>
>         UMass used to be known as the "Redmen" until 1974 when they
> changed it to Minutemen. It's kind of funny. People back then said that
> Minutemen was far less offensive than Redmen. Now some extremists argue
> that Minutemen is too gender biased. Our women's teams call themselves
> the Minutewomen, and don't seem to mind much though. Although it's
> interesting from a historical perspective seeing as there were no
> Minutewomen.
>
> Leigh
> [log in to unmask]
>
 
 
The true irony of the UMass situation is that they changed from a Native
American symbol to the Minutemen because it was considered offensive to
Native Americans to have them as your symbol... *YET* last year a bunch
of protesters complained that having a "White male with a gun" was
offensive because it was glorifying white males (I'm not making this up,
check out the back copies of the Boston Globe!).  One protester even asked
the media how white people would feel if it was a minority as the symbol.
 
 
So in one case, it's insulting to be a symbol, yet in the other it's glorifying
to be the symbol.
 
 
Once the school and the media pointed out to the protesters that the name had
formerly been *CHANGED* from that of a minority (Native Americans) for the
purposes of being sensitive, the protest sort of died. (They also looked like
ignorant bafoons in front of the entire state)
 
 
 
As one of my former teachers used to say... "Make sure your brain is in gear
before engaging your mouth!"  (I think it's also on a bumper sticker or
something)
 
Tony