: "Negroes Steal Opener,"
"Jews Trade Bonds for Late Draft Pick."
C'mon we'll all have a good time
It doesn't matter if you're White or a Goy
The right field stands'll be shouting "Yo!"
Echoed by a doleful "Oy!"
And everyone will wanna see Sambo
Do the moonwalk when Detroit scores
And at the 7th Inning Stretch the Jewboys
Will all get up and lead the Hora
- have a hot dog... have a cold beer.... havanagila, you know, whatever...
I'm sure it's gonna be a close contest
The competition's gonna be fierce
Between the vendors selling bagels and cream cheese
And the ones yelling "Fried Chicken here!"
And you can get one of those big hooded sweatshirts
That say "Detroit #1 No Jive"
I'll get one of those big plastic noses
And start chanting "Let's Go Tribes!"
- The marketing possibilities are endless -
yeah, I'm Jewish - what makes you ask?
Now you may say I'm crazy
And you may call me a boor
But it'd be a shame if sports team names
Can't have local color no more.
Yeah the JDL and the NAACP
Are gonna raise a fuss
But I wish they'd keep the politics out of baseball
And stop bothering the rest of us.
- Now all New York has to worry about is those San Francisco Fairies...
They blow it every time.
martinet | 02.16.07 - 1:46 pm | #
I agree with all of the good people above who think it's up to native americans to determine if it's offensive. Not you or me.
Imagine if it was the Fighting Homos. Do the math.
eastriver | 02.16.07 - 1:46 pm | #
I don't think any ethnic group should ever be used as a mascot. It is too often demeaning to the ethnic group, and even if not done in a demeaning way, it excludes people who are not in that ethnic group. Period.
I congratulate the U. of Illinois, but I would also do away with that SILLY phrase "the fighting Illini." To me "fighting Illini" is just plain absurd and insulting.
Hephaestion | Homepage | 02.16.07 - 1:46 pm | #
John,
Have you attended a powwow? Would you take that mascot guy in full regalia as your date to a powwow? If any school wants to "honor" the native population, then ask the native population for input. Don't reduce a complicated heritage (the costume, the makeup, the dance) to a charicature designed to entertain.
Sue
sue | 02.16.07 - 1:47 pm | #
I'm native South American. Inca indian, I guess if it were done respectful, I'm ok with it!!!
I have seen some the dance, for some reason it doesn't seem authentic, and Ive been too pow-wow celebrations...
I'm with Dorothy on this one, are there any Illini Indians that blog here??
We could use you input!!
+
High Crimes & Misdemeanors | Homepage | 02.16.07 - 1:48 pm | #
John, I am not sure what it is you are asking here, but let me try to explain how whites representing Indians might be a problem for Indians.
When you have a white person dressed and dancing around like an Indian, they do not dance the traditional dances, they dance as seen on TV. This misrepresents the Native American religion and culture; also, when a white person represents themselves as red, the audience- including impressionable children, see Natives as European looking. Remember the posters they used to have in the 70s of European looking women dressed in Indian clothing? The Native Woman does not look like that. She has beauty defined in her own right, not comparable to European beauty.
karol | 02.16.07 - 1:49 pm | #
John,
Some people didn't see the big deal with the Snickers ads that have you and I so upset.
The mascot needed to go.
Mark In Chicago | 02.16.07 - 1:50 pm | #
John,
This might be before your time, but just before I started at the U of I, they made Pekin High School (in Illinois) change their name and mascot. The town of Pekin was allegedly named that because if you drilled a hole all the way through the earth you would end up in Peking, China. So anyway, the school called itself the Pekin Chinks. Their mascots were a Chink and Chinkette, who would where pseudo-Chinese garb (I wish I was making this up). Eventually they changed their name to the Pekin Dragons. There were still guys walking around with Pekin Chinks sweatshirts and defending the old name when I was there in the early 80's. I think there was a kind of innocence about it, as I doubt there was anyone of Chinese descent in small town Midwest Pekin, Illinois and they probably didn't know any better, but I think continuing to wear the sweatshirt at U of I, which had a huge Asian student population at the time, was a bit offensive. I have no point here, I just remembered that.
steve ex-expat | Homepage | 02.16.07 - 1:51 pm | #
there are no Illini Indians! again, there are no Illini Indians. when the mascot was invented, as a caricature, there was no need for authenticity. for pete's sake, up until a few years ago the "official" garb of the mascot included a big GREEK letter "I" in the "chief's" face.
http://www.aimovement.org/ncrsm/...crsm/ index.html
maybe cigar store Indians are really statues (like the Washington monument), instead of trophies (like stuffed animals). what say you, John?
erizzle | 02.16.07 - 1:52 pm | #
Uh, settle down John. Nobody is able to prove an argument about whether a mascot is offensive, it is a personal opinion. Given that, the only viable questions are "Who is offended?", "Why?", and "Do we give a crap that they're offended?"
