Posted on 03/05/2002 5:03:33 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
North Dallas suburb's school board changes nickname from Coons
03/05/2002
The Associated Press
FRISCO, Texas — The Frisco Fighting Coons are no more.
Some students and parents in the North Dallas suburb had complained the nickname was racially offensive, and the Frisco School Board agreed Monday night, voting unanimously to change the nickname from Coons to Raccoons.
Superintendent Rick Reedy recommended the change.
Of several dozen people at Monday night's board meeting, many were vocal in their desire to keep the nickname the same as its been for 78 years. Some wore T-shirts and had signs in their yards reading, "Don't Rac my Coons."
Supporters said they had never learned to use "coon" as a racial slur and were proud of the nickname, created in 1924 when no one attached any racial significance to the name.
But school trustee Jimmy Gaffney said Monday night that it's time for a change.
"My dad thought it was the greatest thing going, and he is a racist, I'll be honest with you. I never taught this to my children. I don't want them to be a part of it. And I think our children today don't want to be a part of it," Gaffney said.
"I don't see any walls built at our school between our children, and I don't want to start that," Gaffney said.
Coon Memorial Stadium already had been changed to FISD Memorial Stadium. Frisco's water tower will have to be repainted, and T-shirts, bumper stickers and other signs will have to be changed to reflect the new nickname.
Students' reactions varied. "No one has ever said anything, ever, that I know of," said Jenny Forwark, who is white.
But black student LaVaughn Oliver, a sophomore, said, "I have a friend whose grandfather was killed by a Klan member, and he had that etched in on his chest, and it bothered him."
Valarie Blackman, another black student, said, "A lot of what's happening, you have new people moving in who have a tendency to take offense to that, as compared to the people who have always been here."
Track coach Steve Anthony, who is white, told Dallas television station WFAA: "If we're the Powder Puffs and we win football games and track meets, I don't care, that's my opinion. But for the kids to be made fun of, I don't think it's the appropriate thing."
Trustee Jane Whitledge said earlier, "I'm hoping that people understand that using the word raccoon in its full spelling is a way to maintain the tradition."
The superintendent late last week recommended the change, adding, "I feel that all decisions we make must come down to what is right for kids. It's important for students to be able to be proud of their school, and that includes its mascot. If one student is made to feel uncomfortable, that is one too many."
(ap.state.online.tx 0800 03/05/2002 01:36:02 )
A fellow I work with has a coffee mug emblazoned with "Frisco Coons". I guess it's now a collector's item.
Probably because for the 30 years you've lived here, Frisco was just a little town until about 4 or 5 years ago. Now it's one of the fastest growing cities in the country.
IMO ... this case is a joke. I don't understand why some people are so over-sensitive about things like this. Sure, kids with no consciences from other schools may use it to pick on the kids from Frisco, but other than that, 'Coon has always meant Racoon as far as I'm concerned.
What a bore. These hyper-sensitive pantywaists really need a keeper if a word is a deadly wound.
Go, Cocks! (South Carolina)
It's your fault! <>
Right on, glc...
BUMP for clarity
\Con*fed"er*ate\, a. [L. confoederatus, p. p. of confoederare to join by a league; con- + foederare to establish by treaty or league, fr. foedus league, compact. See Federal.] 1. United in a league; allied by treaty; engaged in a confederacy; banded together; allied.
Funny how some people lose track of the real definition of a word because of political correctness.
I doubt that. Why would the Klan carve a racial slur on a dead man who is obviously black? Unless the man was mostly white and the "coon" carving was to describe what they thought he was. All though I could understand them carving KKK or something like that so as to take claim for the murder. I think this young man has seen too many holocaust movies where the victims are labeled Jew to distinguish them from the other white people. I think this is another case of invented racism.
Champaign (Illinois) High School "Maroons", which, I believe is defined as a "fugitive black slave". So far, I think they are still using that nickname for Champaign Central HS.
we went to the CAF museum last year sometime and the curator there mentioned the name was soon to change for PC reasons, and it has. (at least in Texas)
Several years ago, we had a new Baptist Preacher in town. He objected to our Parent/Teacher organization name, which was Mother/Father/Teacher Organizaion.... and went by "MFT"
He worked very vocally to change the name because he felt it was "offensive"..... and I found it "offensive" a few years later when he was found shacked up with one of his parishoners at the Motel on the highway.....
I guess he learned "do as I say, not as I do" really well....
I think its stupid. Just more of the sympathetic white man with the bend over and take it attitude toward blacks in general.
A word doesn't mean anything until a person gives it credibility. THat is pretty sad that a race who gets their own history month can't be man enough to understand that a coon is a racoon or slang for a good ol' boy in some southern states.
I'm offended by the term African-American! What the hell does that mean? To me it means that blacks want to be an American so that they can take my money in the form of wellfare while putting their supposed homeland first (which by the way 99% of them have never seen and never will).
If you are going to get all the preferencial treatment from a government of a certain natin, you should at least give them credit by recognizing your importance of being a citizen of that nation vs. trying to imply dual citizenship when they have never even been to one of the nations in question!
Justin
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