SARAH DIXON
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
SUMMER II SEMESTER
JULY 31, 2007
PERSUASIVE SPEECH
SPECIFIC PURPOSE: To persuade individuals to recognize that freedom of speech is being compromised when a group decides to limit sports competition because of the use of a mascot that offends an outside group.
CENTRAL IDEA: Using the altered motivated sequence method to state my specific purpose and using analogy to show why political correctness has
gone too far.
I. INTRODUCTION
Imagine, if you will, a neighborhood group of children being rounded up by police for their participation in a role playing game. Their parents arrive at the local lock-up center to regain custody and are faced with the announcement that their children are being held for using hate speech. It seems they had been playing an innocent game of Cowboys and Indians when a group of Native Americans took offense.
TRANSITION: No, this is not a real scenario, but, as ridiculous as it sounds- there are cases being tried where schools and professional sports teams are finding themselves in the position of losing their beloved mascots and traditions. They are essentially being financially hamstringed into relinquishing their identity to satisfy political correctness.
II. ATTENTION STEP/NEED
In 1999 the NFL’s Washington Redskins were told their trademark was canceled- later in 2003 the Federal courts overturned the US Patent & Trademark Office decision that had sided with the complainants (seven American Indian activists that felt they were being insulted) for this same assumption of political incorrectness.
In a bow to public opinion the NCAA in 2005 adopted a policy of declaring the use of Native American mascots by its member institutions to be hostile and abusive and further declaring that member institutions using such imagery will not be allowed to host any NCAA post season championship events.
Last month- Arkansas State University at Jonesboro announced it is retiring their mascot the Indians (formerly Warriors), a treasured mascot that they have used since the first quarter of the 20th century.
TRANSITION:
Role playing is an intrinsic part of play for children of all cultures. For centuries- they have played some form of foe vs. foe and most children will tell you that they enjoyed both sides and the benefits that they had from the characteristics of playing on either side be it: Navy vs. Pirates, Cowboys & Indians, Normans vs. Saxons, Knights vs. Conquerers. Will Pirates, Cowboys, Steelers, etc be the next to fall? Is this such a stretch from children’s role playing to the school’s choice
of mascot?
When does political correctness infringe on Freedom of Speech? For that matter- when should political correctness dictate the expense and upheaval of changing something as traditional as a mascot? Or requiring that students only voice their opinions when in a designated (often remote) location?
I took an informal poll of my son and his friend who both felt as if they were much more censored in what they were allowed to voice in public settings and their freedom of speech was limited. They related to me the instances of Speech Free Zones on college campuses. I was stunned to discover they were correct. These have actually been in place since the 60’s and have had a recent resurgence on both campuses and political settings (such as the Democratic National Convention in 1988).
A poll conducted by Sports Illustrated and reported in the Washington section of National Review indicates that 80% of Native Indians polled were not offended by and further did not feel that schools or teams using Indians as mascots should have to change them. The poll also found that 75 percent of Native Americans don't think the use of these team names and mascots "contributes to discrimination."
Sports Illustrated writer S. L. Price reaches the obvious conclusion: "Although Native American activists are virtually united in opposition to the use of Indian nicknames and mascots, the Native American population sees the issue far differently."
I can even understand no longer accepting new schools membership but for existing schools- shouldn’t they be allowed to continue to practice their adopted traditions? Especially, when there was no harm intended by claiming the role and certainly the vast number of fans that have always considered the use of the mascot as honoring?
On a personal note- I attended a high school who mascot was the Indians, we embraced a rich heritage of the Native American culture and held many of their traditions and honorable rites. It saddens me to think that many communities will eventually lose this adopted sense of unity and pride.
While North Dakota State officials are taking the NCAA to court to challenge its restrictions on the University of North Dakota’s Fighting Sioux nickname. Other schools initially deemed to have unsuitable nicknames by the NCAA have won the right to use their monikers on appeal. They include the Florida State University Seminoles, the Central Michigan University Chippewas and the University of Utah Utes.
IV. VISUALIZATION/SATISFACTION
The political correctness pendulum has been a pivotal bone of contention ever since our Country was founded. It is now swinging again in regards to the right to speak freely in our own country. Most school children are aware of the term “Freedom of Speech” even if they don’t realize that it is the First Amendment in our Constitution also known as the Bill of Rights.
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
If we don’t begin to demand some levity about political correctness we may find ourselves facing the example I gave in my introduction or worse.
V. ACTION (CONCLUSION)
Knowing that there is a fine line between “walking on a fence” and “straddling a fence” - how should responsible citizens respond when challenged by someone who took offense because of their own lack of education or perspective?
We have a clear solution in the First Amendment. What we need to consider is our own exercising of tolerance, I know that to be difficult because there are many things I find offensive in today’s media and society. But, the rights that were laid out by our forefathers allow for each of us to express our own opinions. For instance by playing roles, such as Indians it is not a disparaging action but rather just an expression of community and pride. In regards to team spirit- can we not believe that these teams/schools have chosen these mascots to honor a culture rather than assuming they are making a negative statement about a group of our society?
Martin Luther King said, "people should not be judged on the color of their skin, but on the content of their character." In similar fashion, People should not be judged on the way others might "color" their words, but on the face value of their content.
REFERENCES:
Associated Press. (October 1, 2003) Judge: Insufficient evidence name is offensive. Retrieved July 28, 2007 from:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=1628425
NCAA Sports. (June 22, 2007) Arkansas State to change mascot. Retrieved July 28, 2007 from: http://www.ncaasports.com/story/10233982
J.C. Fullerton and J. Dixon. Interview. July 26, 2007.
David L. Hudson Jr. (September 13, 2005) Free Speech on Public College Campuses: Free-Speech Zones. Retrieved July 27, 2007 from: http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/speech/pubcollege/topic.aspx?topic=free-speech_zones
John Miller. (March 8, 2002) By Any Other Name: What do Native Americans think of sports teams named after Indians? Retrieved July 26, 2007 from http://www.nationalreview.com/daily/nr030802.shtml
Associated Press. (October 9, 2006) N.D. officials sue NCAA over 'Fighting Sioux' ban. Retrieved July 26, 2007 from http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org//news.aspx?id=17512&SearchString=mascot
First Amendment Timeline. (July 28, 2007) First Amendment Center online retrieved July 28, 2007 from http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/about.aspx?item=First_Amendment_timeline
Founding Fathers including but not limited to: James Madison, Alexander Hamilton. (1789) THE BILL OF RIGHTS: Amendments 1-10 of the Constitution. Retrieved July 26, 2007 http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/funddocs/billeng.htm
Sandy C Huckabee. Interview. July 30, 2007.
Image: http://www.bluecorncomics.com/naintell.htm © copyright 2007 by Robert Schmidt.
Copyrighted material is posted under the Fair Use provision of the Copyright Act, which allows copying for nonprofit educational uses including criticism and commentary.
While I'm really not all that entrenched in politics this year- I will click here to go to Mike's site. You can, too!