Since it's an opinion, mine is that I'm universally in favor of eliminating indian mascots if there's any objection in the native american community. You're taking the attitude that there's a developed tradition there, but if you're indifferent to the impact of that tradition on the group it's been stolen from, you're not much better than George Allen with his confederate flag and lynching rope (or the people of South Park with their cherished flag). I'm pretty sure you don't agree with all mascots (Washington Redskins, anyone?), so where do you want to draw the line.
Besides, The Illini suck. GO HAWKS!!
Crusty Dem | 02.16.07 - 1:52 pm | #
Former Speaker Dennis Hastert was a big defender of the Mascot! Strange bedfellows!
vistaguy | 02.16.07 - 1:52 pm | #
If everyone is expected to accept that the Snickers ad was harmful, you should not feel free to question whether or not this mascot causes similar bad feelings.
Dave | 02.16.07 - 1:53 pm | #
Two quick things: First, Chief Illiniwek wasn't a "mascot" in the traditional sense. He wasn't prancing around on the sidelines cheering in his little costume. And Second, there are still some Illini Indians around Peoria. They supported the University's use of the Illiniwek character until a few years ago, when they "withdrew support." But I don't think they ever actually opposed it.
Babs in Buffalo | 02.16.07 - 1:53 pm | #
Man, imagine if invaders from a differnt country slaughtered most of your kind, then started dressing and dancing around just like them.
Its like "oh look its hunderds of years later and we like you natives now!......where have you gone?"
Most of your blogged thoughts are inciteful, this one is not.
Mr.Mom | 02.16.07 - 1:54 pm | #
(and for what it's worth, I'm also from Illinois--though, proudly, NOT from Pekin, Illinois, where the high school team was once--and I'm SO not kidding--the Pekin Chinks)
martinet | 02.16.07 - 1:46 pm | #
-----
Not sure if it's still there, but in the 80s, they used to have a roller skating rink in town called the "XXXX Rink."
Logo had a guy with a coolie hat and a pony tail on roller skates.
I'm not kidding.
Bush Bites | 02.16.07 - 1:54 pm | #
John,
I am not, and neither are my people, a damn mascot. Honorable position my ass. I am sick of how you are Johnny on the spot when defending gay rights...good for you for doing that...but to turn around and make up Glenn Beck style excuses why it is okay if it is something you like to discriminate against others....who do find it offensive.........SHAME ON YOU !!!!! This Native American...not "Indian" you racist...is sick on being the last group that everyone can discriminate against and then we hear..."don't be so sensitive". You are no better than the other racist and bigots if you think it is okay to make someone from my race a mascot.
Chayna See
Proud member of the great Tsalagi nation and Echota tribe
Chayna | 02.16.07 - 1:54 pm | #
Is it respectful to portray a deeply meaningful religious ceremony at the center of an arena before a football game? Maybe the San Diego Padres should hold a respectful mock Catholic mass before their games? I'm sure no one would have any problems with that.
Adrift on the Cosmic Sea | 02.16.07 - 1:55 pm | #
John, you're comparing apples and oranges when you say that Greek immigrants to this country were discriminated against as if it matters. Indians were not immigrants, they were the first Americans!
astockton | 02.16.07 - 1:55 pm | #
Why do Native Americans accept being called Indians. Lakota Activist, Russell Means once said: "The only reason that we are called Indians is because some Honky got lost,and thought he was in India".
Well being Irish, I plan on doing something about stopping that Fighting Irish Mascot, if I ever manage to sober up.
Seamus | 02.16.07 - 1:56 pm | #
Its true how you get so enraged about gay issues then fail to be sensitive to others.
You gotta see how youve made an ass of yorself
Mr.Mom | 02.16.07 - 1:57 pm | #
You wouldn't be making a big deal out of this if you didn't go to school at the University of Illinois. I'm pretty sure you've never complained about anyone trying to get the pro football Redskins to change their name. You're allowing your pride and passion to lead to being selective about your beliefs- which reflects poorly on your credibility. You're no different from Rush Limbaugh and crazy right-wing christian nut jobs.
Ryan | 02.16.07 - 1:57 pm | #
Being a PROUD (I hail from the Red Lake Band in Minnesota) Native American, it makes me sick to see my culture being portrayed in this fashion. As a mascot. We are people. Not to mention, seeing white people ONCE AGAIN demeaning us and telling us to settle down when we want to be treated with respect. WE DON'T LIKE IT!
