The Indians Mascot

Home ▸ Archive ▸ Serious Business ▸ The Indians Mascot
sleeper's avatar

sleeper

Legend

27,879 posts
Apr 9, 2012 11:03 AM
http://inamerica.blogs.cnn.com/2012/04/06/new-baseball-season-brings-fresh-protests-against-cleveland-indians-mascot/?hpt=hp_bn13
[LEFT] It's the [/LEFT]Cleveland Indians home opener[LEFT] and the grounds outside Progressive Field are a sea of red and blue jerseys. As the crowds of celebratory fans walk toward the ballpark’s entrance, they pass a small group of protesters holding signs that say that the team’s name and mascot, [/LEFT]Chief Wahoo[LEFT], are racist and offensive.[/LEFT]
Racism is a weapon used by the ignorant when they have nothing better to do with their lives. Only in America do we have this "woe is me" victim mentality over the most meaningless of issues like this. These people need to get a life.

/thread
Apr 9, 2012 11:03am
Raw Dawgin' it's avatar

Raw Dawgin' it

Just Ain't Care

11,466 posts
Apr 9, 2012 11:06 AM
Honestly - I think american indians get shit on more than any other race. You wouldn't have a team called the spooks or crackers, but we have teams called the red skins and teams with cartoon indians. I can see where they're coming from though, if a team can be called the red skins i should be allowed to have a team and call it The Slaves or Nigg*r Beaters.
Apr 9, 2012 11:06am
sleeper's avatar

sleeper

Legend

27,879 posts
Apr 9, 2012 11:07 AM
Is the word "Indian" offensive? I mean, if the word Indian is offensive, then so is Caucasian or negro.
Apr 9, 2012 11:07am
Raw Dawgin' it's avatar

Raw Dawgin' it

Just Ain't Care

11,466 posts
Apr 9, 2012 11:09 AM
sleeper;1139980 wrote:Is the word "Indian" offensive? I mean, if the word Indian is offensive, then so is Caucasian or negro.
The cartoon mascot to them is making fun of their culture. It's a red skinned cartoon indian with a feather. How about i make a cartoon of a black guy with a huge nose and afro twirling a basketball.
Apr 9, 2012 11:09am
sleeper's avatar

sleeper

Legend

27,879 posts
Apr 9, 2012 11:11 AM
Raw Dawgin' it;1139983 wrote:The cartoon mascot to them is making fun of their culture. It's a red skinned cartoon indian with a feather. How about i make a cartoon of a black guy with a huge nose and afro twirling a basketball.
"Woe is me" There is a cartoon that depicts an Indian smiling. Woe is me.
Apr 9, 2012 11:11am
A

Al Bundy

Senior Member

4,180 posts
Apr 9, 2012 11:11 AM
Raw Dawgin' it;1139983 wrote:The cartoon mascot to them is making fun of their culture. It's a red skinned cartoon indian with a feather. How about i make a cartoon of a black guy with a huge nose and afro twirling a basketball.
Is it any worse than the nickname and mascot "Fighting Irish"?
Apr 9, 2012 11:11am
sleeper's avatar

sleeper

Legend

27,879 posts
Apr 9, 2012 11:13 AM
Al Bundy;1139986 wrote:Is it any worst than the nickname and mascot "Fighting Irish"?
No because it only offends white people. White people are too busy with jobs to protest anything.
Apr 9, 2012 11:13am
Raw Dawgin' it's avatar

Raw Dawgin' it

Just Ain't Care

11,466 posts
Apr 9, 2012 11:13 AM
sleeper;1139985 wrote:"Woe is me" There is a cartoon that depicts an Indian smiling. Woe is me.
herp derp ignore the point made and just state your opinion more

/Sleeper'd
Apr 9, 2012 11:13am
sleeper's avatar

sleeper

Legend

27,879 posts
Apr 9, 2012 11:15 AM
I think black people would embrace an afro american with a basketball in their hands. That is what black people do best, twirling orange balls.

I'll defer that question to ROMLIN, our token OC black dude.
Apr 9, 2012 11:15am
gorocks99's avatar

gorocks99

Senior Member

10,760 posts
Apr 9, 2012 11:15 AM
Other countries don't have the issue because it's straight-up illegal in a lot of cases (insulting or defamatory speech). Of course, as you've alluded to, who defines "insulting"? Is it the group being represented, or the general populace? Insult is a vague term and works on a spectrum.
Apr 9, 2012 11:15am
Commander of Awesome's avatar

Commander of Awesome

Senior Pwner

23,151 posts
Apr 9, 2012 11:15 AM
Raw Dawgin' it;1139983 wrote:The cartoon mascot to them is making fun of their culture. It's a red skinned cartoon indian with a feather. How about i make a cartoon of a black guy with a huge nose and afro twirling a basketball.
Harlem Globetrotters?
Apr 9, 2012 11:15am
Raw Dawgin' it's avatar

Raw Dawgin' it

Just Ain't Care

11,466 posts
Apr 9, 2012 11:15 AM
Al Bundy;1139986 wrote:Is it any worst than the nickname and mascot "Fighting Irish"?
No - it's not the drunk mick bar room brawl fighting.
Apr 9, 2012 11:15am
OSH's avatar

OSH

Kosh B'Gosh

4,145 posts
Apr 9, 2012 11:18 AM
Raw Dawgin' it;1139977 wrote:Honestly - I think american indians get **** on more than any other race. You wouldn't have a team called the spooks or crackers, but we have teams called the red skins and teams with cartoon indians. I can see where they're coming from though, if a team can be called the red skins i should be allowed to have a team and call it The Slaves or Nigg*r Beaters.
Great post.

