Posted on 03/10/2002 7:27:34 AM PST by real saxophonist
Team picks white man mascot to make point
Story By Julio Ochoa
An intramural basketball team at the University of Northern Colorado called "The Fighting Whities" is turning the tables on the Eaton mascot issue.
Led by Solomon Little Owl, director of Native American Student Services at UNC, the team chose a white man as its mascot to raise awareness and understanding of stereotypes that some cultures endure.
"The message is, let's do something that will let people see the other side of what it's like to be a mascot," Little Owl said. "I am really offended by this mascot issue, and I hope the people that support the Eaton mascot will get offended by this."
The players, made up of a mixture of American Indian, Hispanic and caucasian students, wear white jerseys with the picture of a white man in a suit on the front and the slogan "Every thang's gonna be all white!" printed beneath.
"It's not meant to be vicious, it is meant to be humorous," said Ray White, a Mohawk American Indian on the team. "It puts people in our shoes, and then we can say, 'Now you know how it is, and now you can make a judgement.' "
Judging right or wrong is hard when you don't understand how it feels to be stereotyped, White said.
"We are looking for understanding," he said. "We want change, but you can't force change."
American Indians could go through the general assembly or town meetings to try to change mascots, but the same message might not get through, White said.
"We all live in the same community and want the same things, so it is good to be standing in each other's shoes for a while," he said.
Charles Cuny, an Ogalala Lakota and member of the team, said he went to an American Indian Catholic high school with a mascot called the Red Cloud Crusaders, after a famous chief of the Lakota Indians.
The problem with Eaton's mascot is a matter of respect, he said.
"There are certain words that are accepted and certain words that are unacceptable," Cuny said. "Really a mascot is something that you look up to, and on one hand that is nice, but maybe we could go about it another way."
Having a white mascot is a way to make people more aware of American Indian issues, he said.
"We live in a politically correct society, and sometimes indians get overlooked," he said. "There are so few indians who have clout that there are a lot of things that go unsettled."
OH---I am Sooo offended!!! Sounds like a cause for a class action lawsuit.
Strange but true........
Atlanta Black Crackers, Negro Southern League
How about the Fighting Irish?
At the risk of getting serious for a moment--
I would tell them that they have nothing to be ashamed of in being Indian or white, and that The race that's attached to them has no meaning compared to what they do and are as individuals.
That's what the real civil rights was all about. Not the dishonest neomarxist drivel that remains.
We're mascots. :-)
I like 'Ritas.
I like it too. It's high time we got this kind of recognition. Go team go!
It has always been my impression that Indians were chosen as mascots because of their bravery--not out of disrespect. By constantly railing on this subject they perpetuate racial differences which we should have been over a-long-time-ago.
(yeah, the original '89 Sooners who stole a march on the Oklahoma Territory land rush were mostly white folks).
I'm sure they've already got it copyrighted.
Here are some more possibilities --
I agree. I would only add that in this day, in spite of this "offendedness" nonsense, the only group that is expected and often even required to feel shame over their race, is whites.
I expect now that little owl's PC trickery has backfired these liberals will revise their plans and say how racist it is for anyone to root for the "whities". It's inevitable as the sunrise.
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