Nailing the pro-chiefers

Fans send Chief Illiniwek out in styleThe hypocrisy in Illini land is overwhelming. You want people to be sensitive to your feelings about the demise of a mascot, while you have been totally insensitive for decades to a people who are among the most downtrodden on this planet. illniband writes about a small group of uninformed people ... hmm ... ever been to a powwow or seen an authentic Indian dance? Know any Native American's personally? Ever read any works by Native American authors about their traditions, religion, history? I bet few pro-chiefers can answer yes to those questions, but they set themselves up to say what 'honors' Native Americans. People like illiniband will never get it because they don't want to, and will look for any excuse to keep a 'tradition' going that honors Indians in the same manner minstrel shows honored blacks. When their flawed reasoning and 'facts' are shot down, pro-chiefers can only respond by calling people names like thugs and PC police. But if you step back and take an honest look at things, this protest was led by real, live authentic Native Americans, who were courageous in taking a stand that brought them nothing but harassment and abuse. The behavior by the pro-chiefers has been petty, childish and yes in some cases bigoted. This whole controversy has given Illinois a black eye nationally, but all you care about is a sports mascot. Fine, but stop lying about your motivations. Just admit you don't care about Indians, and stop pretending this is some kind of honor. For those few who really believe they do care, then start to learn about the great cultures found in our Native history and you will come to understand what a ridiculous and sad spectacle the chief was.