Oh, Honestly!

NCAA bans use of Indian mascots, names. I heard this story and just sighed - yeah, I can kinda see their point, but is this because there was a groundwell of pressure from NA groups (after many of these names have been in use for DECADES?) or because PC-ness is cheaper than licensing? I know that in the case of Florida State, home of the Seminoles, the Seminole Nation of Florida is on board and endorses the use of their tribal name. Aren't they the ones who should make the call here? If they are okay with it isn't it really Patronizingly White Man to forbid it anyway, across the board, without regard to their authorization?

Yes, I do feel oogy when I see fat shirtless white guys in warpaint doing that dipshit tomahawk thing in the stands, but is it really degrading to Native Americans that drunken white guys make asses of themselves at a football game? Apparently the Seminole Nation of Florida concluded it's only degrading to the white guys making asses of themselves, and if they can have a sense of humor about it, shouldn't they have the final call on this? Florida State, Seminole Nation of Florida - hmmm, seems like a Florida issue to me, so let's let them decide this. Oh, wait, they did!

And as an Irish American, do I get the right to bitch about Notre Dame's "Fighting Irish?" That is clearly perpetuating a derogatory ethnic stereotype and nobody says shit about it. Of course I know more than one Irish Notre Dame grad who is proud of it and thinks it's fine, so why do we assume that Native Americans don't also have a sense of humor about the behavior of shirtless white guys in body paint at football games?

With all the real issues facing the Native American populations in many parts of the country, I find it hard to believe that too many of them give a rat's ass about this. It's Patronizing White Guy stuff. If the NCAA really wanted to do something for the NA tribes whose names are used, they should be checking that the teams involved gave permission and licensed the rights to use the NA names and the respective nations got a fair cut of profits for the millions of bucks in merchandise.