link What am I missing here? ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Two days after naming its mascot "PorkChop," the Philadelphia Phillies' new Triple-A affiliate abruptly dropped the moniker after receiving complaints from Hispanics that it was offensive. The Lehigh Valley IronPigs, whose mascot is a large, furry pig, had selected PorkChop from more than 7,300 fan submissions. The team, which begins play in 2008, announced Monday that the mascot will be named "Ferrous" instead. General Manager Kurt Landes said he heard from several Hispanics who said PorkChop was derogatory. "We were really unaware of any negative connotations with the word 'pork chop,"' he said. "If it offended a few, it's a few too many." Guillermo Lopez, vice president of the Latino Leadership Alliance, said he was called "pork chop" when he worked at Bethlehem Steel decades ago. "If my parents were alive, they'd be having fits," said Lopez, among those who complained to the team. "It meant much more to them than it does to Puerto Ricans now in the Lehigh Valley." PorkChop had been submitted by 32 fans. The replacement name, Ferrous — from the Latin word "ferrum," or iron — received the most fan nominations, with 235. The team moved to Allentown from Ottawa — where it was known as the Lynx — following the 2007 season.
So is that all you have to do now a days if you don't like the new name your local team comes up with? Just say the name is offensive, and write your own wiki about it.
Strangely, their other original mascot name, 'Stupid Fat White American Pig' seemed to draw no protest, but was too long to fit on the back of the mascot's jersey. "We have no problem with that mascot name,' said representatives from every regularly-offended fringe group. 'If it's true, how can it be offensive?'
If the Hispanics were that offended, I'd hate to think of what the Jewish population thought of the name...
I've never heard pork chop used as an ethnic slur. I really have no idea how it could be one. Someone must have told him it was to make him feel like he wasn't being singled out for his heftiness.
I could see maybe Jews getting upset but hispanic? I don't get it. Maybe they called you "pork chop" because you're fat.
People always have to attract attention to themselves in the dumbest ways. I have never heard anyone call a hispanic a "pork chop" as a racial slur. Just because he was tormented at his last job because he is a ****** doesn't mean everyone has to change things for him. If he didn't like being called pork chop then he should have lost some damn weight. He just messed it up for himself, now EVERYONE is going to call him pork chop.
I've never heard of pork chop being derogatory...I've heard of it being used amongst blacks and other ethnic backgrounds in general, but more to name a smaller person...Eh, wth do I know... This is what I know of allentown...
Okay, maybe it's the "The Other White Meat" inference that's offensive... But still, this whole thing is really reaching.
