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Comment by aylons | Hacker News Reader

Washington is fairly far from NY, but I wonder how these people commenting on how it is not distasteful would feel with a 9/11 mascot for a school team. Specially with bad puns about planes hitting buildings and some light-hearted representations of the tragedy.

You see, some people are proud of the 9/11 attacks, even if they did not got to participate in it directly. They may not use the world "liberal revisionist" for people they know who do not agree, but I'm pretty sure they will have some name to call them.

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Luckily for us, this is a benefit of local, state, federal separation of powers. Does the mascot of a small town upset you? That is fine. Plutonium, 9/11 or otherwise. As long as a majority of its townsfolk approve of it.

When it can be shown that their mascot is directly denying the life, liberty or pursuit of happiness of americans, this will be a valid conversation. Until then, its a squeaky wheel undeserving of grease.

> When it can be shown that their mascot is directly denying the life, liberty or pursuit of happiness of americans, this will be a valid conversation.

Note well the word "directly". The mascot of Yuma (Arizona) High School is the Criminals. (Yuma was the site of the Territorial Prison, back before statehood.) Does that symbolize denying liberty to some Americans? Absolutely. Does it actually deny anyone their liberty? No.

Not only was it the side of the prison, but students were actually TAUGHT in a former prison for a while in 1910 until a school could be built.

Perhaps some people can draw the distinction between a sneak attack on a civilian target by a group of fanatics, and a technology developed during wartime to be used against a declared enemy, with the intent ending such conflict so their friends and family could return home.

Or maybe we're just fated to become the Hypersensitive, Hyperventilating States of America at this point.

imho, the distinction isn't relevant because it's not about the justification. diplomacy and bombs can both end wars but the culture that glorifies bombs is always going to be morally suspect to the culture that glorifies diplomacy because it's possible we forgot why we needed bombs.

I didn't see they celebrating the atom or the technology. The names, the symbols and the phrase all symbolize the bombardment itself. Of civilians, no less. Not that clear of a distinction.

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