richie rocks but dwayne is a racist dillweed???

senate bill 0162 (tennessee) just plain sucks...no wait, it's just plain racist!!!

here's a bill, pushed by white men such as senator dwayne bunch - r (for racist) cleveland - that would prevent the state from ever banning american indian mascots at schools - that's right, make it illegal to ever make it illegal to restrain a school from using native american icons or imagery as a mascot - i believe that senator bunch has all but wrapped this bill up in the usa patriot act and the war on "terror" ... in my neighborhood we refer to people who act like bunch as a "dillweed," - we don't know what it means but when you see it you KNOW we're not happy with him...

now choctaw activist evangeline lynch says that it is "disrespectful and unconstitutional," ... that, "We are not mascots, we are human beings," but this here southern white male says bunch's bill is just plain racist - period!

our local amnesty international chapter is helping to bring richie pless to nashville...here's some of what richie wrote to me:

My name is Richie Plass. I am a Menominee, Stockbridge/Munsee Indian from northern Wisconsin. I have been fighting the mascot/logo issue since 1968. Our non-profit group, Changing Winds Advocacy has developed a traveling exhibit on Native American Imagery...Our exhibit is titled, "Bittersweet Winds"...I call it the, "Good the Bad and the Ugly" of Native Imagery...It has over 150 items ranging from great photographs, craft work, documents, letters and other items both good and bad that use Native images..I also have some items as it relates to mascots and logos...Please visit our web site: http://www.changingwinds.org/ and you can read all about the exhibit and see some photos. Also, if you go to my web site you'll be able to read my story, "I Was A Teenage Mascot" and see first hand what I went through and why I continue my efforts with this issue.

so richie is coming to nashville and amnesty international 149 is collaborating with local activists and advocates to protect in this instance cultural rights...the universal declaration of human rights proclaims the indivisibility and interdependence of all human rights...it equally recognises civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights...political circumstances related to the cold war divided this whole into civil and political (cp) rights on the one hand and economic, social and cultural (esc) rights on the other...ecs rights have also been regarded as second-class rights...it has been shown, however, that without the adequate living conditions that these rights ensure cp rights cannot be fulfilled.

wish us well and write to senator bunch sen.dewayne.bunch@legislature.state.tn.us and let him know that you don't approve of denigrating native american culture by passing racist and unconstitutional legislation...

peace out <3