July 10, 2002
School Board votes to ban 'Indian' mascots
I'm not going to comment on this very much, as most regular readers know my views on the subject. But there is one section of this Seattle Post-Intellegencer article that I wish to dissect:
The Duwamish Tribe, for instance, which is thought to be the inspiration for the name, said that its tribal council would support whatever West Seattle students wanted to do, but that the council did not find the mascot to be offensive.
For what it's worth, the vote has been put before the West Seattle students three times, and the vote has always been in favor of retaining the Indians name. This time, there was no vote; the school board made a decree.
Four students have taken the lead in objecting to the name, a number that makes mascot supporters such as McCarty think the board is appeasing a small number of students at the expense of many.
This is why many are so strongly against this movement; the few are dictating speech and expression to the many. There is not constitutional right not to be offended.
posted on July 10, 2002 08:40 PM
