Jalen Rose, former NBA star turned ESPN host, has spoken out against the phrase “Mount Rushmore”.
Here’s why using Mount Rushmore to define greatness should be retired immediately. pic.twitter.com/mtYYTtKFSa
— Jalen Rose (@JalenRose) August 3, 2022
Mount Rushmore National Memorial, also referred to as the Shrine of Democracy, in South Dakota is home to likenesses of four former US presidents. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln are all inshrined onto the face of Mount Rushmore.
In sports media, the term “Mount Rushmore” is often used as a way to group together the four best or most iconic things in a given category.
Rose compares this to the perceived injustice that drove the Washington Redskins and Cleveland Indians to change their mascots in recent years.
“Can we retire using ‘Mount Rushmore?’ That should be offensive to all of us, especially Native Americans, Indigenous people who were the first people here before Christopher Columbus,” Rose said in a video he tweeted.
“That land was stolen from them when it was discovered that it contained gold.
“And 25 years later, to add insult to injury, four American presidents were put on what we call Mount Rushmore on the top of the dead bodies that is buried right underneath.
So, I call for you and for myself — I’m owning this, too — let’s stop using the term Mount Rushmore when we’re talking about our favorite rappers, talking about our favorite movies, talking about our favorite players.”
Rose goes on to explain that his gripe with Mount Rushmore is that the monument was erected on land which previously belongs to the people who were indigenous to South Dakota.
In that regard, it is not made clear why we should speak of anything that has been built on land that once belonged to Native Americans.
NBA analyst Jalen Rose should be asked to keep names like the New York Knicks off his broadcast, given that the land upon which New York is built was once owned and occupied by members of the Lanape and Canarsee tribes.
Of course, as with most woke outbursts from celebrities, Rose will not strive to be consistent in his belief and will instead attack a monument in the mid west as to unburden himself from the burden of moral consistency.
With this take, Jalen Rose joins the long list of celebrities who pander to their woke fanbase while forgetting that their gripe usually doesn’t make very much sense.
As David Hookstead of OutKick wrote, “you’ll have to excuse me if I’m not offended by the faces of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt being carved in stone in the Black Hills.
Hookstead is completely correct in his sentiment, Americans should not feel that they need to constantly apologize for every action of our forefathers that the left finds offensive.
Americans should speak about Mount Rushmore with pride, and continue to appreciate its importance in our nation’s history. The monument has been celebrated since 1927 and will continue to be for many years to come.
I, for one, look toward Mount Rushmore with great pride and see it as a reminder for the great history, and hopeful future, of the United States of America.
By: Goose
This story syndicated with permission from Gen Z Conservative