UND American Indian students will not appeal nickname lawsuit dismissal; say they will extend an olive branch
September 7, 2012 at 3:30 am in Grand Forks Herald
Six American Indian students at UND who sued the university and several state officials over use of the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo have decided not to appeal a U.S. District Court judge’s dismissal of the lawsuit. Continue Reading
Now if we can just get the Committee for Understanding and Respect to “understand” that this matter is finally over and “respect” the will of the North Dakota voters we can move on.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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To whom are they extending the olive branch? The nickname supporters have all been roundly characterized as hateful racists. If you supported the nickname, they hated you. If they hated you then, they hate you now.
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Hate is a little strong. There are very few political characters that I hate, and no one on the opposing side rises to that level. Disagree with, feel sorry for, and in the heat of battle even feel contempt. Never hate. The issue simply does not rise to that level of seriousness.
We are not talking abortion or slavery here. This is just run of the mill, everyday politics. Much like Romney vs the Big O. In 10 years it won’t matter.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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I suppose the Herald would have gotten grief to not allow comments here, but I’d have been fine with that. FightingNobody’s anger and rants perfectly illustrate why we need to stop stirring this “dust heap of history.” I never once sensed any hate from this group of young people. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. What a hateful, hateful man and with 10 people liking his hate. Perfect.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Well, I see what you did there. But you know well the atmosphere in this issue included a constant barrage of claims that nickname supporters were “ignorant,” “racist” and worse. Those are certainly hateful comments, and it’s entirely fair to point that out. (And I do see that you have no hesitation to launch an unfounded personal attack on me, against comment rules. That speaks volumes as well.)
Hot debate. What do you think?
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You have a poor memory or are not being honest. When you state “If you supported the nickname, they hated you” that’s completely inaccurate. The word hate and racist was almost exclusively used in the context of your comment, not from the nickname opponents. I don’t think you are dishonest, just completely lack perspective on this particular issue. You can try being nice now and play the victim, but your 10:18 comment was down right nasty and flat-out called these nice young people hateful.
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Further proof of my point is the fact that a nickname supporter used those words first here, at 10:18 a.m. This was the case with virtually every article on this subject. At worst, most nickname opponents mentioned hostility and abusive activity which don’t necessarily reach the level of hate or racism. Different perspective, I guess.
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Alvin, I’m glad we seem to agree that it is wrong to label someone a racist because of thier support of the nickname. Unfortunately, that label was indeed levied against nickname supporters in the past. As recently, as this past summer, we saw the Herald publish this statement in an article:
“You have those who support the nickname and really have no malicious feelings toward Native Americans. I think that’s probably the majority. But then you have the extremists who love the logo and will fight to the death for the logo. Those are the racists. The more obsessed a person is with keeping the name and logo, the more racist they are toward Indian people.”
http://www.bakkentoday.com/event/article/id/238454/publisher_ID/40/
In my opinion, these types of statements are wrong. I’ll be glad if nickname opponents in general distance themselves from these accusations going forward.
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Good comment. Objective and to the point.
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I disagree with you Alvin (a very rare occurrence). I believe every story, regardless of subject should be open to comment.
Our society is based on respectful disagreement. If we ever get to the point where 100% of Americans agree on ANYTHING, it will be proof positive that something is very wrong and the system needs to be tweaked until the fault is discovered.
If you look back to the vote to declare war in WWII — the single most unifying event for Americans in the last century — there was one legislator who voted no; and was re-elected!
I do agree that people need to go back to elementary school and re-learn how to disagree. We seem to have lost the ability to disagree without taking it personally.
I have been called many things on these boards, I even got a call from the GF Police about a threat made to the Harald about me. At no time did I ever loose any sleep over it.
Always and I have agreed exactly twice in the last 18 months. That does not mean I think he is unworthy, simply that he is wrong.
You do not learn how to have a civil conversation by stifling communication.
It is ok to disagree. Our whole system of government is based on it.
