The War Gerbil

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I heard a story, some years back, about a junior high school which felt compelled to do away with their politically incorrect mascot, a fierce Apache warrior. The question remained, however: What to call themselves? A series of possible mascots were considered, but all were rejected as politically unpalatable, too common, or something which might offend someone. On the other hand, the school board did not wish to seem completely namby-pamby, and so wanted a strong symbol of pride and determination. And so, after many committee meetings, the school unveiled their new mascot – The War Gerbil.

I don’t know if there’s any truth to that story, but it made a point worth considering, that too many people are willing to negotiate away anything truly exceptional, to the point that they are willing to accept the truly absurd.

I leave it to the reader to consider the abundant evidence that the War Gerbil of my apocryphal story, has rather more basis in fact than many people might at first believe to be true.