Chiefs Sue

My thought is they don't have the first clue. Of course, they'll have nothing but time on their hands when the Chief does its last dance ever at the last home basketball game.

The NCAA has ruled; the hapless status quo defenders are merely grasping at straws now.

Talk about a frivolous lawsuit.  Apparently these two kids think they have a free speech right to don an Indian costume they don't even own and dance at halftime at the University's NCAA sporting events.  Somehow this supposed "right" doesn't strike me as equivalent to passing leaflets or organizing a protest.  Still, I'm sure one of the slack-jawed conservative Republicans on the bench in this county will momentarily become an "activist judge" and grant the injunction so as not to inflame the pro-Chief mob.

Try as you might; it's not about left or right.

The hapless quo defenders will blow it; they just don't know it.

Lame arguments they will link; they're as lasting as a blink.

"Next they'll rename the state," they clamor, as subtle as a hammer.

They strive to keep the Chief, but he'll make like a tree and leave.

Just a handful of games remain; the Chief's imminent departure is plain.

The only stragglers are the HSQDs; they cry out: "Keep it all the same! Please?"

The sudden enthusiasm of pro-Chief folks for a generous interpretation of academic freedom is touching, really. But they'd be in a much better position to make last-ditch arguments if they knew the first thing about it. Such as the fact that it has never, ever guaranteed students the right to a particular for-credit class, however established. Or even the right to complete a class in which they're enrolled (which the current Chiefs will be allowed to do, of course, even if Illiniwek is retired next week). The buckskin "protective suit" isn't providing all the coverage it used to--and its tribal owners have in fact asked for it back.

Don't forget St. Clair County either!  The Metro East is the second biggest agglomeration of people in the state, and both the principle counties -- Madison and St. Clair -- are strongly Democratic, plaintiff-friendly areas.  Even fast-growing, exurban Monroe County is trending Democratic.

The ‘victim groups” and their partners, the NCAA, the national media, the guilt ridden liberal whites and those afraid of being called “insensitive, bigots, racists” have won and the Chief is gone. For those of us who saw the good in the Chief, we will miss him. I personally live in California and haven’t seen the Chief in 20 years so it won’t be much of a physical loss. The loss is one of respect …and hope… for our legal system, for my University, for the press, for the Native Americans and for the self hating liberals involved in this politically correct decision.

You anti -Chief people are of many minds and goals. Some believe that this is really a good thing and that good will come of it, at least for Native Americans. Some of the “liberal do gooders’ who feel morally superior for having supported the “politically correct” point of view are satisfied to just be able to say  at the next gathering at Starbucks “yes, I fought to have that symbol of racism removed”. The true right or wrong of the issue is far less important than being found on the perceived “correct” side of the issue. Another group of anti-chiefers don’t believe and never have believed that banning Chief Illiniwek would result in a significant improvement in the lives of Native Americans. These people are more concerned with revenge and general power plays than real improvement. They will shortly be looking for their next target and the list of targeted issues will never end as their anger and bitterness towards the European Americans will never end.

So, what good, if any has come out of this? Not justice. with the victory of a minority of “offended people” over the right of “freedom of expression”?  First, Chief Illiniwek was never “abusive or offensive” to anyone with normal levels of sensitivity. Many Native Americans are so full of bitterness and anger that they become hypersensitive and single minded in their determination to find insensitivity and offensiveness in every word thought or deed of the white population. For the ones who truly were offended, I once again say…..the world is full of things that offend me but I don’t feel that I have the right to intervene and take others rights away to impose on everyone my “opinion” that something is offensive. This whole concept that a person’s opinion about another person’s expression in dance, writing, art etc. should trump the artist’s right to express them or the audience’s right to be entertained is a dangerous street to go down. Since offendedness is a matter of “opinion”, not fact, and for every action and deed there is someone who is offended, there is no end to how much power and control the offended can amass. It just takes a bully like the NCAA or a misguided judge to take mine or YOUR rights away because some one else (of special status) complains that they are offended.

Maybe this whole thing would have been worth it if at least some understanding and bridge building had come out of it. This is where the battle (getting rid of the Chief) was won by the anti-chief group but the war is being lost. Consider this: Maybe we as a society are too hyper-sensitive and maybe we spend too much time looking for slights, insults especially on the basis of our “victim-group” mentalities. The energy and time would be better spent, bettering ourselves as individuals and building bridges between people based on our common attributes and history rather than our divisions. It is ironic to me that the very individuals that profess they are trying to “fix” problems and heal racial, religious, etc. hostility, are the ones that cant stop stirring the pot, dragging up old wrongs until all we can focus on is how much we cant stand each other 