WE SEE IT AS DISRESPECTFUL, JOHN.
i bet you'd be having a fit if homosexuals were portrayed as stereotypes, or heaven forbid if a black person was made into a mascot. then it's an issue.
once again...native americans, the invisible race.
Professor Farnsworth | 02.16.07 - 1:58 pm | #
I went to a school so bad, our mascot was Don Rickles. He just stood in front of the crowd and insulted EVERYONE.
They also served martinis at the concession stand. No... wait... was that when I went to school, or when I went to Vegas in the 60s?
Nevermind.
BobbyJoe | 02.16.07 - 1:58 pm | #
John,
You keep saying people have to prove something to make it tru. Prove to us how this makes the native americans from Illinois proud. Just because you say it does, does not make it true. That works both ways.
Jerry | 02.16.07 - 1:59 pm | #
Seamus | 02.16.07 - 1:56 pm | #
some Natives don't mind saying Indian. It's just personal opinion. I prefer being called Native myself.
Professor Farnsworth | 02.16.07 - 1:59 pm | #
Come on John-
The Illini- didn't even do an Illini dance, it was a smattering of different dance and dress from different tribes. Reminds you of your heritage? What heritage? Are you native american? The first comment was right- if the Illini were offended that's what counts, you should know that.
Huck | 02.16.07 - 1:59 pm | #
Pekin, Indiana had, until recently, the "Chinks" as their high school mascot. Now they are the dragons.
I shit you not. Ain't the heartland great.
j swift | 02.16.07 - 1:59 pm | #
Sorry John, but I'm going to have to disagree with you. As a previous poster mentioned, some of us don't think the Snickers commercial was offensive. Also as you stated, its hard to compare 'sufferings', but I will submit that your status as a man of greek heritage does not make you a minority (racially anyway) and you don't have the personal perspective of minorities in this country. If the name is offensive to Native Americans, then I think the name should not remain. I found the snickers commercial hilarious, but I realize that it hurt some people, and in that respect, I understand why it was pulled.
JJ | 02.16.07 - 2:00 pm | #
With regard to returning the clothing (Native Americans don't refer to it as a "costume") that seems a little different. It does seem like it was a purchase. However, my opinion would vary depending upon what U of I planned to do with it. If they were going to just put it away in a box somewhere, they should consider returning it to the Native Americans. Interestingly enough, MANY Native Americans do not have ceremonial clothing like this (the items are frankly, too expensive for them).
The feathers are a different story. Not just because they are "special" however as John referred to them. Possession of eagle feathers (and any bird that isn't raised domestically or doesn't have a hunting season) is ILLEGAL. (Ridiculous as it sounds, that means if you keep the blue jay feathers found in your yard, you could be arrested). And are eagles still endangered? Adding to the penalty. To own the eagle feathers you have to be Native American or have special documents from some federal agency (Interior Dept., or Dept. of Ag I think). Illegal feathers and ceremonial items have been confiscated by the government at Pow Wows and other events before. (They sometimes get sold back to other individuals--and the appropriate paperwork comes with them)
C | 02.16.07 - 2:00 pm | #
I'm fighting to keep the apostrophe.
erin | 02.16.07 - 2:00 pm | #
BobbyJoe | 02.16.07 - 1:58 pm | #
-----
LOL
Bush Bites | 02.16.07 - 2:00 pm | #
Central Michigan University is the Chippewa's. In 1988, the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe passed a resolution in supporting CMU's mascot and name.
In 1989, CMU dropped the Fighting Chipp mascot and depiction from all University logos. CMU is still known as the Chippewa's and Fighting Chipps.
The Chippewa Tribe knows that CMU built Mt Pleasant, and CMU knows that without the Chippewas, Mt Pleasant would die. Seems the only ones with a problem at CMU is the NCAA.
NorskBamse | Homepage | 02.16.07 - 2:00 pm | #
John, you're portraying the archetype of the stupid liberal, hypersensitive of any slight on his own group and completely glib about offending anyone else. Stop and think about what you're saying.
Crusty Dem | 02.16.07 - 2:00 pm | #
I went to Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan. We were, at one time, the Hurons, named after the tribe that donated land to built the U. The name obviously honored them. Then a few years ago, somebody thought it would be best to pre-emptively self-regulate and change the name to something "less offensive" before anyone actually complained. No Hurons compained, see? And what do we get? We're the EMU Emus now. Friggin Emu as our mascot. How's that for honoring your heritage. I think it's a real shame.
