"So long ole friend"

I don’t know if you heard, but last week the University of Illinois retired their mascot in an emotionally charged ceremony. Yup, after 80 years Chief Illiniwek rode off into that wild frontier know as a storage closet, and senior citizens to little children were literally crying over it. Did anyone happen to mention to them that it’s only a costume and the guy who was wearing it wasn’t being shot in the parking lot. I didn’t cry as hard as these people were when my dog died.

I could maybe get an adult being upset if they had been a diehard fan of said team for decades and are now losing this piece of their tradition, but what does a little kid have to be upset about? It’s going to be okay sweetie, a blue blob will replace him next week and he will love you just the same. Plus, he’s furry!

Way back when I was in high school, I was the mascot for our football team, for one game. And well, I sucked. Hey, you try dealing with kids either wanting to constantly hug you or hit you in the junk. So I know being a mascot isn’t easy, but I’d imagine being a Native American is even harder. I’m as sick as anyone of all the political correctness that has saturated our country, but there comes a point when respecting other people is actually important.

Honestly, I can’t understand how anyone can be in favor of keeping such a mascot. Yet, there are people who do, even going as far as to say mascots such as this show honor and respect to Native Americans. Really? Then how come you never see Native American groups coming out and praising their existence yet you see plenty protesting them?

Thing is, I’ve never been a Native American, but I am a self-righteous white person, so I know how we think. And who are we to say what an act of reverence is for some other race and culture? I mean we only stole their land, slaughtered their people, and forced them into reservations after all. But hey, “our bad, we really love you guys, oh, and stay in your damn reservations please.” Really though, how could a Native American find a white person dressing up like them and dancing around a football field offensive?

Seeing as that the problem still exists, however, this must be a complicated debate. On one hand you have the fact that it’s disrespectful to the people it’s representing, especially considering their history. Then on the other, there’s the belief that the offensive mascot should be retained for sentimental value since it was created in era when slavery still existed in this country. Wow, that really is quite the conundrum.

Am I the only one amazed it has gone on this long and still continues? Take the Cleveland Indians for instance. I’m pretty sure anyone over the age of 7 knows that Native Americans didn’t actually come from India, making that term for them obsolete and moronic. Not only that, but that actual mascot is a red-faced, cheesy-smiling goofball called Chief Wahoo. So much for that whole veneration thing. Imagine if there was the University of Wisconsin Crackers or the Washington Rednecks? I get the inclination those wouldn’t hold up too long.

It’s not like noise hasn’t been made, that’s why high schools and a number of colleges have reformed their usage of Native American caricatures, but due to the limited representation and influence of Native Americans in society, none of these mascots on a professional level have been eradicated. The bottom line is that power and money trump all else, and there’s no significant Native American civil rights activists to garner the necessary protests and boycotts. So I guess being politically incorrect and insensitive is okay as long as you do to people who aren’t important or political.