Letter: Captain Freedom — for whom?
Letter: Captain Freedom — for whom?
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
The article “Meet Captain Freedom” (March 4) did not include commentary opposing the presence of the so-called “Captain Freedom” at the Yale Whale. While Tim Handlon ’10, like other cheerleaders, deserves ample recognition for the entertainment provided to children and adults alike, the choice of mascot now seems inappropriate for a University that prides itself in its increasingly global outreach.
Demanding we “Take it or leave it” — in no uncertain terms — “Captain Freedom” is curtailing the very freedom (of association) for which he claims to stand, imposing himself not only on the substantial foreigner community at Yale — who by definition have not pledged or been pledged allegiance to the United States of America — but on all of us who do not have 6-foot flags plastered on our walls and are skeptical about intensely following the dogma of a notion as temporally feeble and morally ambiguous as the nation-state.
Gerardo Giacoman Colyer
March 23
The writer is a senior in Morse College.
Comments
None 3 years, 1 month ago
1881 you freakin dipwad O'doodle, know-nuthin' fake-azz Yalie #42.
You on skolarshiz or sumpin?
None 3 years, 1 month ago
My fellow Yalies' inability to separate the argument from the poster is embarrassing...
Even "For God, For Country, For Yale" doesn't specify which country, so why are you forcing down everyone's throats which country that's supposed to be?
I think #37 brings up a good point: DKE does exemplify an American patriotism which alienates foreigners - their intolerance against a fellow student being a case in point.
Captain Freedom, with his exaggerated and take it or leave it attitude excludes anyone who is not from the US. Why must students cheering for Yale have to cheer for a country as well? It's just awkward/uncomfortable and an unnecessary and unwelcome reminder to foreigners that they are just that. It's the equivalent (I imagine something like this could've happened a century ago) of having Christian prayer at the game even though there is a minority of Jewish students in attendance. Sure, the school is majority Christian, but it does not justify imposing oneself on the Jewish or atheist minorities.
You get away with it because it's relatively inane and because the Yale College crowd that goes to the games is not as multinational as the rest of the University, but you need to know that there's a sizeable minority that does not agree with Captain Freedom's presence.
Yale has committed itself to be better than that, and if we love Yale we should support it in its mission becoming a truly global institution which does not discriminate on the basis of nationality and hence faces fewer hurdles in attracting and welcoming the best talent from everywhere.
None 3 years, 1 month ago
"Even "For God, For Country, For Yale" doesn't specify which country, so why are you forcing down everyone's throats which country that's supposed to be?"
That was a good one; thanks!
Brudder, it bloody weren't England to which they wuz referrin'!
I guess it all depends on what the definition of "is" is.
None 3 years, 1 month ago
Given Yale's establishment in 1701 it is very likely "England to which they wuz referrin'"
None 3 years, 2 months ago
“the good ol' boys from across the pond will once again come to the rescue”
It seems Captain Freedom has already forgotten that the French came to rescue him during the American Revolution.
The only real argument anyone has mentioned for keeping Captain Freedom around is that he is a tradition. This tired argument has been used for years, it was used to defend slavery, it was used to keep try to women out of Yale. Tradition is not an excuse for bigotry.
Tim Handlon (class of 2010) wasn’t here 3 years ago but some of us recall a DKE tang with shirts reading “Taliban guy get out” The DKE brothers are quick to tell foreigners “love it or leave it” and make a big display of their support for our troops. Sadly they do not realize that their parties, that frequently violate the laws of the land they love so much, make a mockery of our soldier’s efforts. It is shameful that Yale’s loudest in “support” of the troops unwittingly only flaunt their elite privileges here at a comfortable university.
Few, if any of you, have actually served. Have you even changed your lifestyle at all since the war began to support the effort? Buying a 50ft flag that was shipped here using Saudi oil is not helping. To the outside world your “support” appears to be only for the purpose of self-aggrandizing your fraternity.
DKE if you really support the troops I challenge all of you to give up drinking and partying of all kinds until the war is over. To best support the troops here at home we should devote ourselves to improving out country’s standing in education, the sciences, and engineering. At Yale we are given the unique opportunity to make this country a stronger place for the troops to return to.
None 3 years, 2 months ago
Don't use this article as an excuse to whine about whatever personal beef you have with DKE. I'm sorry you had drinks poured on you at a party there once, or whatever.
Tradition is not the only reason for having Captain Freedom... if you went to even a single hockey game, you would understand that.
Furthermore, if we're talking about tired arguments... OMG TRADITION = SLAVERY = BAD is about as tired as it gets.