CC | 02.16.07 - 2:01 pm | #
You U of I alum. Get over the Chief! He is just a racist mascot for a lousy football team. U of I has plenty to be proud of. The Chief is not one of them.
david | 02.16.07 - 2:01 pm | #
I wonder if the Chief Illiniwek performance was in any way a depiction of a traditional Illinois Indian dance to traditional music in a traditional costume. I really would like to know that. John, do you know? As children we were led to believe it was. And people, please understand, the character really wasn't a "mascot." It was a performance.
Babs in Buffalo | 02.16.07 - 2:01 pm | #
A great deal of research has been published about the effects of the mascots on self image of native children; there are hundreds of statements from all of the tribal organizations that ask for an end to this practice of marginalization; there are compelling documentaries and video's directed by Indian organizations. At the center of all the protests Illinois University and the Cleveland Indians are cited as the most intolerable, unacceptable and distructive trivialization of the Native American experience. Stop the bastardization of Native American tradition for entrtainment of the victors.
vistaguy | 02.16.07 - 2:02 pm | #
vistaguy | 02.16.07 - 2:02 pm | #
wonderfully said. I was just going to post about this.
Being portrayed as a cartoon like figure, our culture bastardized to rev up a crowd at a god damn football game...really does mess up native's POV on their own culture.
native americans have very high suicide rates, especially on reservations.
and we have white people like john telling us to sit down and shut up. again..like always.
when do we ever get respect?
Professor Farnsworth | 02.16.07 - 2:04 pm | #
BREAKING NEWS..................
Anna Nichole Smiths condition hasn't changed.
stu | 02.16.07 - 2:05 pm | #
John,
In looking over the posts, I have to agree that the reason you are bothered by this is that you are a U of I alum. This takes a big chunk out of our sports history and collective memory. It's a sentimental thing that only those of us who went to Illinois would care about. I think you need to look at the broader picture. Some things don't stand the test of time and it's out with the old, in with the new. You have to walk a rather fine line to say that this mascot is offensive and this one isn't. There has been kind of a blanket decision made to stop the Indian/Native American co-opted themes for college sports. I can live with that. It's fair on the whole, even if it might not be fair individually.
steve ex-expat | Homepage | 02.16.07 - 2:06 pm | #
John -- you are usually on the mark, in my opinion at least. You missed it by a mile on this one. Others have said it as well or better than I could, so suffice to say I'm adding my voice to the chorus that is asking you to reconsider your position.
After all, rethinking, being introspective, and changing when we realize we're wrong is what separates us from the wacky right.
Ex-DCer | 02.16.07 - 2:06 pm | #
A few notes
1) The costume is not authentic.; it is Lakota, not one of the Illini tribes
2) The Dance is not authentic. At best, it is based off of early twentieth century fancy dancing.
3) The people performing the dance are Caucasian or (in two instances) Hispanic
4) Native American student organizations on campus find the chief a caricature of native Americans that project an offensive stereotype
5) The Peoria tribe (all that is life of the tribes of Illini) find the chief a caricature of native Americans that project an offensive stereotype.
6) Comparisons to the Seminole tribe, who receive money for the use of their image, are inappropriate. The Seminoles fought against settler, which is part of the reason the tribe still exists. The Seminole warrior hurling a spear into midfield has a vastly different symbolic meaning than a made up dance ascribed to a people who (with the exception of the Peoria tribe) were whipped out for their cooperation with settlers.
7) If you talked with more students at the Illinois universities, you would realize that the chief has nothing to do with honoring Illinois Native American heritage. Chief supporters arte overwhelming ignorant of the native American heritage of the region, and generally view native Americans as a caricature or a stereotype
Joshua Birk | 02.16.07 - 2:07 pm | #
I'm thinking we need a whole new set of "mascots" representing other peoples slaughtered and cheated by American imperialism: e.g. the Illinois Sunnis.
Karen, Mrs. Lloyd Richards | 02.16.07 - 2:07 pm | #
agree with your position on canning the mascots, but actually John Illinois and Illini are in fact one and the same - Illinois is the French word for the Illini - roughly, people from the Illini region.
Have you never wondered where the all those names that litter the midwest landscape came from
Des Plaines, Des Moines, Detroit, Champagne.
Chadman | 02.16.07 - 2:09 pm | #
Prof Farnsworth, I ask with all due respect: Is there no distinction to be made between a red-faced cartoon like mascot that revs up the team with tomawawk chops, and a dance and music performance? Doesn't intention count for anything?
Babs in Buffalo | 02.16.07 - 2:09 pm | #
Conoplastic...