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Well, I can’t strongly disagree with you, but I used to hate the anonymity of the old comment
line. People chewed out the volunteer parking attendants at the air base open house or beat up on
the most innocent people. I’ve kind of sold out on my position, but really can see why many
reputable newspapers don’t allow this. If everyone used our real names and addresses, I’d agree
with you. I’m sure most of the nastiest comments would disappear.
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I hear what you are saying. Every voice deserves to be heard, but that does not mean they are deserving of respect; or even careful consideration.
The FS debacle is a great case in point. I considered the logo racist. I considered its continued use a racist act. This was an opinion completely unrelated to the NCAA. They were a side show as far as I was concerned. More than once I took the people of ND to task (on the boards and in numerous editorials) for not retiring the nickname simply because it was the right thing to do. Obviously not everyone agreed with my opinion.
Never did I call any – including Always – a racist. I do not know them well enough to make that judgment. Just because you supported something I found to be racist, does not necessarily make you a racist.
We got down right ugly at times, but I never felt like I had to hate those on the other side of the isle.
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Calling someone “racist” or “ignorant” isn’t hateful, it’s simply an observation.
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During the whole FS debacle people bristled at the use of the R word. That was good, it means that we are making progress since the days of the KKK and Jim Crow.
That said, it is a useful word when used appropriately. Yes, it is a politically and emotionally charged word because of our history of racial abuses in the US.
That does not mean we remove it from the language. It simply means we go out of our way to make sure we are using it correctly.
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The whole nickname debate was a primer in logical fallacies. Ironic since universities are supposed to be the centers of critical thinking.
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I admire a group that is willing to admit defeat.
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Yeh, liberals like a quitter.
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It’s nice to hear from you alwayscorrect.
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Hate me I can sand it, call me a racist I can stand it too. But there are no “Native Indians” nor “Sioux”..
Indian name came from the man the Indigenous people hate called Columbus and Sioux was the name given by the French because they could not speak the native tongue so they made up a name..
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“extend an olive branch” It is extending an olive branch when you lost? Will continue to loose if you appeal. I would call it smart not to continue to throw money away on this but a peace offering after you loose? So I guess we should have surrendered to the Axis powers in WWII AFTER we kicked their butts? Just face it you lost on a frivalis law suit and are trying to look like you are the peace makers and being reasonable.
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So Stupidjhem had the NCAA remove the “hostile and abusive” assertion?
I am confused….i thought that was the reason it had to go.
Liar.
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It’s time for the healing to start. Everyone fought a good fight but the decisions have been made. Let’s heal the relationships and move on with making our university as strong as it can be. It includes healing the wounds between UND fans and the native tribes. The tribes are an imporatant part of our history and an important part of UND history. Lets move forward in a way that will make life better for all of us. Having a strong UND helps all North Dakotans.
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“Having a strong UND helps all North Dakotans.”
Well…that is just the point isn’t it?
It is not a strong University….it has shown itself to have no honor. The coaches sell out for a little money, Berkeley Bob behaves like a jailhouse snitch, the alumni bows to pressure from the University….
Strong? Not really.
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Now that we have moved beyond separating people based on their race we can move forward towards the goal of makling sure every single student at UND is treated 100% equal in all aspects of college life.
First on the agenda, time to shut down the Indian Affairs office on campus and time to pull all tuition waivers for individuals based on their bloodline.
One standard for all.
or are we not quite ready to treat everyone equal based on skin color yet?
and for the record.. Im actually glad the name is gone, i was tired of the University giving special treatment to one group over all others just to use their name.
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The bulk of the money for programs and set asides comes from the federal Govt.
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Not if they don’t request the funds.
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You’re kidding, right. UND not wanting money? That’s like the LDS not wanting converts.
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Out of “spite.”
I mean, I doubt that the money grubbing little cowards would give up a dime, but under the right administration?
Could happen.
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btw…. why does it seem that everyone has moved on yet the Herald continues to use the “Offensive” Logo in all its stories?
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Wasn’t this the group that had no one from a Sioux tribe?
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