I think the Chief drank some of Clown Patrol's whiskey!!![8-)]

How fun you are wearing a costume! Tonight you are an Indian Chief. Quite the interesting name you gave yourself. Poor sad clown - don't you realize the Melrosians who have the white guilt are the same Melrosians that you always fight for? They are the true believers in Melrose Public Schools. It's either the peace pipe talking, or you have finally seen the light. Keep the costume on!

So exactly how did your bum get red? Spending too much time in the Mayor's office?

Where did the feathers and dreamcatcher even come from?



Just because you personally are not offended by the logo doesn't mean it isn't offensive to some...

Yes, absolutely! Evolving beyond these culturally insensitive (at the least) symbols ought to be a no-brainer in a civilized, mature community that allegedly cares about others.

I never cease to be amazed at the schizophrenic logic used by some people, who seem all too ready to argue for the removal of a logo that could at worst be considered mildly offensive, while at the same time supporting a superintendent who attempted to protect a friend who told a black student to go back to the plantation, something that should completely and thoroughly disgust each and every one of us. When you people are done trying to make yourselves feel better and show at least a modicum of interest in taking a stand against a serious sequence of injustices perpetrated by the current administration, then you'll have earned something besides my contempt.

Listen up - feather brains! A small vocal minority, working in seclusion, should not have the power to decide what is offensive or not for the community. That's not the Democratic way we live our lives! Let's have some community involvement before making such decisions. Concerning the dreamcatcher logo, I have spoken directly to the Claudia Fox Tree from the local Arawak tribe and she calls the use of this symbol "cultural appropriation" - taking a symbol and using it for something other than what it was originally planned for. She said that by doing this -you tend to stereotype people. One can argue that the school is not misusing this symbol since it is being used to encourage good thoughts and dreams of our schools and paying homage to our Native American Indians. I said to her how is this any different than you selling your Native Indian beads, bracelets, and other such symbols at your PowWos or on-line stores to anyone who wants to buy them? How do you ensure that people will not misuse them?

I actually have two dreamcatchers hanging from the rear view mirror in my car. Know where I got them? The gift shop at Foxwoods. Is that "cultural appropriation", or is it okay because I bought them at an Native American casino and the tribe made a few bucks?

Thanks for proving my point! It's o.k. to allow "cultural Appropriateness" if it involves money for the tribes. By the way, You can hire Claudia Fox Tree from the Arawak tribe for $400/hr, to talk to your group about cultural appropriateness" according to her website! Go figure!

The only way to discuss the mascot/logo issue will involve the larger issues of racism/OCR investigations/findings. This will be messy/painful but a true discussion/community conversation is what is needed ASAP.

"The only way to discuss the mascot/logo issue will involve the larger issues of racism/OCR investigations/findings. This will be messy/painful but a true discussion/community conversation is what is needed ASAP."

Now THAT is the real crux of what needs to happen! Thank you! The imperious conduct of the superintendent in changing a logo to bow to political pressure doesn't fix anything (and should NOT be thanked!!!). Remember this is the same disastrous superintendent for whom just a couple of weeks ago the entire school committee/mayor (with the help from its PR firm, no doubt) did its outrageous thing in getting her an "award" from Mass Assoc of School Superintendents. They are all complicit in the imperious conduct of this superintendent and mayor. Even if feathers have been removed, they have never admitted one iota of their own obvious guilt in all that has happened. Neither have the throngs of parents who are working with this unethical committee via MEF/YES and don't seem to have any conscience about what they have de facto supported. In fact they just keep wracking up the wrongs, as should be obvious to anyone looking beyond the surface.

Have a real community dialogue where the tough and messy questions can be discussed in a totally open and public way, and then see what can be done. But the creeps who are in this for their own political/financial/positional gain will continue to hide behind "confidentiality," the claims around needing to "focus on the budget," and all the other walls they've constructed to keep the public at bay.

The training, research and application of social and emotional development work must begin with the SC members, MPS Administrators and the City Hall Team. They have not shown the psychological maturity to handle differences, admit mistakes, practice self reflection, act as leaders or challenge the status quo. Their repeated behaviors reinforce the perception that Melrose is in crisis and perpetuates the decisions and operating patterns that have pushed the City into legal and financial difficulties. A series of open forum "community conversations" needs to be organized so problem solving and healing can begin.

Get a grip people. The group that is driving for a change of the mascot is the same group that is pushing the Black Lives Matter movement. There are a handful of BLM posters in windows around town, these are the same people focusing on this non-issue. Think about if you really want to stand with them.

Read the new string regarding the "Teen Stress and Suicide" meeting a few weeks ago. Organized by MHS parents who are Licensed Psychologists, the meeting shows the deep problems facing our students. If you believe "All Lives Matter", the kids in our schools should matter. They are in trouble. The mascot topic is the tip of the iceberg. But dealing with this issue requires dealing with the OCR findings, the lack of adult emotional intelligence in this community and the mental health of our children.

Forget racism. It's a cover. More relevant is the "feminization" of the school administration (female superintendent, female athletic director and female majority on the school committee). Removing the feather most affects the logo used by the largest male sport football. Better to have "Nancy Boys" than "Warriors".

Fluff and fakery has taken precedence over fact and function.

Fluff and fakery is used to obscure incompetence and dysfunction. Problems must be addressed head-on to fix them. The people in charge need to own up to their failures. Only then will a corner be turned.

Waiting for school committee, mayor and superintendent to admit their part in all the failures. In the OCR cases, and in SPED. Maybe then things can get better.

Marty Barron, Editor at the Washington Post, conducted a huge survey of Native Americans to find out how many of them were offended by the term "Redskins". Nine of ten were not, and seven of ten did not think naming a football team "Redskins" was in any way objectionable.

Yet here in mega-PC Melrose, a large number of white middle to upper class yuppies think the use of a dreamcatcher in the HS logo is offensive and inappropriate.

Oy vey.

tempest is still wrong. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/22/sports/football/redskins-poll-prompts-a-linguistic-debate.html

Mike Drop.

Tempest is not wrong. Catering to the wishes of a small minority is the epitome of out-of-control political correctness. A word is only a slur if it's intended as a slur, and a dreamcatcher is no more offensive than the shamrock on the Boston Celtics' or Notre Dame's uniforms. Would the PC police be happy if the team were named the Washington Native Americans? Should Wakefield, or Golden State, for that matter, change it's name from Warriors, when warriors is a description Native Americans consider a source of pride and one of the most honorable and desired titles one can be awarded, and which is intended to describe a fighting spirit akin to that of Native Americans, of which they are justifiably proud? Should I get all bent out of shape when someone describes me as Black Irish?

And why now? Why did Taymore decide to do this now? You don't think this was a coincidence, do you? This whole thing was concocted to deflect attention away from the real issues in the schools and her miserable performance as super. If she really cared about it she would have learned the difference between "tommyhawk" and tomahawk.

To show the hypocrisy of Taymore about this matter, just look at her school budget proposal for FY17 - it includes 7 pages with the dream catcher symbol! Her incompetence is so visual.

The Melrose Human Rights Commission could address the SPED and OCR situations. The MHRC is the group which should spearhead efforts to finally bring things out into the open. By continuing their silence and not taking action, the Human Rights Commissioners are discrediting their purpose and allowing the unhealthy processes in Melrose to go unchallenged. The Executive Session the MHRC held in 2014 should have motivated action. I wonder what deal they made with Dolan and Taymore to keep quiet.

Her incompetence, and more importantly, her complete lack of caring about doing the job Melrose for which Melrose is paying through the nose, idiots that we are.