December 04, 2007
IronPigs Mascot Deemed Offensive To Portuguese
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Wiggity wham wham wazzle! The stuffed pig above is not an example of suicide food but is the new mascot of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (note the lack of a space), the new minor league affiliate of the Phillies.
He was all slated to be named Pork Chop -- or possibly PorkChop -- until a little offensiveness got in the way. Apparently, Pork Chop is a slur against Latinos. Enrico of The 700 Level says it's on Urban Dictionary, so it passes the "If it's on the Internet, it must be true" test.
Urban Dictionary, though, says it's a term of endearment for Portuguese. Nonetheless, Portugal withdrew its ambassador to the IronPigs and the name had to be changed to Ferrous, which is from the Latin for non-offensive. (The Jewish Exponent had already rejected its other mascot choice, Orthodox Hamster. And don't even ask how they feel about a pig mascot.)
The leader of the Latino Leadership Alliance, though, called in to complain and said he was called "pork chop" when he worked at Bethlehem Steel. "If my parents were alive, they'd be having fits," he told the Associated Press "It meant much more to them than it does to Puerto Ricans now in the Lehigh Valley."
The mascot will be backed by his sidekick, Creepy Camouflaged Farmer.
Don't Call The Fat, Furry Pig 'PorkChop!' [The 700 Level]
Posted by D-Mac on December 4, 2007 08:00 AM
Posted to Lehigh Valley IronPigs
, Pork Chops
, Portuguese
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Comments
Save Ferrous?
Nah
Posted by: Citizen Mom at December 4, 2007 10:36 AM
What font did you use for "FERROUS"?
Posted by: I Love Fonts at December 4, 2007 11:20 AM
Okay, I think this whole thing is really pretty stupid (I vaguely remember someone calling me a pig once in about the third grade--should I call up the IronPigs and say I'm offended by their choice of name?), but...
According to the article in today's Morning Call, it is a term of endearment to the Portuguese, but offensive to Puerto Ricans. It may or may not be a regional thing; and it didn't start at Bethlehem Steel, but the only anecdotal evidence cited for this offensive term took place there. I absolutely love how the head of the Latino Leadership Alliance says his deceased parents would have been appalled, but makes it seem that Puerto Ricans living in the Lehigh Valley now mightn't care.
For the record, I'm one of the very, very many who submitted Ferrous though I actually thought Pork Chop was kinda cute (and reminded me of the dog in the cartoon Doug from my nanny days).
This area sometimes (and by that I mean "always") makes me sigh.
Posted by: Lynn at December 5, 2007 12:24 AM
Firstly - Portuguese people are not Latino. They are from Porugal which is in Europe. You could call them Latin (same as Spanish, French or Italian). Pork chop is not offensive in Portuguese or to Portuguese people in general. Is this a Latino thing or possibly Brazilian?
Some facts on Portugal. The current president of EU (European Union) is Portuguese. Portugal currently holds the presidency of the European Union. Portuguese is in the top 5 languages spoken in the world.
Sop
Posted by: Onemanstanding at December 7, 2007 09:43 AM
Firstly - Portuguese people are not Latino. They are from Porugal which is in Europe. You could call them Latin (same as Spanish, French or Italian). Pork chop is not offensive in Portuguese or to Portuguese people in general. Is this a Latino thing or possibly Brazilian?
Some facts on Portugal. The current president of EU (European Union) is Portuguese. Portugal currently holds the presidency of the European Union. Portuguese is in the top 5 languages spoken in the world. Portugal was the first and longest lasting colonial power. With influences and territories in Japan, China, India, Middle East, Africa and South America.
Sop
Posted by: Onemanstanding at December 7, 2007 09:45 AM
My guinea pig was named Porkchop...but we usually just called him Guinea. Is that offensive?
Oh wait, I don't care.
Posted by: friendlynerd at December 4, 2007 09:10 AM