Saturday, February 3, 2007

Bradley U. has no mascot; U of I has no class

Well, at least folks at the Peoria school don't deny that the issue is about a mascot. The same cannot be said of certain supporters of Chief Illiniwek at the University of Illinois, who contend that their mascot is not a mascot, but rather a "symbol."

Bullshit. Don't they have a dictionary at the U of I? The Rascal's copy of Webster's Ninth New Collegiate defines "mascot" as "a person, animal or object adopted by a group as a symbolic figure." That fits Illiniwek to a T.

Denying that the Chief is a mascot is the intellectual equivalent of denying that the Civil War was about slavery, which is what neo-Confederates are wont to do out of embarrassment over the truth of the matter.

If Chief Illinwek is "an honored symbol," as his defenders argue, how come you can get toilet paper bearing his likeness?

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