Nice I like that Idea when can we expect the team to cum to town?
stu | 02.16.07 - 2:09 pm | #
Babs in Buffalo | 02.16.07 - 2:09 pm | #
we are not mascots.
shall we make an african american a mascot?
Professor Farnsworth | 02.16.07 - 2:10 pm | #
Sorry it’s off topic but...
Did I just hear a CNN reporter say “the longer that Anna Nicole Smith's remains remained unburied the more psychologically damaging it would be to her.”
I shit you not!
unrepentant expat | 02.16.07 - 2:10 pm | #
Erin,
It is a losing battle. I can not even get the Credit Card Companies or even most of the online Commerce sites to leave the O' in my last name. I think we may have a strong class action case against all those software makers who keep changing our names. I am now getting junk mail with the name change on them.
A question regarding this Chief IlliniWek. Was their ever such a person in the Illini tribe, or is it just a fictious name. The reason I ask is, if it is just a made up name, and their never was such a Chief, then that would make it hard to claim that the Chief Mascot or Character is their to honor the noble heritage of the tribe.
Seamus | 02.16.07 - 2:11 pm | #
OMG... I'm so pissed off.
As a condom, I find the whole USC Trojans offensive.
Rubbers of the world unite!!!
Durex | Homepage | 02.16.07 - 2:11 pm | #
i take my culture seriously. our traditions.
dude, they dont even NATIVES performing as mascots. they have white people doing it!
but yeah.....their intention is allright.
Professor Farnsworth | 02.16.07 - 2:11 pm | #
OK folks. I grew up in Oklahoma. My grandfather came there before statehood (which btw was only 1907). I am as white as they come but spent many a Saturday at pow wow. People seem to think the Native Americans are a dead culture. But they are not. When I was a kid in the 70's they were still referred to as savages in many history textbooks. Yet I would be sitting in class with Arapahoe, Cherokee and Apaches. Sure, they were offended but in those days it wasn't safe to say so. This whold argument is very similar to the one about the rebel flag. (It is just a tradition. Why should black people be offended?)
I don't think it is OK use words like fag, nigger, wop, chink, or gook. Native Americans are real live people. If it offends them then just stop it. That is not PC. That is granting human dignity to everyone. That is way more important than some sports mascot.
dorothy | 02.16.07 - 2:12 pm | #
Thank You Professor Farnsworth. I got pretty much "beaten up" when I tried to get a local highschool to drop their "Sachem" mascot. We did get the big nosed pygmy cartoon depiction of an "indian" painted over on the gym wall and ended the war path displays at foot ball games--but they kept their mascot and agreed to review the curriculum to add a little bit about the real American experience to appropriate classes. Since the teachers and principal were among the most outspoken racists, that was small victory.
vistaguy | 02.16.07 - 2:12 pm | #
me=durex with snark ;)
NorskBamse | Homepage | 02.16.07 - 2:12 pm | #
"This is getting ridiculous. The YMCA has a program that my girls and their dad was involved with. It was called Indian Princess. I wonder how long it will be before they have to change their name, too. Like the Fighting Illini, the Native Americans were treated with respect and they had a guy dressed in full Indian Chief mode and they had a beautiful ceremony at the beginning of every year.
2liberal4myowngood | 02.16.07 - 1:26 pm | "
So how would you feel if your YMCA had a program called Jewish Princess?
john | 02.16.07 - 2:13 pm | #
2liberal4myowngood | 02.16.07 - 1:26 pm | "
and there aren't "indian princesses"
another racist stereotype.
Professor Farnsworth | 02.16.07 - 2:14 pm | #
BREAKING NEWS.......................
Anna Nicole Smiths condition has changed, she is depressed that she is not buried yet.
stu | 02.16.07 - 2:14 pm | #
roflmhao @ stu
NorskBamse | Homepage | 02.16.07 - 2:15 pm | #
Seamus:
I get mail with Obrien, it hurts my eyes. I think it started with the postal service when they when to all block letters in caps. So we should start our class action suit against the government. Then maybe Google!
As for the Chief issue. There are plenty of people here to take that on.
erin | 02.16.07 - 2:15 pm | #
haha
Professor Farnsworth | 02.16.07 - 2:15 pm | #
Joshua Birk -- thank you for answering my questions. The lack of authenticity of the clothing and performance is very significant. And Prof, thank you for acknowledging that intention matters.
Babs in Buffalo | 02.16.07 - 2:15 pm | #
My little podunk hometown used the indigenous people's ancestory as mascots. We had two 'junior high schools' (commonly known these days as middle schools), and one high school. The junior high schools were the Braves and the Warriors. We all had to go to the same high school from the 10th grade on (yeah, three year high school). It was a big war between the two factions all through it.
