A major Nebraska school is modernizing its mascot.

A school’s symbol is important — it represents everyone attending.

What are traits such an emblem might possess? Courage, ferocity, heroism? Not, preferably, white supremacy.

Hence, the University of Nebraska has modified “Herbie Husker.”

Herb’s been around for quite a while.

As noted by Omaha.com, the character was created in 1974 by longtime newspaper cartoonist Dick West. Mr. Husker made his debut at that year’s Cotton Bowl against the University of Texas at Austin. Sports information director Don Bryant saw the drawing in the press box and refined it slightly. Later that fall, a new Herbie premiered in the team’s media guide. In the mid-90’s, the Cornhusker icon traded his overalls for a polo shirt and jeans; but the preppy makeover didn’t last.

And everything was okay — or so it seemed.

But Herbie was sending that exact message, via touching his forefinger to his thumb. And these are sensitive times.

Hence, it was decided the guy’s pose was profoundly problematic.

From The Associated Press:

The University of Nebraska has made a change to its cartoon mascot Herbie Husker to eliminate confusion about the meaning of a hand gesture he makes that some people connect with white supremacy.

In a newer, nicer configuration, Herbie’s raising his finger — as if to say, “No, no, no — I’m not a raging white racist.”

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has made a change to its cartoon mascot Herbie Husker to eliminate confusion about the meaning of a hand gesture he makes that some people connect with white supremacy.

by @ericolson64
https://t.co/BiotBkiMH6

— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) January 30, 2022

But who says evil is “okay”?

As observed by the Independent, the whole thing’s hogwash:

It started in early 2017 as a hoax. … [U]sers of 4chan, an anonymous and unrestricted online message board, began what they called “Operation O-KKK,” to see if they could trick the wider world — and especially, liberals and the mainstream media — into believing that the innocuous gesture was actually a clandestine symbol of white power.

“We must flood Twitter and other social media websites with spam, claiming that the OK hand signal is a symbol of white supremacy,” one of the users posted, going on to suggest that everyone involved create fake social media accounts “with basic white girl names” to propagate the notion as widely as possible.

Nonetheless, the University of Nebraska is clearly convinced: Change was necessary.

As told to the Flatwater Free Press by Licensing and Branding Director Lonna Henrich:

“That hand gesture could, in some circles, represent something that does not represent what Nebraska athletics is about. We just didn’t even want to be associated with portraying anything that somebody might think, you know, that it means white power.”

“We made that change as quick as we could,” she said.

It’s not the first woke reworking of a mascot over the last little while.

Consider an incidence of improvement last August:

College Announces Fierce New Mascot: A Sexless Social Justice Warrior Victimized by Climate Change https://t.co/qIakjXWviG

— RedState (@RedState) August 26, 2021

Institutions are busily at work revamping the nation.

Speaking of Omaha, in 1944, young men stormed Omaha Beach. These days, young adults are traumatized by doodled phalanges.

Thankfully, at the University of Nebraska, the peril’s been put to rest.

Hopefully, those who’ve previously lamented America’s racism are relieved.

I wonder if former President Obama thinks it’s alright…

@GeraldoRivera 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻 shame on you for even mentioning that today! Here is Obama doing the OK sign so many times, it has NOTHING to do with white supremacy! You just put in peoples minds something that should’ve NEVER been said!!! pic.twitter.com/FSwb9p4M1o

— Tristie Tran (childhood nickname) (@cvliss) November 16, 2021

Yeah, he must approve.

And he’s in good company:

You ASS!!! The OK sign is not a White Power symbol! I can't believe liberals and their B.S.! Was Obama a White Nationalist? How about Eddie Murphy? John Kerry? Hillary? All it means is OK!!! pic.twitter.com/Ctqb21Odu0

— Mr.Taxi666 (@ArchibaldLeach6) November 5, 2019

She needs a good lawyer, one who can google “Oprah ok sign” “Obama ok sign” “Beyonce ok sign” ad nauseum. Also see the West Point cadets who overturned that accusation as well. pic.twitter.com/pPwjB5VP2N

— Montpelier20 (@Montpelier20) November 19, 2021

Over the last few years I've been reliably informed by many on the left that the "ok" hand gesture is a white supremacist symbol and is used as a "dog whistle for racism".

Yet Biden randomly did it on national TV tonight. #BidenTownHall pic.twitter.com/lZUANZT6Xs

— Tommy Schumacher (@SchumacherTommy) October 22, 2021

Thankfully, everything’s okay.

-ALEX

See more content from me:

She’s No ‘Showgirl’: Microsoft Pummels the Problematic by Correcting Your Unwoke Words

Report: Professor Makes Students Record Themselves Confronting Racists, Homophobes or Ableists

Princeton Points Students to National Condom Day, Hosts Contraceptive Arts and Crafts

Find all my RedState work here.

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