Holy Cross Crusaders

The (Jesuit) College of Holy Cross, whose mascot has been Crusaders for about a century is under pressure to change its name like several other universities with the same mascot. While the College has decided to maintain its name due to tradition, the politically correct campus paper has unilaterally decided to change to
The Spire.

http://www.wbur.org/edify/2018/02/02/holy-cross-newspaper-changes-name-racism

It is no coincidence that colleges who have this nickname have been under pressure to change. A couple have caved in. The word “crusader” in itself can mean many things, a crusader for civil rights, for example. In Holy Cross’ case, it is clear that the mascot is related to the Crusaders sent out by the Vatican to wage war against the Muslims centuries ago (The Crusades). I am no expert on the Crusades, but I think it is safe to say there was much combat and senseless killings on both sides. Muslims remember it while most other people don’t care much about it one way or another.

Many schools and sports teams have nicknames that suggest power and violence. Look at the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Detroit Tigers, New York Giants, etc. You don’t see many teams called canaries. On the other hand, you have younger universities that deliberately choose  names designed to be gentle, like the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs or the UC Irvine Anteaters. The whole thing about nicknames is getting ridiculous though I can certainly understand why Native Americans find the name (Washington) “Redskins” objectionable as well as Chief Wahoo, the Cleveland Indian mascot who is being put into retirement in 2019-thanks to pressure by Rob Manfred, the MLB commissioner who was gently reminding the Indians that the All Star game just happened to be scheduled for Cleveland in 2019. That could easily be shifted to another city if the Indians refused to listen to reason. By the way, the Atlanta Braves have had a similar logo for many dexcades which from year to year has appeared on their uniforms. I look for that to be the next to go.

As for the “Crusaders”, just who is it offensive to? The answer is Muslims and, of course, their leftist allies. Even the term, “Holy Cross” is offensive to some Muslims. To keep the Crusader moniker would be tantamount to “Islamophobia”. As we all know, Muslims must be accommodated in their demands. Bad things can happen if they aren’t, such as lawsuits and maybe worse. Of course, I don’t mean to lump all Muslims here. But it only takes one organization like CAIR to file a lawsuit or one deranged individual who sees it as a call for jihad.

Holy Cross has always been the Crusaders, and I am glad they are not caving to pressure. Too bad the student newspaper caved in to political correctness.

All this reminds me, however, that back in the days of ancient Rome, Christians were fed to the lions in the Colosseum. Maybe some Christian organizations can pressure the Detroit Lions to change their offensive name.