None 3 years, 2 months ago
I suppose DKE is not up to the challenge; by all means continue to show your patriotism by purchasing cheap crap shipped here with foreign oil. It's a lot easier than making sacrifices.
"Tradition is not the only reason for having Captain Freedom... if you went to even a single hockey game, you would understand that." You didn't actually give the reason you allude to here.
38, you provide zero evidence for anything you stand for. Give us one concrete example to back up your positions.
None 3 years, 2 months ago
Student body support for the Yale Hockey Team has been amazing this year. Capt. Freedom has portrayed everything that it means to be a true fan. He was waiving the flag of Yale all season until the final horn sounded at Bridgeport in the NCAA tournament. Capt. Freedom does not represent the university directly, but he does represent the mission of Yale. "For God, For Country, and For Yale." Just like this motto, Capt. Freedom represents tradition, something that many Yalies seem to have forgotten about. Just as The Game and Mory's are traditions, the presence of Capt. Freedom at the Whale is tradition. Every issue does not always another side. What has he done but further help support a team, a university, and a country that he loves? Kudos to Tim Handlon in helping rally support for a great group of student athletes that make up the Yale Bulldog Hockey team. Thanks to all the students that followed and cheered the team until the very end.
Got Freedom? Take it or leave it.
None 3 years, 2 months ago
I think there are different understandings to what it means to be a global institution. Whatever the intertwined histories of the United States and Yale might have to say, if Yale is trying to redefine its image as a truly global institution it (and when I say it, I mean its people) should be honoring universal values and not countries at the Exclusion of others. E.g., Captain Freedom is fine - it's his extreme patriotism that is uncomfortable/weird to non-Americans. We go to the whale to root for Yale and Yalies, not a national team.
What would happen if Yale College dropped its quota on international students - like many of Yale's other schools - and it became 50% or more "international". Would this very In Your Face "Take it or Leave It? demonstration make sense then? It's not too early to have that debate.
None 3 years, 2 months ago
The first question that offers itself is with that honorable determination which animates every votary of freedom, to rest all our political experiments and hope on the capacity of mankind for self-government. If the plan of the nation, therefore, be found to depart from the republican character of freedom, its advocates must abandon it as no longer defensible. The genius of the whole system; the nature of just and constitutional laws; and above all, the vigilant and manly spirit which actuates the people of America, a spirit which nourishes freedom, and in return is nourished by it. If this spirit shall ever be so far debased as to tolerate injustice as well as on the people, the people will be prepared to tolerate any thing but liberty. I sincerely wish that it may be as clearly foreseen by every good citizen, that whenever the dissolution of the freedom arrives, America will have reason to exclaim, in the words of the poet: ``FAREWELL! A LONG FAREWELL TO ALL MY GREATNESS.'' May such a day never come.
-Publius, DKE 1776, Original Cpt. Freedom
None 3 years, 2 months ago
Gerardo's right. Captain Freedom's cape should definitely be a United Nations flag, not the American flag. Because we all know how "united" the United Nations actually are and how much they accomplish.
None 3 years, 2 months ago
For God, for Country, and for Yale!
None 3 years, 2 months ago
Those few people claiming anything American-centric betrays Yale's "global commitment" really don't get it. Since when are the two mutually exclusive? Yale is a global institution that educates people from all over the world, about the world. It is also, however, on American soil and populated by an American majority. Regardless of founding dates, there would probably be no Yale without America. Without France, on the other hand, we'd be just fine. Let us show our support and stop being so damn oversensitive.
CAPTAIN FREEDOM FOREVER
None 3 years, 2 months ago
I agree. Let's replace Captain Freedom with Citizen Globalist...someone who looks more like Orlando Bloom. Instead of waving an American flag, he can brandish an artisanal cheese, wear a beret, and lead the crowd in a critique of the Zamboni's carbon footprint.
None 3 years, 2 months ago
But what country is Yale in?
None 3 years, 2 months ago
First: "Freedom" is a global principle.
Second: Get over yourself. If "foreigners'" home countries are so great, why are they here? Bow down and give thanks that you have the "freedom" (or, more accurately, privilege) to access something which, given your presence, you clearly desire above all other available opportunities.
And if the rebuttal is that this letter is some tongue-in-cheek response to pervasive relativism: why did you waste your time?
None 3 years, 2 months ago
I thought it was cool to wave the flag again now that we elected an African American president.
None 3 years, 2 months ago
If you don't like it, you can get out
None 3 years, 2 months ago
Looks like gerardo needs to get a life, because he can't handle a serious Yale tradition. Besides, doesn't Yale promote freedom of expression, which is perfectly exemplified by captain freedom?
