No leaders?
Perhaps Kelly Ehrenreich, author of the Feb. 14 guest commentary “Now is the best time to crown the real Kings of KC” (8A) should give more weight to her suggestion to change the Kansas City Chiefs name to the Kings.
Some versions of “chief” have been used since the dawn of mankind to describe the leader of a group, usually a tribe. The word did not originate with the native tribes of the Americas. The word “king” was also used by much larger groups of indigenous peoples, particularly in the South Americas.
A couple of side notes: We know that the Shawnee tribe didn’t use the English “chief” and the Aztecs didn’t use the English “king”. And the drum has been used by mankind since its inception.
Above all, I would encourage supporters of this name change to think of the “king” symbol. There may be no better representation of male dominance throughout human history.
So damn it: How about “Kansas City Herd,” referencing the origins of our cattle, or even the non-offensive “KC Group”? They are both symbols of egalitarian rather than power-hungry men.
Alternatively, we could just continue to love our team, our brand and be good fans to all people. Sure, maybe the “arrow shot” could go without major upheaval. It’s edgier than a generic word for “leader.”
-Michael Lubbers Prairie Village
Keep the name
Thanks to the author of a Feb. 9 letter to the editor (8A) defending the names of the Chiefs and Arrowhead Stadium. I’ve always been in awe of native traditions and even I think “Chiefs” and “Arrowhead” honors them.
I had been led to believe that the tribes were unanimous in opposing the use of these images, but that is not the case. I like the drums early in games and was disappointed when the Chiefs discontinued the Warpaint practice aka riding the field.
I hope people will unite on this issue and we can continue to honor Native American heritage.
– Janice Meyers Buciro, Kansas
Pat is a match
Patrick Mahomes’ appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Monday night was as stellar as his Super Bowl-winning performance the night before. This Kansas City MVP matched wits and lines to Kimmel as if he were perusing the Chiefs playbook.
Mahomes has shown us once again – on a completely different stage – why he is a player, a father, a husband, a friend and a person of great worth. Touchdown – Kan-Sas-City!
-Richard F. Thomas Jr., Kansas City
Give us a cut
Am I the only person sick and tired of the Chiefs’ endless wall-to-wall coverage? Yes, I root for them and I’m glad they won, but my life doesn’t revolve around winning or losing the Chiefs. My self-esteem is not rooted in the successes or failures of any particular professional team.
Come on, does a parade need 12 hours of coverage on every local television station in the area? Does a local newspaper need many pages, day after day, to celebrate this event?
I haven’t seen the Super Bowl and I haven’t seen the parade. No need to see it live, as it will be played over and over again on all TV stations for the next X days.
I will be happy when the local media can switch to other major events happening around the world. My time is too important to fixate on this one event.
– Paul S. Smith, Freedom
It’s time to act
I don’t want to not hear that mental health is the only issue we need to address to prevent mass shootings. Studies show that mental health is not the root cause of most shootings and mass murders.
I don’t want to hear, “Let’s pray.” Prayers will not put an end to senseless mass murder.
I don’t want to hear some Americans calling for the right to own guns without restrictions or requirements. Recent polls show that 68% of Americans support tougher gun laws.
I don’t want to hear that the US Constitution should give citizens the right to own and carry any type of firearm. The Constitution does not state that anyone has the right to own a modern military-grade assault weapon.
What I want to hear is that our federal and state legislators will take action to stop senseless murder and suicide in our country.
I hope the 67th Michigan State University mass shooting of 2023 will finally force our elected officials to act.
– Mary Coffmann Earth Park
