PC at the NCAA

This report really gets under my skin. The NCAA has banned all "hostile or abusive" Indian mascots in post-season tournaments. They would have banned them altogether but (amazingly) they admitted they didn't have authority to do it. This whole debate drives me crazy because it essentially says a special interest is going to define what is offensive to them. For example, blacks use "the N word" themselves but absolutely condemn non-blacks who do the same (for the record, I don't think ANYone should use it). Likewise, "Native Americans" get to pressure whites about using indian mascot names, despite the fact that such names are INHERENTLY chosen to represent positive attributes of Indians; in particular, strength, bravery, tenacity, etc. This is a crock.

Update (8/22/05): The NCAA is allowing FSU to use the Seminole mascot; the "Begging the Question" quote from the article: "It's not about an effort to be politically correct," Myles Brand, the president of the N.C.A.A., said in a statement when the ban was announced. "It is about doing the right thing." Oh, now we understand . . .