The townspeople got a big kick out of it. The students suffered. I won't even begin to describe the stereotypes and humiliating discrimination that was promoted during our "pep assemblies".
And you thought the goddamn Snickers ads were bad. Good Dog.
scottinsf | 02.16.07 - 2:15 pm | #
while we are at it, the nursery rhyme, 1 little, 2 little, 3 little, indians is no better than little black sambo and when it goes back down to "No Little Indian Boys", it suggests the Final Solution.
vistaguy | 02.16.07 - 2:16 pm | #
Babs in Buffalo | 02.16.07 - 2:15 pm | #
*rolls eyes*
Intention doesn't count for squat, Babs, if it's drawn by the horse of ignorance and disregard for cultural importance.
USE of someone's CULTURE and RELIGION for an ENTERTAINMENT is disdainful and shameful and just plain WRONG.
I. Conoplastic | 02.16.07 - 2:11 pm | #
Professor Farnsworth | 02.16.07 - 2:17 pm | #
John,
So are you an alum of U of I Urbana/Champain campus? Cool. I did an MA and all course work for a PhD there between 1969-1973, in German Language/Lit. But I later converted to computer programming and technology. But I loved the school, the campus, the towns. I even stopped last summer on my way driving to Canada for a vacation to have breakfast with an old grad school friend who ended up heading up one of the major library departments as his career.
HeartlandLiberal | 02.16.07 - 2:17 pm | #
"and there aren't "indian princesses"
another racist stereotype.
Professor Farnsworth"
Actually, a good friend of mine is a Mohegan, and he always told me that his mother's Mohegan name translated as "Princess Butterfly."
Ed Sikov | Homepage | 02.16.07 - 2:17 pm | #
A good book on the subject is Dancing at Halftime by Carol Spindel--a prof at UofIllinois.
Interesting note: The fanatic Board of the UofI, who fought so hard to keep the "mascot," kept the UofIllinois Press from publishing it. The author had to go to the UofNew York Press to get it published. Feelings over this issue have been running high for years.
Frankly, I'm glad to see the mascot go (human beings shouldn't be "mascots," it seems to me). The really offensive Native-American mascot is Cleveland's: the big-nosed cartoon Indian. Now that's offensive.
Webster | Homepage | 02.16.07 - 2:17 pm | #
Prof, I'm sorry. i thought you said intention was alright -- I missed the snark alert.
Babs in Buffalo | 02.16.07 - 2:18 pm | #
I too am from Chicago and while I did not attend the U of I, many friends and family of mine did. With that said, I'm going to stand strongly opposite of John's oppinion. If you want an example of how to honor an Indian Tribe look at FSU. The school mascot was created with the Seminole tribe and while they have many chants that are traditionally viewed as derogatory towards Indians, these chants were implemented not only with the approval, but at the suggestion of the Seminole Tribe.
Chief Illiniwek served no purpose. He was derived for the sole purpose of enabling the team to actually have a mascot (many schools find themselves in this same spot). Chief Illiniwek promoted every possible stereotype of Native Americans that we have tried to get rid of. There was not one Native American group that stood by Illinois throughout this ordeal. For years Native Americans complained that Chief Illiniwek was offensive and asked Illinois to please remove him with the NCAA finally taking a stand on this issue.
However, here's my take and it probably explains a lot of my political views too. Who the hell am I to tell Native Americans what's offensive to them and what's not? I'm not gay, but John says he doesn't like the use of the term "fag" in any context and I respect that. When Ozzie Guillen called Jay Marriotti a "fag" I just viewed it as him calling Marrioti a name no different than calling him an idiot (which he is), but the GLBT community took offense and asked Ozzie to apologize. I can sympathize with that given the underlying meaning of the term fag. They viewed it as a shot at their community. This is the exact same situation we have here. The Native Americans have repeatedly asked the University to stop what they are doing and have always been blown off. Why couldn't the U of I just respect the Native Americans wishes? You want an Indian mascot go talk to them about how to do it and how to do it right so as to avoid these problems in the future. It's not like they haven't been willing to allow mascots of this nature in the past or present.
stats guy | 02.16.07 - 2:18 pm | #
If the true intention was to honor and present a tribute to the tribe then why don't they feel honored? Are they being hyper-sensitive or is there something in the performance on the football field that reads as being insulting to them?
This reminds me of the Drag performer Shirley Q. Liqour who is performs in Black makeup. He claims he is doing a tribute to the Black women he knows and loves. But a Black woman had his show closed down in protest because she thought it was a modern day minstral show degrading and stereotyping Black women. I viewed his performances as a show of respect. The character Shirley is always the heroine and always gets the better of everone else. It makes me love the power of the Black woman even more...but alas, a Black woman was deeply offended. I really don't understand why?