None 3 years, 2 months ago
America: Undefeated Since 1776
None 3 years, 2 months ago
first of all Gerardo, you need to get serious. when you go to a school in another country, you have to expect to see people that are proud of where they are from. maybe that's not how things are where you live, but here in America, we're damned proud. second, Captain Freedom is not a "cheerleader", catering to little kids and adults. That's just a bunch of hogwash. Also, why don't you go ask the Canadian hockey players if they are angry about Captain Freedom? I think you're by yourself on this one bud. Maybe you can find the three other people that were offended and you guys can go have a tea party. It's up to you.
I'm not "curtailing your freedom." Grow up and quit being a sissy. You're fine. You're getting the best education in the world in the best country in the world, so appreciate it a little bit and stop complaining.
-United We Will Always Stand
p.s. it's not a 6 foot flag, it's a 50 foot flag. just so you know.
None 3 years, 2 months ago
Gerardo Giacoman Colyer..... you're so soft
None 3 years, 2 months ago
Gerardo - don't come to the games. it is all to support the team....not to support the student body. if you do not like it, create your own mascot and yours would be welcome as well. Pathetic.
None 3 years, 2 months ago
LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT
None 3 years, 2 months ago
my previous response was denied but all I have to say to you Gerardo is grow up.
United We Stand
None 3 years, 2 months ago
HAHAHAHAHAHA
None 3 years, 2 months ago
Oh, I get it!
Now that Obama (PBUH) is President, we are ALL supposed to agree to being
The United States of Europe
Yep: it is no longer
Your America
but rather,
EurAmerica.
None 3 years, 2 months ago
Gerardo, here's a few quotes from some of the most influential men in American history. I suggest you read them and maybe rethink where you stand. Or, as the first quote suggests, you could just go somewhere else and leave the matters of America to true Americans.
"If you are ashamed to stand by your colors, you had better seek another flag."
"And I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free. And I won't forget the men who died, who gave that right to me." ~Lee Greenwood
"This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave. " ~Elmer Davis
"I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him. "~Abraham Lincoln
None 3 years, 2 months ago
American girls and american guys Well always stand up and salute Well always recognize When we see old glory flying Theres a lot of men dead So we can sleep in peace at night When we lay down our head
My daddy served in the army Where he lost his right eye But he flew a flag out in our yard Until the day that he died He wanted my mother, my brother, my sister and me To grow up and live happy In the land of the free.
Now this nation that I love Has fallen under attack A mighty sucker punch came flyin in From somewhere in the back Soon as we could see clearly Through our big black eye Man, we lit up your world Like the 4th of july
Hey uncle sam Put your name at the top of his list And the statue of liberty Started shakin her fist And the eagle will fly Man, its gonna be hell When you hear mother freedom Start ringin her bell And it feels like the whole wide world is raining down on you Brought to you courtesy of the red white and blue
Justice will be served And the battle will rage This big dog will fight When you rattle his cage And youll be sorry that you messed with The u.s. of a. cause well put a boot in your ass Its the american way
Hey uncle sam Put your name at the top of his list And the statue of liberty Started shakin her fist And the eagle will fly Man, its gonna be hell When you hear mother freedom Start ringin her bell And it feels like the whole wide world is raining down on you Brought to you courtesy of the red white and blue
None 3 years, 2 months ago
Gerardo's absolutely right.
We shouldn't evoke something so feckless as that great entanglement of ideals and political organs which struggles to provide security and justice for some 300 millions of persons when rooting for something so morally unambiguous and temporally timeless as the Yale Men's Hockey Team.
None 3 years, 2 months ago
Wow - do you guys (commenters) actually believe this stuff? I might not be as gung ho as Gerardo, but he does have a point. (And I think he is American, Tim H.: he refered to himself as among "those of us (who do not believe in) the nation-state.") Love it or leave it? What about, if you love a community, fight for it to be a place that is meeting the needs of all its members? Get a life? So whenever someone takes your behavior seriously enough to respond to it, your response it to tell them that they're wasting their time? And what if your behavior is actually impacting their life in negative ways? They should just remove themselves from the situation? Why do you have more of a right to occupy any given space or community than they do? Quit being a sissy? Wow. Love how the automatic response to an opinion you find offensive is to insult the person's gender presentation (or what you imagine their gender presentation to be, pressumably simply because you disagree with them). There's not one way to be a man, and you're only hurting yourselves by reinforcing the assumption that men shouldn't have feelings. Yes, he might be disagreeing with something you care about. Yes, this might make you feel hurt and defensive and as such angry. No, the proper response is NOT to call someone 'soft' or a 'sissy' or to tell them to 'get out.' I am most proud to be an American when I see my fellow Americans embrace people who have diverse viewpoints and backgrounds. What excites me about this country is that we can create things together, despite our differences, that from time to time we listen to each other; if we have any greatness, it seems this is where it lies. Many of the people commenting here seem offended by the idea that someone might not always embrace America, but the America you all present is one in which someone has to have a very narrow set of beliefs and behave in a very particular way. This is exactly what our country should NOT be about.