I hear the anti-chief crowd arguing that getting rid of Chief Illiniwek will somehow increase respect for Native Americans. In reality, this whole fight has decreased respect for Native Americans. The fact that the anti-chief crowd chose  to name call, vilify their opponents, rely on cheap “victim” excuses, staged riots, and employed other unprofessional tactics such as labeling a proud and decent University  as racist has not gone unnoticed by those who heretofore had a great respect for the Native American population. This was a wake up call to those of us who had a lot of respect for historical Native Americans. That wakeup call was to realize that just as we, the living descendents of those who treated the Native Americans so inhumanely, are not our ancestors, the living Native Americans are not their ancestors either. As much as today’s Native Americans fight to hold onto that image of  dignity, self reliance, sacrifice, integrity and courage of the Native Americans of 120 years, the Native Americans of today are as far from those people as the white man is. It is perhaps this loss of their larger than life historic character that is fueling the obsession with controlling the “images” and “symbols” so that they always reflect “positively” on Native Americans (as perceived by Naïve Americans”). I would thing that today’s Native Americans would be more concerned about the loss of the inner spiritual life and value system of their people than about some symbol that offends them. Why worry about the “white college boy” who is attempting to pay honor to Native Americans (even if he fails in THEIR eyes he was not failing in the eyes of the majority) when the whole culture is falling apart? How does “authenticity” and Indian sacred dances and religion figure into the casino life? If Chief Illiniwek is an affront to the sacred life of the Native American, what is the Indian casino that pollutes the sacred shoreline of Lake Superior in Grand Marais? No other group would have been permitted to desecrate that beautiful “sacred” area just to make a few bucks. If the great Chiefs: Crazy Horse, Chief Joseph, Red Cloud, Kicking Bear, Cochise… who faced death, pain, sickness every day in their attempts preserve their way of life, were alive today, would they be proud of how the mighty Native Americans got rid of Chief Illiniwek? OR WOULD THEY BE ASHAMED to see how the courage, pride  and honor and dignity of the Native Americans 120 years ago has deteriorated into the petty, whiney, victim and dependent mentality (dependent on giveaway’s and  special treatment based on guilt and pity )and money grubbing behavior we see today?

As for the liberals, they have actually won something… a way to feel superior and have their “white guilt” massaged” without really sacrificing or doing anything. Notice it is them that got something out of this and whether the “victims” actually do is not the issue. I wrote the following to an avowed “bleeding heart liberal” in her anti-chief  blog.

“I count many “bleeding hearts” among my best friends and I know most have their hearts in the right place. They do want harmony and fairness between all people. But they do not look and see what is actually happening with all of this focus on group mentality and grievances. Racial tension is increasing and if you don’t believe the two are related listen in on some conversations between the young” oppressors” and hear their resentment for having to have their noses rubbed in “their” sins in every history and sociology class from middle school on for things that happened before they were born. Meanwhile they watch as , affirmative action programs in hiring, scholarships,  and admissions leap frog less qualified individuals over them. The anti-Chief group would never have prevailed nor even attracted much attention if they hadn’t presented themselves as “victims”.  Meanwhile the “ victims” can be heard like a broken record reciting the endless list of grievances (like the Chief) and reasons why they can’t make it without special programs, special treatment, special status. The ability of  a marginal (in terms of being part of the University) minority, on the basis of the minorities “opinion” of insensitivity alone, to destroy an 85 year old well like symbol, despite the opposition of the overwhelming  majority, was only made possible by the special status conveyed on the minority group… that of victim. And the majority group …that of oppressor.

Her”bleeding heart”  reply: Note the real issues for her in bold.

“All admirable, but where does that leave me to help aid in this process? I can't look at these people and say, "Well, just get over it. If you just ignore it, it doesn't exist." I am a white woman from a middle-class family who is married to a doctor. He grew up poor. His parents pushed him in his education, but neither of them had distinguished educational careers. He is bothered by the assumption of "white privilege" that follows him as now a white male doctor, and I do sympathize with him on that account. But that doesn't really help me when I'm on the possibly offending side.”

This poor victim of “white privilege” is concerned that the “victims” wont need her to help them out of their underprivileged life styles and that she will have to suffer with the “possibility” that she is on the “offending” side without anyoportunity to do a “good deed” to make herself feel better.  Sometimes our egos get caught up in "helping" people and we begin to believe they can’t make it without our programs, pity and excuses. Although fighting to get rid of the Chief is a feel good thing for liberals, they are not doing Native Americans any favors by reinforcing their (Native Americans) victim mentality and by reinforcing the idea that something like a dancing historical symbol (even performed by a white college boy) is able to hurt Native Americans or affect their ability to thrive in life.

What these liberals and all of us who want to “help” can do rather than battle these paper tigers like the Chief is:” treat all people fairly and look beyond ethnicity to values and behavior. We can acknowledge past wrongs without ruminating on them and without taking or assigning responsibility for these wrongs based on our group status  (unless we were personally responsible as individuals.).

It may not make us “feel as good” but maybe the greatest gift we can give Native Americans is the thought and belief that they can overcome the past and create a good future and that they have the power, abilities, character, faith, and courage to achieve those dreams, even if the whole world stands against them...

A scientific experiment isolates one variable. How will you do this?