Dula | 02.16.07 - 2:19 pm | #
Ed Sikov | Homepage | 02.16.07 - 2:17 pm | #
http://www.bluecorncomics.com/pr...om/ princess.htm
http://www.hanksville.org/ storyt...Pocahontas.html
Professor Farnsworth | 02.16.07 - 2:20 pm | #
Intention counts the first time. If you are not aware you are offending someone and have no hurtful intentions a gentle request to stop will suffice. After you have been told you are offending a culture you can longer be seen as having good intentions when you continue.
dorothy | 02.16.07 - 2:20 pm | #
Prof. Farns, I used to get a kick out of it when one of my students would come up to me and say they came from an Indian Princess linage. At first I would get angry and point out there were no monarchies so therefore there were no princesses, but so many believed it was true I just gave up.
karol | 02.16.07 - 2:20 pm | #
I. Conoplastic | 02.16.07 - 2:19 pm
I never realized that - how awful that kids still use that to this day.
TheOriginalLiz | 02.16.07 - 2:20 pm | #
OT... the 'terrrorists' are using karl rove's strategy:
The American troops here are stretched thin. They are not only physically fighting the various diverse elements of the insurgency, but also a battle of perception.
"Those terrorist groups have begun to take advantage of a perception of unwarranted fear that is now becoming actual fear. As we try to drive a wedge between the insurgents and the people, the insurgents are trying to drive a wedge between the people and the government," said Col. David Sutherland, commander of the Army's 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/me...quba/ index.html
so... we're teaching them about how well fear works.
.
Soundboy_Jeff | Homepage | 02.16.07 - 2:20 pm | #
Hey how about a new mascot...
The Fighting Fat-Assed Hastert's
That should be a scary enough mascot for any school ;-)
NorskBamse | Homepage | 02.16.07 - 2:21 pm | #
Just sayin, Prof. Maybe something gets lost in the translation?
Ed Sikov | Homepage | 02.16.07 - 2:21 pm | #
I think "shows of respect" should be judged in the eyes of the respected.
Bush Bites | 02.16.07 - 2:21 pm | #
Soundboy_Jeff | Homepage | 02.16.07 - 2:20 pm
I guess it all goes back to who the real terrorists are.
TheOriginalLiz | 02.16.07 - 2:21 pm | #
karol | 02.16.07 - 2:20 pm | #
oh my god, i still get so many white people telling me they are descended from a cherokee princess.
Professor Farnsworth | 02.16.07 - 2:22 pm | #
Well, Dorothy, I think that's a good distinction "intention counts the first time." Please remember that my comments are based on my memories as a small child in Urbana.
Babs in Buffalo | 02.16.07 - 2:22 pm | #
Ed Sikov | Homepage | 02.16.07 - 2:21 pm | #
it's a stereotype. that's all.
Professor Farnsworth | 02.16.07 - 2:22 pm | #
Webster
What about the Atlanta Braves, and all that Tomakawk Chop stuff. It is just vile, and Ted Turner is supposed to be a Progressive. Him, and Jane used to sit there and join in the Tomahawk chop. I guess we all have blind spots.
Seamus | 02.16.07 - 2:22 pm | #
Illinois is the French word for the Illini - roughly, people from the Illini region.
Have you never wondered where the all those names that litter the midwest landscape came from
Des Plaines, Des Moines, Detroit, Champagne.
Chadman | 02.16.07 - 2:09 pm | #
------
I didn't know that, though I knew Chicago was based on a Native American word for "smelly onion."
Bush Bites | 02.16.07 - 2:23 pm | #
Seamus | 02.16.07 - 2:22 pm | #
we aren't perfect. john here is a liberal and look at his take on Native issues.
it just shows how natives are still viewed in this country.
Professor Farnsworth | 02.16.07 - 2:23 pm | #
I'd like to be in the locker room of the San Fran Queers, myself =)
but not so much the Northern Idaho Whiteskins...
but about the topic john is being inconsistent with his outrage at the snickers ad vs the issue, and I think that all person with Illini blood should get to vote on whether or not it is offensive, and if they say it is not then they should be able to dictate terms to the school, since it is 'honoring' them and all. personally i think races/ethnicities are inappropriate for mascots. seattle gooks? compton niggers? dallas beaners, etc etc
war pigs | 02.16.07 - 2:23 pm | #
We were the Patriots and I guess I should find that offensive since I am a decendent of the first white americans.
stu | 02.16.07 - 2:25 pm | #
Webster
What about the Atlanta Braves, and all that Tomakawk Chop stuff. It is just vile, and Ted Turner is supposed to be a Progressive. Him, and Jane used to sit there and join in the Tomahawk chop. I guess we all have blind spots.