None 3 years, 2 months ago
So how exactly is Captain Freedom "imposing himself" to the "substantial foreigner community"? By skating around a hockey rink, throwing t-shirts to the crowd during the intermission of hockey games? Also, if you actually went to a hockey game (which I doubt you have) you would see that Captain Freedom waves a Yale flag (clearly offensive to a foreigner at Yale). The fact that he has a 50 ft flag in his apartment just shows how proud he is to be an American.
None 3 years, 2 months ago
why don't we all just stop questioning America and start using this website for it's true purpose: heckling the women's center. SICK
None 3 years, 2 months ago
People say I'm a xenophobe or a racist...I honestly just think that America's the best country and all other countries aren't as good. That used to be called patriotism
None 3 years, 2 months ago
OP here -
Thanks for some of the thoughtful or comical replies. I laughed with a few.
Of course I wasn't expecting to make many friends with this one(!) and the short space doesn't allow for much nuance, so here goes some:
I have great love for Yale and a very deeply held respect and appreciation for the US of A; still, I think it's a valid point that as the University has explicitly made a commitment to becoming a global institution, items of a national character need to be understated if foreigner members of the university's community are to be more than tokens of diversity. In a global institution (presumably at the service of more than just the country which gave it birth), why not wave the Canadian flag, or a flag of the United Nations? Or no flag at all for that matter.
Many will contend that Yale is ultimately at the service of the United States above all else, which is open for debate, but the argument I'm trying to convey is that as a student not particularly identified with the United States as a political entity (though I admire many of its values and luminaries), that is a much less appealing proposition than being part of an institution that stands for something greater than any one country, as I believe this University aspires and is.
Of course this all gains an air of absurdity because it is a hockey game at which we're there to have fun/support our colleagues - who are having a tremendous season - and Tim Handlon has no ill intent, but I do think there's merit in the idea that a truly global institution cannot give such preference to one political entity, even if it owes so much to it.
None 3 years, 2 months ago
I know you guys (nicolas and gerrardo) like to sound smart but maybe next time provide a translation for the normal reader. I know you probably don't like America Nicolas because you probably think we're "imperialistic, war hawks, arrogant capitalists", so you can just go to France and be happy. and when Germany marches through your country again with no resistance, you can bet the ranch that the good ol' boys from across the pond will once again come to the rescue with guns blazin and Old Glory flying. as for all the other responses, it appears that Captain Freedom clearly has more friends than enemies. He salutes you.
None 3 years, 2 months ago
survey says...EEEEEH! wrong gerardo!
None 3 years, 2 months ago
I initially thought this piece was satirical. After reading it again, I can concede that it might be serious. I'm still on the fence however. If this was serious, may God save us all. If it wasn't then we Yalies have again shown our abysmal ability to recognize satire.
None 3 years, 2 months ago
God bless America, My home, sweet home
None 3 years, 2 months ago
Tim, Nicolas wasn't really agreeing with Gerrardo, and nothing either of them said was in the least bit hard to understand.
Then again with the state of public education in the US, maybe it's appropriate that Captain Freedom isn't the sharpest knife in the block.
None 3 years, 2 months ago
AMERICA AMERICA AMERICA
DKE SICK
AMERICA AMERICA AMERICA
DKE IS SICK
AMERICA AMERICA AMERICA
DKE PHI
None 3 years, 2 months ago
I think Gerardo is making a mountain out of a molehill but at the very least he is being reasonable and not resorting to unwarranted personal attacks.
Unfortunately, I can't say the same for some of my fellow countrymen, who have crossed the line by resorting to such tactics to criticize a legitimate argument.
Please, grow up. It's entirely unnecessary and borderline embarrassing to be associated with people whose posts do not indicate the capability to engage in civil discourse.
Our country would be better off if you used some of the energy used to post such vitriol in more productive ways (such as, perhaps, serving our country?).
Before I start to get flamed--no I did not vote for Obama, no I am not a Communist (in fact, my ancestors fled the Commies), I have family that have served in the U.S. military in combat positions, and I am proud to be an American.
None 3 years, 2 months ago
If yale should be a global institution do you support the flag flying throughout campus? do you support the veteran's memorial inside of commons? or should those be removed because it is a so called "global institution"?
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