What the devil is THIS about?
A Florida parent is so offended by his daughter’s school mascot, a devil, that he is offering to pay all costs connected with replacing it with something more innocuous. The father insists that it’s an issue of the separation of church and state — that a devil is the equivalent of a cross as a school mascot. I read this with interest since my company has a devil in its logo. It certainly isn’t meant to be offensive; it was just a good way to depict an impish troublemaker.
I attended a high school in Buena Vista, CO. We were the BV Demons and had a big red devil face. I loved that mascot – it too had been around for ages and was also the subject of periodical debate. 12 years later, they remain the Buena Vista Demons.
Devils or Demons sound better than, say, the Pretzels. Twist the opposing team into submission! Yeah!
Another school’s mascot in my town is the ERAB. It stands for East (the name of the school) Red And Black.
Compared to lame mascots such as these, Devils don’t quite seem as bad. Seems like he is wasting quite a bit of money for nothing. Wouldn’t the money be better spent funding any sort of charity?
ERAB? Pretzels? Those are bad. 🙂 My high school was the Raiders — a Revolutionary War soldier with a musket. I have heard that some schools with similar mascots are getting protests about the gun, though.
My college was the Geoducks, which is pretty weird.
Anyway, yes, charity would be a much more worthwhile use of this guy’s money, especially since he is a self-proclaimed Christian. He should do the Christian thing, perhaps.
My high school team was called the Valley High Ventures. What that’s supposed to mean, I don’t know. They never got around to making a visual for it. (They made it up in the mid-70s, so I don’t think it was a business thing.)
Geez. How could you illustrate that? That’s probably the lamest one I’ve heard yet. 🙂
The devil is a matter of religion for parents to teach their kids about, not the school. I will be sending Mr. Locklear a check for $1,000 and yes, if the school changes the mascot voluntarily, they can use the money as a contribution to their school improvement plan and buy new computers, etc.
Slavery also was a tradition that many people weren’t offended by, but enough were to divide our country and make a positive change.
This guy is standing up to bring about a more positive mascot for our kids. How many of you would put your money where your mouth is and support such an unpopular cause? At least he is fighting a good fight vs. saying the “the devil never hurt anyone”.
Stand up and make the world a better place. You will one day meet your maker or the guy Locklear hopes to replace. Either way, you better be firm in your convictions and able to defend your position.
Shawn Griggs
Comparing devil mascots to slavery is odd. It’s like comparing people who get parking tickets with Holocaust victims — comparing something that irritates people in a relatively minor way with something that was a crime against humanity. It’s a rhetorical tactic to gain sympathy but it is not an honest one.
In the following paragraph you continue the overwrought debating by using ad hominem tactics, implying that those who disagree with Mr. Locklear are saying “the devil never hurt anyone.” I don’t believe that I expressed anything in the posts here that indicate my beliefs regarding the devil in any way, other than my implied belief that devil mascots are harmless. You also try to belittle those who disagree with Locklear by implying that they never support unpopular causes, which, of course, you cannot know.
You are right that we should all make the world a better place. I do not believe that removing devil mascots is the way to do it. Stereotyped “devil” images are not considered religious in any way by the vast majority of American society. Certainly it offends some, but the Constitution does not grant us the “right not to be offended,” nor should it.
If you agree with Locklear to the extent of sending him $1000, more power to you. You are welcome to your beliefs. Just do not expect that everyone else should be forced to follow your belief system. I assume you are a Christian; you must know that even most Christians don’t agree on everything.
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