Erasing History: University Ditches Iconic Mascot over Leftist Complaints
California State University, Long Beach is asking the public to help chose a new mascot after the school decided to ditch the “Prospector Pete” mascot and relocate the iconic bronze statue.
The results of the new mascot poll will be announced May 9 before they are handed over to President Jane Close Conoley, who will make the final decision, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The old “Prospector Pete” mascot was deeply ingrained in the university’s history, as a reference to California’s gold rush and a clever pun from founding president Pete Peterson.
“Prospector Pete evolved from the creation of the campus in 1949 and founding President Pete Peterson’s reference to having ‘struck the gold of education’ by establishing the college,” the L.A. Times reported.
But students aren’t concerned with the history of their university or the meaning behind Prospector Pete.
Instead, college liberals found a way to be offended by their iconic mascot.
Outcry from liberals finally put an end to “Prospector Pete” last year, with liberals claiming that prospectors represented “colonization, white supremacy, racism and exclusion,” according to The College Fix.
“We came to know that the 1849 California gold rush was a time in history when the indigenous peoples of California endured subjugation, violence and threats of genocide,” President Jane Close Conoley said at the time.
The bronze statue of “Prospector Pete” was moved to a less prominent location on campus to avoid triggering liberals.
Which mascot should replace Prospector Pete? Cal State Long Beach is asking https://t.co/KHOt8d3ua5
— L.A. Times: L.A. Now (@LANow) April 24, 2019
But these college liberals are missing the point — the mascot isn’t meant to celebrate the “threats of genocide” faced by Native Americans.
The mascot was based on California’s real history and a clever pun by the university’s founding president.
It would be foolish to erase or hide every piece of history that doesn’t completely align with the ever-changing modern standards of morality.
If a harmless mascot like “Prospector Pete” is not politically correct enough for liberals, what other pieces of history are going to be hidden or outright destroyed?
For example, some of our nation’s founding fathers held views that are morally questionable by today’s standards.
Will liberals want to destroy statues of Thomas Jefferson, the writer of the Declaration of Independence, because he held views on slavery that are at odds with modern ideas about morality?
History is sometimes dark and unpleasant, but it shouldn’t be erased.
In fact, statues and monuments from the past can serve as a point of reference to help us celebrate the progress we’ve made.
If this trend continues, it won’t be long until liberals try to destroy nearly every aspect of American history.
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