Sunday, February 07, 2016



Mental health group fights lawmaker's bid to create an 'offensive' license plate of Maniac the school mascot



A northern Idaho lawmaker is once again seeking to create a specialized license plate depicting a hotly disputed Idaho high school mascot.

The proposed plate would portray the Orofino 'Maniac,' a caricature mental health groups call offensive.

Orofino Councilwoman Jill Woolsey told the panel Thursday that the term maniac would not be on the plate and defended the mascot, calling it positive representation of the community.

'In 2016 our mascot, the maniac, continues to be a symbol of unbridled enthusiasm and a symbol of overcoming odds,' Woolsey said. 'It's about a positive image to win and keep fighting.'

She explained the funds raised from the sale of the specialty license plate are needed for advanced programs in the underfunded high school, including advanced science and math classes.

Opponents testified for over an hour against the measure, saying the mascot's portrayal only further ostracizes mentally ill people, particularly because Orofino is also the home of a state-run mental health hospital.

SOURCE 


7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Interesting. Since people generally don't make mascots of things they dislike, we can only assume that the school is being truthful in their perception of the "Maniac" character. After all, a true "maniac" would be drooling in the corner and banging his head against the wall - not exactly a rousing endorsement for your team or school.

Still, it's in rather poor taste given that the town also houses the state mental institution. Wonder if they'd be willing to compromise and become the Berserkers? They'd just need to give a viking helmet and battleaxe to the character they already have.

Bird of Paradise said...

Could have fooled me that looks like a typical liberal

Dean said...

3:06 - Ooooh thank you. I have been eagerly awaiting the chance to be offended and you provided the opportunity. After all, even though viking berserkers are an historical fact, it is a negative reflection on all us Norwegian Americans.

Now I get to go berserk protesting your insult to my glorious forebears. . . oops. Darn, I just offended myself. Well, forget about it. Not much sense in protesting against myself.

Actually your idea is a good one. But the mental health people would object to a berserker mascot as well as the maniac mascot.

Pidgeon, the bird of institutions, said...

Most mental health workers in administrative positions are forever getting offended at words and insisting they be changed to other words. My town is also a mental institution town and has a large population of mentally disabled in the community.

Years ago the mental health administrators dictated the term mentally retarded must not be used because the term has negative connotations with school kids using it to insult and name call each other. And so the term intellectually disabled was to be adopted and used instead. The word went out that intellectually disabled is the word to use and soon the school kids were calling each other intellectually disabled. So the lefties in mental health administration then dictated the term intellectually disabled is not be used in public conversation and media because it has negative connotations and school kids are using it to insult each other, and so in their wisdom the lefties dictated the term "special people" is to be used instead. Soon everyone in town was politely referring to the intellectually disabled as special people, and of course, the kids in the local primary school were soon using the term "special person" as an insult to name call each other, and they still are. I find it so funny that adult leftist administrators addicted to changing words to manipulate society keep getting outsmarted by ten year old children.

Spurwing Plover the fighting shorebird said...

The fellow loooks like the poor person who have to sign a mountian of papers just to set a bird feeder in their yard(Buricrats are idiots)and liberals whine too much

Flu-Bird said...

Liberals want to replace all masquline preditory mascots with wussietard liberal ones

Anonymous said...

I actually know several people from Orofino and the "maniac" has never had a connection to the mental hospital there. Basically "maniacs" are just over the top enthusiastic about all things and Orofino is proud to be that way. For those who know the history this twisted backlash is an insult but whenever you get a whine of progressives together you get nonsensical results.

MDH