Native american monikers in sports

Here where I live in northern Ca, surrounding kids leagues there is pressure from native american organizations to do away with names like braves, indians, ...even in san diego...the aztecs are being questioned as a politcally correct name.

As I get older I am staerting to see the point, but dont know where it all ends.

do we give names to teams of inanimate objects, like the bombers, or tanks,or explosives?

are all living things off the table.

Like we dont want kids in the stands yelling :"kill the indians"...but we also dont want them yelling "kill the eagles" for animal rights purposes,and we certainly dont want people yelling "pound the cougars"

so are we at the point where a big change has to occur?

I am leaning toward getting rid of the "indian" type names . I can see the point of folks that are offended. Just as I would be offended if a team was named jews or holocaust survivors. It could be argued that holocaust survivors were very tough folks who survived adversity,,,,,attributes a team would want....but I am not signing up to use that name. Same with native american names. Native americans were slaughtered as well,,,,,and some survived. So that does that mean we can sit in the stands and say pulverize those indians.

Larry--as a graduate of University of Illinois where they "killed" our beloved mascot, Chief Iliniwek, I have to disagree. How can you expect us to continue to follow our team without some moron dressed in Indian garb dancing like a crazed lunatic.

But seriously, they are now starting to suggest that our hockey team, the Chicago Blackhawks, also change its name. Where do you draw the line between a respectful use of a symbol or insignia like the Blackhawk's Indian head on their jerseys versus an idiot dancing around in the garb. The Blackhawk's Indian head is sacred. You can't even walk on it in the locker room.

You look at the insignias of cleve indians and Chi blackhawks and you see a difference as well. But who is the judge in the end, Its going to be all or nothing.

Heck even Notre Dame "fighting irish".....you know how those irish can get drunk and fight?,,,,is that what the name is saying? I doubt it, but to some it brings up that visual...especial to racists.

and yet i speak from an armchair as a white german jew......so what do I know whats insulting to those i mentioned above.

I dont even think the current generation ever saw a western where idians where always the bad guys, the savages, that needed to be shot. Where the only dialogue of a native american in the movies involved grunts and Kimosabe...and a few broken english words. I doubt there are kids playing cowboys and indians in the streets anymore. So the negative connotation seems to be fading.

yet like the "me too" movement maybe there comes a time.

I pull for the......

grambling tigers vs the Montgomery univ whites.

chants in the stands......kill the whites, kill the whites

while the others in the stands chant kill the tigers kill the tigers

prompting human rights and animal rights activists to appear

Gee, I wonder whether the Maoris in NZ piss and moan about the All Blacks rugby team?