Got a Craw Full Yet?

No, this is not off theme and message.

Aren't you sick and tired enough of this political correctness to rebel?

This latest q'rap, coming from the National College Athletics Association, ought to promote open disobedience of and complete disregard for the NCAA. The issue? ESPN.com - NCAA - FSU blasts NCAA playoff Indian mascot ban, Friday, August 5, 2005. NCAA American Indian mascot ban will begin Feb. 1.

INDIANAPOLIS -- The NCAA banned the use of American Indian mascots by sports teams during its postseason tournaments, but will not prohibit them otherwise.

The NCAA's executive committee decided this week the organization did not have the authority to bar Indian mascots by individual schools, committee chairman Walter Harrison said Friday.

Nicknames or mascots deemed "hostile or abusive" would not be allowed on team uniforms or other clothing beginning with any NCAA tournament after Feb. 1, said Harrison, the University of Hartford's president.

"What each institution decides to do is really its own business" outside NCAA championship events, Harrison said.

"What we are trying to say is that we find these mascots to be unacceptable for NCAA championship competition," he added.

At least 18 schools have mascots the NCAA deem "hostile or abusive,"
including Florida State's Seminoles and Illinois' Illini. The full list of
schools was not immediately released.

The tail--composed of people unworthy of any consideration--wags us, the national dog. This latest, the NCAA absurdity, competes to become known as the crown jewel of postmodernism, that philosophical mishmash that started this political correctness phenomena.

As a Florida Gator, I am seldom willing to cut Florida State University slack. Over this issue, though, I rally in support of FSU teams calling themselves "Seminoles." Also, I rally in support of all the other schools similarly q'rapped on.

To see the absurdity, dwell on what the NCAA says about American Indian mascot names: "Nicknames or mascots deemed "hostile or abusive"." Unleash a little logic here--just a little because it takes very little. Do you think there is even one college sports team that uses an American Indian mascot name because they want to reflect weakness? Are there any teams out there who call themselves "weenies, condoms, inepts, cowards, suppositories, and so on?" Did FSU elect to call themselves the FSU "Fools"?

So, why did they choose to call themselves "Seminoles"?

This ain't brain surgery, folks. FSU is a Florida team, and the Seminole Indians are the single best known American Indian tribe in Florida as well as in America. They have been ferocious foes in the past, and they now represent a venerable part of Florida and American culture. When the FSU mascot (Chief Osceola) rides out bareback and throws the flaming spear into the football turf before the game, he is not announcing that he is from the U.N. and that fans are about to watch diplomatic masturbation for the next 3 and half hours.

Let's go one further. The Seminole Indians in south Florida take great pride in their name being used by Florida State University. Far enough away to have been spared that special brand of modern education which takes a normal human and graduates a worthless rag, the Seminoles GET the connection. FSU's record on the football field reflects that strength, and too often on us Gators.

Florida State President T.K. Wetherell blasted the NCAA and threatened legal action on Friday, the Tampa Tribune reported.

"Florida State University is stunned at the complete lack of appreciation for cultural diversity shown by the National Collegiate Athletic Association's executive committee. ... That the NCAA would now label our close bond with the Seminole Tribe of Florida as culturally 'hostile and abusive' is both outrageous and insulting," Wetherell said Friday in a statement.

The Seminole Tribe of Florida passed a resolution in June supporting the school's use of the nickname and tribal images. Seminole tribes in other states have disagreed with the Florida group.

"I intend to pursue all legal avenues to ensure that this unacceptable decision is
overturned, and that this university will forever be associated with the 'unconquered' spirit of the Seminole Tribe of Florida," Wetherell said.

The FSU official response, however, will not likely succeed. It's too "civilized." Yes, FSU officials have the correct understanding, but their taking a United Nations type of approach will likely get them a United Nations type of result.

This is time to overhaul the NCAA by overt rebellion. FSU and other schools with Indian mascot names should refuse to comply with this NCAA dictum, and be prepared for the uproar. They can win very easily. Is the NCAA likely to hold to its absurd and illogical position in the face of rebellion from its member schools? Would these white shirts dare to risk complete disintegration of the NCAA? I think not.

Such rebellion would be good for the schools and the teams, and it would be a real tonic for American culture. It can spell the beginning of the end of political correctness which has replaced the spines and egos of so many people in America. Standing up to all of these "sensitives" will toughen them up, and they will be better for it. But, whether they are better for it or not, who cares, really? WE will be better off for it.

Maybe, then, we can stop fighting the war inside Iraq and this "war on terrorism" utterly handicapped by political correctness. Let's stamp out political correctness, wherever it can be found, and replace it with logic and spine.