Letters to the Editor
-
A Caricature Is Not Insulting by Definition
Chief Wahoo is a cartoon Indian. He is just a generic cartoon representation of native Americans. Like all good cartoon characters he is smiling. Where is the racism? Where is it!?!?!?! ITS NOT THERE!!!!! You are all crazy.
-
tms
they aren't crazy, they're just liberal
-
Giants
I can't imagine how humilitated little people must feel when they hear the name Giants...baseball or football.
Padres? I'm an agnostic, and I'm pissed.
Athletics? Good luck getting that one past handicapped people.
Angels? Ask a baseball loving devil worshipper.
Packers? Are they gay, or what?
And there's not much Jazz in Utah, and not that many Lakes in Los Angeles, either.
I don't even want to think about the ramifications of Knickerbockers and Celtics.
-
Kenny Lofton's picture
A very disturbing fan shot from TV was where Kenny Lofton's picture was pasted inside the Chief Wahoo picture. Kenny's loved here, but putting his foto inside the Chief's struck me as totally racist.
-
Indian Country Today poll on American Indian Mascots says "not cool"
That is "81% of respondents indicated use of American Indian names, symbols and mascots are predominantly offensive and deeply disparaging to Native Americans".
http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=43
Can't vouch for the rag, but it describes itself as "The Nations' Leading American Indian News Source".
-
Ah, tradition
Kudos, King.
I'm always struck by the strident tone in some of the responses to articles such as this one. Go ask an Indian! It's just a caricature! What's the big deal!
Is it just me, or do these guys seem angry?
I suppose I'd take the tack that a few others, directly or indirectly, have suggested: If you were starting a new team today, would you really pick these names and these images to represent your club?
***Oh, and if you're just getting to the latter part of the letters thread, go back and read PrinceMyshkin's post on page 2. It's one of the best ones on here.
-
Think pragmatically
I see a lot of moral posturing here, a lot of people saying Wahoo and other native-American logos "need to go". Really? They need to? So what will happen if they don't? Explain to me just how anyone's life will be improved by destroying these logos. How will Native Americans benefit from being made even more invisible in US culture? There was a time when Native Americans were seen by whites as a symbol of strength, self-resilience and pride, a time reflected by names like the Braves and, yes, even the Redskins. I can appreciate that most people would rather not be saddled with other people's stereotypical assumptions, even if they are positive ones, but this whole crusade strikes me as misguided. If you really care about Native Americans, instead of wasting your energy crusading against logos and nicknames why don't you try to learn some Navajo or Iroquois, or learn Cherokee history, or do something to keep the dying embers of Native American culture alive for the next generation in the USA?
-
Check out the old chief wahoo.
If you think Chief Wahoo is racist, check out the old chief wahoo. Wikipedia has a picture of the original Wahoo. I saw it for the first time in an old I Love Lucy episode, and was floored. It looks even MORE racist. Almost like Nazi propaganda about Jews.
-
A Wahoo is a fish
I agree that the Indians logo is not what we should have as a representative for a pro sports team. As a fan and native(no pun intended) I wouldn't mind a shift in logo and even name. But let's not overlook the fact that you can erase the team name and logo and still not address the real problem.
We ran roughshod over a nation of people and pushed them into corners of our forgotten past. Where is the uproar over the unemployment and substance abuse, not to mention the high rates of depression and suicide on reservations we so lovingly gave to the American Indian?
Quick: What is the Trail of Tears?
We run the tribes out of Southeastern U.S. and place them in the Oklahoma Territory only to open that up to land grabbers.
Yeah, Chief Wahoo is not a nice way to portray the American Indian, but it sure pales in comparison to how we have treated them as humans. It's easy to say, “what a shame it is that the Cleveland Indians have such a repugnant mascot, but it seems so hard to actually help those who we pretend to protect from such a portrayal.
My turn on the soapbox is over…next.
-
The only good solution
Would be for the baseball club to come up with a name and a mascot that actually honors the bravery and nobility of Native Americans and that most people (esp. Native Americans themselves) agree is complimentary. That can't be impossible.
Just dumping the theme altogether and going with the Spiders, as I think others have pointed out, has the unfortunate effect of rendering Native Americans ever more invisible. If this issue really matters, then let's honor them.
-
...and I thought it was only me!
As I watched the game the other night I was constantly annoyed and disgusted by the Chief Wahoo caricature. On the batting helmet on the shirt sleeve - it was in my face.
Native Americans were subjected to genocide. The play and the antics are another way of remaining in denial about the cruelty and detatchment needed to nearly exterminate a people. The predominant culture, essentially whites, are just not getting it.
To use a stereotypical phrase "Pale face speak with forked tongue." Many claim to be for equality and racial justice and at the same time involve themselves in racist behavior or worst yet fail to speak up when they see it.
Will the real Americans please stand up!
-
Cleveland Blue Sox
IF they wanted to honor Louis Sockalexis, why not rename the team the Blue Sox? Then they could stick with the same colors they have now, and simply put a "C" on their hat. Problem solved?
-
Wrong kind of Indian
Most of MLB is central/south American or Caribbean. North American Indian makes no sense. Incan, Mayan, Aztec, Hispaniola maybe.
-
Yes, they are offended.
Check out the poll from Indian Country Today someone already mentioned (81% find it deeply offensive). Listen to National Native News on the radio. Do some googling and find publications by Native American activists. It's not that hard to get the Indian perspective.
My university invited a woman from Ilinois who has been working for a long time to try to get the University of Illinois to stop the mascot (Chief Illiwick?) from "dancing" at halftime of basketball games in a headdress. It's not "respect" when you appropriate sacred materials to whip up a crowd of non-Indian sports fans.
Thanks to King Kaufman for this message: enough.
(And: to the person who said a "caricature" by definition can't be racist–-are you really offering that as a logical axiom? Statements can only be racist if they purport to be realistic? I don't think you'll get much agreement there.)