From: acdendy@lims01.lerc.nasa.gov (ROGER DENDY)
Subject: Mascots & Racism (was Re: FSU mascot)
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: NASA Lewis Research Center
Date: 28 Jan 1993 07:53 EST  

Sorry to post this, but mail bounced.

Phil Harbison wrote (about the display of the Confederate flag):

>>>It could simply mean that the driver is proud of his Southern heritage.

And Goober wrote:

>>Stalin was proud to be a Russian ...
>>Chairman Mao was proud to be Chinese ...
>>Hitler was proud to be German ...

To which Harbison replied:

>Are you equating the purges of Stalin, Mao, and Hitler with the Southern 
>struggle for independence from the Union?

And here's my comment:

This question attempts to obscure the issue.  The point is that pride, in 
and of itself, isn't necessarily an admirable, beneficial thing.  And it 
may not be adequate justification for all actions.  It depends an awful lot 
on WHAT you're proud of.

Goob:

>>Pride gets in the way of so many things.  That's not to say that pride is 
>>bad... but it's not always good either, especially when it is used as an 
>>excuse.

Harbison:

>I see nothing wrong with being proud of your heritage as long as you allow 
>others the freedom to be equally proud of their own heritage.

Again, it depends on what you're being proud of.  Personally, I'm ashamed 
that my ancestors owned slaves.

>I do not see how displaying the Confederate battle flag inhibits anyone 
>from being proud of their heritage.

Displaying the Confederate flag suggests (symbolically, and symbols are 
always open to interpretation) that you are PROUD of a heritage of slavery 
(that is, slave ownership).  And it serves as a reminder to blacks of the 
heritage of oppression they were born into.

>The biggest special interest in this country is the combination of special 
>interest groups that find it necessary to suppress speech and expression.  
>Some of these groups do good work on other issues.  However, their efforts 
>to enforce "politically correct" codes of speech and expression are 
>eroding our first amendment rights.

Well, not being in a university environment, maybe I'm not exposed to the 
same level of PC zeal that a lot of people are.  I don't doubt that many in 
academia go overboard.  But the point of it is to consider how others will 
see things.  That once you get beyond the initial reaction of defensive-
ness, and realize another point of view, you can begin to understand that 
some actions, which may have no racist or discriminatory intent, can be 
interpreted that way.  Like using a Seminole as a mascot (there, I got 
college football in).

Now, once you understand why people are upset, you have the choice of a) "I 
can see how this is a problem, and I'll try to avoid it from now on" or b)
"They are being oversensitive and they can just get over it".  Both of 
these apply at times.  But the first step is being willing to understand 
what the ruckus is about.

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     But that's just MY opinion.	Roger Dendy
     acdendy@convx1.lerc.nasa.gov	Analex Corp.
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		"We cannot walk alone."
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