Seamus
Agree--totally. However, the Cleveland cartoon "Indian" is beyond the pale when it comes to offensive.
Webster | Homepage | 02.16.07 - 2:25 pm | #
Now wait a min...
You all bitch about John's viewpoint, but in the same breath, you use a hatefull term (native) to describe first-nations people...
NorskBamse | Homepage | 02.16.07 - 2:25 pm | #
"oh my god, i still get so many white people telling me they are descended from a cherokee princess.
"
Farns, it is ignorance passed down from one generation to the next.
karol | 02.16.07 - 2:26 pm | #
Agree--totally. However, the Cleveland cartoon "Indian" is beyond the pale when it comes to offensive.
Webster | Homepage | 02.16.07 - 2:25 pm | #
------
Yeah, that's the worst. I can't believe they get away with that.
Bush Bites | 02.16.07 - 2:26 pm | #
NorskBamse | Homepage | 02.16.07 - 2:25 pm | #
um....I am native and prefer to be called that.
many natives do.
Professor Farnsworth | 02.16.07 - 2:26 pm | #
USE of someone's CULTURE and RELIGION for an ENTERTAINMENT is disdainful and shameful and just plain WRONG.
See you at the flag pole.
afafkd | 02.16.07 - 2:27 pm | #
My grandfather used to say that there was an Algonquin "princess" in our family tree. My father did have some physical features that suggested that there might have been some native endowment. BUT my family was very proud of and knowledgable about its geneology, but knew absolutely nothing more than to say, an "Algonquin princess" I concluded that if they didnt know her name and history and had to make her acceptable by giving her nobility, she was probably not truely welcomed or honored by my family--and I am sorry for that. I would love to have known more about that invisible ancestor.
vistaguy | 02.16.07 - 2:27 pm | #
My mother is a historian with a specialty in Native American history. I have used the term Native for years. If that is offensive I want someone to inform me so I can use the appropriate term.
dorothy | 02.16.07 - 2:27 pm | #
(not helpful, and sort of teasing in a shitty way but I'll say it anyway)
Those Indians are acting like a bunch of big ol' girls.
mo2 | 02.16.07 - 2:28 pm | #
So looka here... it's all just more witchcraft, Satanism and worse:
Word History: A giant strutting bird leading a cheer at the homecoming game may seem a far cry from a witch fashioning a charm or spell, but these two figures are related historically in the development of the word mascot. Mascot came into English as a borrowing of the French word mascotte, meaning "mascot, charm." The English word is first recorded in 1881 shortly after the French word, itself first recorded in 1867, was popularized by the opera La Mascotte, performed in December 1880. The French word in turn came from the Provençal word mascoto, "piece of witchcraft, charm, amulet," a feminine diminutive of masco, "witch." This word can probably be traced back to Medieval Latin masca, "witch, specter." Thus for all their apparent differences, yesterday's witches and today's cuddly mascots can be seen in the same light, as agents working their respective magic to bring about a desired outcome.
Gregory Lyons | 02.16.07 - 2:28 pm | #
NorskBamse, I am a red woman, sometimes Native American, sometimes Indian- but always American. I think I have taken the different names and made them my own so the power to hurt is no longer there.
karol | 02.16.07 - 2:29 pm | #
mo2,
OOOOOoooooo.....
You're BAD and very very cheeky!
Gregory Lyons | 02.16.07 - 2:30 pm | #
Funny how people always make claims about having royalty in their backgrounds.
Same with people who claim they were something else in a previous life.
Nobody says, "I was a janitor in a previous life......"
Bush Bites | 02.16.07 - 2:30 pm | #
How far do we have to go back in time to claim a land. I think first humans wondered off the African Continent so who is really native and to what extent.
stu | 02.16.07 - 2:31 pm | #
"oh my god, i still get so many white people telling me they are descended from a cherokee princess.
"
Farns, it is ignorance passed down from one generation to the next.
karol | 02.16.07 - 2:26 pm | #
I remember reading that many native American tribes were so democratic that they didn't have a chief as we who grew up watching horse operas understand the term.
This made it difficult for the whites who wanted to at least observe the formality of making a treaty with the natives, even if they had little or no intention of abiding by it. So they just arbitrarily picked one of the tribe's adult men to "sign" the treaty as chief.
astockton | 02.16.07 - 2:31 pm | #
Professor Farnsworth
That