Political correctness is something that has come to envelope this country over the past few decades. It is in every aspect of our lives. We see it in the media. We see it in the workplace. We see it in our schools.
Although political correctness obviously has merit in its goals of ensuring that people are not offended by others, perhaps it is going a little too far in running our day-to-day lives.
The University of Illinois was recently forced to rid themselves of their Native American mascot in the name of political correctness to avoid offending the general population. Their mascot, known as Chief Illiniwek, was deemed by the NCAA to be too offensive, along with all other Native American mascots throughout collegiate athletics. Chief Illiniwek served as the mascot for the University for 79 years and was as beloved to their school as our very own Charlie Cardinal is to us here at Ball State University.
The argument for those who see the image of Native Americans as mascots to be offensive is weak to say the least. It is argued that the mascot of Chief Illiniwek shows a racial stereotype. I think what the NCAA does not realize, though, is that the idea of using a certain ethnic group to show aggression and fierce competition is nothing new.
Certainly, native Americans are neither the first nor the last group to be depicted in this manner. They are, however, the first group to oppose this imagery in a major way.
What about the Notre Dame Fighting Irish? Why aren't there people of Irish descent beating down the doors of Notre Dame and the NCAA and demanding a change? The image of a leprechaun holding up his fists constantly ready to fight seems to be every bit as stereotypical as Chief Illiniwek at the University of Illinois.
The leprechaun and countless other mascots should be in the sights of the NCAA if they are truly trying to prevent any type of racial, ethnic or religious stereotypes. The reason, I believe, that other ethnic groups don't get upset is simply because they understand what is going on. They take pride in being seen as tough and they wear their mascots as a badge of honor instead of seeing it as something to be upset about.
The crimes that were committed against Native Americans in American history are certainly horrific and should never be forgotten. History has shown us that those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. Although it is important to remember the past, it certainly does not seem to be a pertinent issue as far as college athletics are concerned.
I am disappointed that the NCAA would see that while some ethnicities are okay for parody, others are too sacred to be made into mascots.
When people try to see that nobody is ever offended, two things happen almost inevitably. They will either go to far and end up going to ridiculous lengths to see that nobody is upset or they will only look out for one specific group and leave others as they were. The NCAA should have left Chief Illiniwek alone. He meant a lot to the University of Illinois, but apparently that was not enough to spare him.
We look on mascots with a great deal of pride. They are a major part of university life and pride. I would think that those in the NCAA would recognize this.
Write to Alex at apcarroll@bsu.edu
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