I think it was funny, of course, I think Peta making that claim was pretty funny after I realized everyone thinks Peta is a joke and it's going no where!
But I PISSED when I thought that they might be able to get a strong movement going... just like the Redskins are.
I don't see a joke, I see a proud warriors that fought hard and many people rally around, which is what Mascots are. They're positive rallying points, for most people. As others have said, change it to their culture and they're happy.
In the 1940s the NCAI created a campaign to eliminate negative stereotyping of Native American people in the media, which was GREAT! And didn't involve going after mascots at all. As with all movements that last long enough, some other movement takes it over and uses it for their different agenda, which is why they're now going after mascots, because someone needed to build their movement and got people to think it's a derogatory to be a mascot, but that's completely wrong.
Look at the Spartans, hell the Vikings, the Celtics... these are great people. That people of today rally around. The only ones making fun of them are the other teams, poking fun at them like we Packers fans poke fun at the Vikings.
Mascots are a great thing, not a joke and not a derogatory.
Originally Posted by: beast
America has been conquered by Russia, Americans have been death-marched to wastelands to subsist in squalor and most of our Marines have fallen. And next Sunday you can watch a Russian NFL team exploit the image of our fallen as a mascot? My god! I guess such things are much more sacred, much less trivial, to me.
A mother with 3 Marine children and a husband fallen to the Russians; turns on the TV Sunday to see a caricature of a Marine with an 12 foot long plastic M-16 prop running around yelling Ooh-rah for the Moscow NFL Marines….
Imagine the reaction of that mother; of those few survivors of a Marine rifle company decimated by Russians and having to watch the image of their fallen brothers reduced to a effing mascot and fans wearing Marine uniforms waving little Marine flags in the crowd having fun, cheering for their team.
Random thought: Is a fan wearing, for example, a chief’s headdress the same as being in blackface? [You know that’s offensive to most, right?]
But, Beast Puffs out his chest looks this mother and surviving Marines in the eye and states to them, “you are “completely wrong!” [And by implication] You are fools for not seeing things as I do, me, the way I see it, the right way, the only way, it is about ME and my feelings. Quit your sniveling bitching and recognize that mascots are a “great thing” all the time every time in every situation cause I I I me me me sees it that way.”
You’ve already stated how you feel, we’re done with that! You’ve been asked to consider the feelings of Native Americans and you keep installing yourself in the center of the universe of every argument and IGNORING what NAs might feel. If you cant show empathy in your argument, we’ll be done here. Everything is not about how you feel. It’s an unmitigatingly arrogant and APPALLING argument to present your feelings and then assert all NAs are “completely wrong” for not adopting them.
I’d suggest reading some of Peggy McIntosh’s stuff on “white privilege,” she’s brilliant! And Robin J. DiAngelo’s insights into what she calls "white fragility." She asserts "white privilege” is an “unstable racial equilibrium," which when challenged results in racial stress that triggers a range of defensive responses. These defenses include “argumentation, invalidation, silence, withdrawal and claims of being “attacked” and “unsafe.” While these moves are effective at blocking the challenge and regaining our racial equilibrium, they are also damaging to people of color and prevent the development of skills we need to create a racially just society.”
Also, you gotta understand what mascots are and listen carefully, you’ve stated what you think they are and we’re done with that. Ya gotta quit with the bullshit logic errors, the Strawmen, red herrings and the silly proofs by example. Your misquoting arguments and staging your response around your misquote is stupefyingly outrageous; it is a form personal attack and possibly defamatory. Ask yourself, if a belief requires to be defended by these tactics, what is that belief worth?
The meaning of Mascots has to be put in their HISORICAL CONTEXT and the REALITIES of how the people the mascots represent are treated. Spartans, Vikings and Celtics were not death-marched to wastelands to live in squalor and portrayed by the media and advertisers as savage, dumb and dishonorable, etc., and invidiously discriminated against for over 200 years at the hands of Americans. A sitting US President has not called them the equivalent of “Pocahontas” like Trump did. The places where they live TODAY are not unlawfully targeted for filthy leaking pipelines that KILL. If there was ZERO NA racism; the exploitation of NA images as mascots would be much less a big deal. Spartan, Viking and Celtic are not DEFINED as derogatory. Your argument on this score is patently ignorant.
The etymology of “mascot” originates from the French word “mascotte,” which translates to “lucky charm.”
The examples provided in this thread prove that the American Government and its People were decidedly hostile and invidiously racist toward NAs through at least the mid 1900s and it cant be denied at least some racism remains. If this is the case ever wonder why so many teams acquired NA related mascots? It’s because most mascots try to emulate a positive trait of the team, like in this case a fighting spirit, mascot are NOT adopted to honor the objects of the mascot. Teams EXPLOITED racists images of NA savagery to emulate their “fighting spirit.” Catcalls of “scalp ‘em” or throngs simultaneously doing a tomahawk chop were encouraged. Many of the mascots portraying NAs were/are silly [EG Cleveland’s “Chief Wahoo”]. It was common vernacular in the day to negatively refer to NA male as “Chief Wahoo.” Eventually, several years after Cleveland’s mascot came into existence everyone started calling it “Chief Wahoo.” It is ridiculous and exceedingly ignorant to call this honoring.
Most Native Americans feel they have been victimized when society converts something absolutely sacred to them into a lucky charm, a metaphorical rabbit’s foot. And to further denigrate this majority of a racial group for being “completely wrong” about their feelings is victimizing them again. It shows the propaganda efforts to annihilate NA culture is quite effective; lucky for the world that the NA spirit and the Tribe stand resistant and resolute against 200 years and counting of this amoral chicanery.
PS: Don’t be a sycophant lemming by repeating bullshit propaganda. The NCAI was founded in 1944 and launch the campaign against media stereotyping in 1968 THAT INCLUDED SPORTS TEAMS.