Today’s blacklisted American: Colorado Democrats move to blacklist all mascots and imagery honoring the American Indian
The American Indian, banned by Democrats
Blacklists are back and the Democrats have got ’em: After the Democrats controlling the state government in Colorado passed a bill banning the use of any mascot or imagery that makes any reference to any American Indian tribe or cultural icon, a Native American group immediately filed suit, claiming that the policy essentially discriminates against American Indians, banning them from the public sector in all ways.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis [a Democrat], who is listed as a defendant in the lawsuit, in June signed Senate Bill 21-116 into law, which prohibits public schools from using “a name, symbol, or image that depicts or refers to an American Indian tribe, individual, custom, or tradition that is used as a mascot, nickname, logo, letter, or team name.” Schools with American Indian-themed mascots have until June 1, 2022 to cease use or face $25,000 fines each month for noncompliance, according to the law, which doesn’t apply if a school has an existing agreement with a federally recognized tribe.
The lawsuit, which was filed [in early November] in U.S. District Court by the Mountain States Legal Foundation, a conservative public-interest law firm, is brought by current and former Yuma High School students and the Native American Guardian’s Association (NAGA), a nonprofit that advocates for the recognition of Native American heritage.
The plaintiffs argue in the lawsuit that the law amounts to “state-sanctioned race discrimination” and violates their First and 14th amendments, as well as the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The lawsuit seeks to block state officials “from implementing and administering” the law.
Essentially, this Democratic Party law effectively blackballs all mention of American Indians. No school can honor them. No institution can build statues or monuments to them. This Democratic Party law has made them all non-persons, without any existence in the public square. Worse, the law bans American Indian school names and mascots, even though almost all the schools actually portray the American Indian with honor and respect.
If the law is implemented, the state’s Commission of Indian Affairs has identified 26 schools that must sanitize its mascots, at great cost, money that would be far better spent providing classrooms for unmasked students attending school normally. A ruling by the court last week denied the lawsuit’s request to block the implementation, noting that the law actually doesn’t take effect until June 1, 2022 and as such is not an immediate issue. The plantiffs have appealed this decision, because they fear that — even if they win in the end — schools will be forced to implement the law in the interim, and will thus wipe out all record of American Indians in the Colorado school system, no matter how positively portrayed.
Note that this law once again illustrates the bigoted assumptions of Democrats, that their actions are in defense of minorities. Their actions instead insult those minorities, either by treating them as inferiors who must be helped by the betters, or by banning them from the public square in order to better “protect them.”
It is gratifying that at least in Colorado, the American Indian community is not accepting such ill treatment from Democrats without a fight. Good for them.
Readers!
My annual February birthday fund-raising drive for Behind the Black is now over. Thank you to everyone who donated or subscribed. While not a record-setter, the donations were more than sufficient and slightly above average.
As I have said many times before, I can’t express what it means to me to get such support, especially as no one is required to pay anything to read my work. Thank you all again!
For those readers who like my work here at Behind the Black and haven't contributed so far, please consider donating or subscribing. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
The American Indian, banned by Democrats
Blacklists are back and the Democrats have got ’em: After the Democrats controlling the state government in Colorado passed a bill banning the use of any mascot or imagery that makes any reference to any American Indian tribe or cultural icon, a Native American group immediately filed suit, claiming that the policy essentially discriminates against American Indians, banning them from the public sector in all ways.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis [a Democrat], who is listed as a defendant in the lawsuit, in June signed Senate Bill 21-116 into law, which prohibits public schools from using “a name, symbol, or image that depicts or refers to an American Indian tribe, individual, custom, or tradition that is used as a mascot, nickname, logo, letter, or team name.” Schools with American Indian-themed mascots have until June 1, 2022 to cease use or face $25,000 fines each month for noncompliance, according to the law, which doesn’t apply if a school has an existing agreement with a federally recognized tribe.
The lawsuit, which was filed [in early November] in U.S. District Court by the Mountain States Legal Foundation, a conservative public-interest law firm, is brought by current and former Yuma High School students and the Native American Guardian’s Association (NAGA), a nonprofit that advocates for the recognition of Native American heritage.
The plaintiffs argue in the lawsuit that the law amounts to “state-sanctioned race discrimination” and violates their First and 14th amendments, as well as the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The lawsuit seeks to block state officials “from implementing and administering” the law.
Essentially, this Democratic Party law effectively blackballs all mention of American Indians. No school can honor them. No institution can build statues or monuments to them. This Democratic Party law has made them all non-persons, without any existence in the public square. Worse, the law bans American Indian school names and mascots, even though almost all the schools actually portray the American Indian with honor and respect.
If the law is implemented, the state’s Commission of Indian Affairs has identified 26 schools that must sanitize its mascots, at great cost, money that would be far better spent providing classrooms for unmasked students attending school normally. A ruling by the court last week denied the lawsuit’s request to block the implementation, noting that the law actually doesn’t take effect until June 1, 2022 and as such is not an immediate issue. The plantiffs have appealed this decision, because they fear that — even if they win in the end — schools will be forced to implement the law in the interim, and will thus wipe out all record of American Indians in the Colorado school system, no matter how positively portrayed.
Note that this law once again illustrates the bigoted assumptions of Democrats, that their actions are in defense of minorities. Their actions instead insult those minorities, either by treating them as inferiors who must be helped by the betters, or by banning them from the public square in order to better “protect them.”
It is gratifying that at least in Colorado, the American Indian community is not accepting such ill treatment from Democrats without a fight. Good for them.
Readers!
My annual February birthday fund-raising drive for Behind the Black is now over. Thank you to everyone who donated or subscribed. While not a record-setter, the donations were more than sufficient and slightly above average.
As I have said many times before, I can’t express what it means to me to get such support, especially as no one is required to pay anything to read my work. Thank you all again!
For those readers who like my work here at Behind the Black and haven't contributed so far, please consider donating or subscribing. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
Who empowered the Democrats of Colorado to represent the Native American’s of America?
I totally agree with Native Americans suing. The law the Democrats passed assumes much, and we all know what happens when we assume.
The American Indians, just like the Black Americans of America do not need the Democrat party “Saving” them and making decisions in their interests. What nerve! STOP HELPING!
Lawyers, Courts and Money.
On a related note, in June 2020 the Cannon Beach (OR) City Council voted to require masking, except for People Of Color. There was immediate backlash from POC, who wondered why their lives were less valuable: “What, I’m not good enough to wear a mask?”
Cannon Beach is home to a large art community, and from the commentary, the Council were surprised that their thoughtful consideration was unappreciated by the intended beneficiaries. Huh.
The political party that is responsible for the Trail of Tears continues to hide and oppress our American Indians. Once they succeed, there will no longer be any need to teach about the Trail of Tears. One Democrat tragedy down, several to go.
The rest of the country can accept that mistakes were made (even if they were made by Democrats, a political party that was founded specifically to defend the institution of slavery) and that we have grown as a people, but the Democrats insist on hiding their crimes (e.g. being the KKK, creating Jim Crow laws, trying to prevent school integration, etc.), because they still have the same attitudes and feelings, and they have not grown. For the Democrats, segregation is coming back as they convince people to self-segregate, the new normal. Democrats project their own racism onto the rest of the nation’s white population, trying to defend their own racism by claiming that it is genetic, not learned — yet they want desperately to teach it through their Critical Racism Theory training.
We Americans cannot change history and must accept the fact that the Democrats have created a great deal of suffering and tragedy, but the Democrats work hard to hide their leadership in these terrible actions.