I have no problems with anyone protesting the team name.

The Chief Wahoo mascot is about as racist as it comes. Could you imagine if there were any mascots that looked like this:

or

It won't happen. It doesn't make sense to have mascots that are stereotyping a people group -- like the Indians, Braves, Fighting [insert name here], and/or Warriors. I do think it'd be different if the names were "approved" by the WHOLE tribe, like the Seminoles of Florida State or the Utes of Utah. But, along with that approval, I do think that it'd be good for the schools and/or organization to give a "kick-back" to the tribe and/or group. So, if there are going to be professional sports teams using the Blackhawk imagery, then they should give back to the tribe(s). If there is going to be a school using the "Sioux" nickname then they should give free tuition and some other kickback to the tribe.

I really enjoy groups like this. And their logo:
Apr 9, 2012 11:18am
sleeper's avatar

sleeper

Legend

27,879 posts
Apr 9, 2012 11:31 AM
Ah, more handouts. The liberal way.
Apr 9, 2012 11:31am
Raw Dawgin' it's avatar

Raw Dawgin' it

Just Ain't Care

11,466 posts
Apr 9, 2012 11:45 AM
sleeper;1140002 wrote:Herp Derp just pushing my agenda and opinion
fify
Apr 9, 2012 11:45am
B

bigkahuna

Senior Member

4,454 posts
Apr 9, 2012 12:01 PM
I always like this topic because it's interesting how much society "approves" of Native American being mascots but it'd be a different ball game with others. I also find it funny, when people "ignore" the Fighting Irish argument. If you're going to make the claim that the Fighting Sioux is offensive, then explain to me how Fighting Irish isn't.
Apr 9, 2012 12:01pm
B

bigkahuna

Senior Member

4,454 posts
Apr 9, 2012 12:02 PM
OSH;1139994 wrote:Great post.

I have no problems with anyone protesting the team name.

The Chief Wahoo mascot is about as racist as it comes. Could you imagine if there were any mascots that looked like this:

or

It won't happen. It doesn't make sense to have mascots that are stereotyping a people group -- like the Indians, Braves, Fighting [insert name here], and/or Warriors. I do think it'd be different if the names were "approved" by the WHOLE tribe, like the Seminoles of Florida State or the Utes of Utah. But, along with that approval, I do think that it'd be good for the schools and/or organization to give a "kick-back" to the tribe and/or group. So, if there are going to be professional sports teams using the Blackhawk imagery, then they should give back to the tribe(s). If there is going to be a school using the "Sioux" nickname then they should give free tuition and some other kickback to the tribe.

I really enjoy groups like this. And their logo:
I really liked everything in this post.
Apr 9, 2012 12:02pm
I

isadore

Senior Member

7,762 posts
Apr 9, 2012 12:06 PM
chief wahoo is an obvious degrading racial caricature. as to having Indian attached to the cleveland baseball franchise, you can not get much more insulting than to tie native americans to both the team and the town
Apr 9, 2012 12:06pm
sleeper's avatar

sleeper

Legend

27,879 posts
Apr 9, 2012 12:23 PM
isadore;1140018 wrote:chief wahoo is an obvious degrading racial caricature. as to having Indian attached to the cleveland baseball franchise, you can not get much more insulting than to tie native americans to both the team and the town
Where does it end? Should the Miami Dolphins re-name to something else because a Dolphin is a derogatory name for someone who can't swim? What about the Cleveland Browns, Browns of course referring to African American people. Or how about the Boston Red socks, referring to people who have dirty socks from working on wooden ships in the 1800's?

Do you really want to live in a country where you can't even step outside without someone getting offended? Where is the liberty?
Apr 9, 2012 12:23pm
ts1227's avatar

ts1227

Senior Member

12,319 posts
Apr 9, 2012 12:25 PM
sleeper;1140026 wrote:Where does it end?

The question people have asked about your posts since 2008
Apr 9, 2012 12:25pm
sleeper's avatar

sleeper

Legend

27,879 posts
Apr 9, 2012 12:37 PM
ts1227;1140027 wrote:The question people have asked about your posts since 2008
It'll end when there are no unreasonable Notre Dame fans, the Cleveland Browns win the Super Bowl, the National Debt is zero, and racism is eliminated in America.
Apr 9, 2012 12:37pm
I

isadore

Senior Member

7,762 posts
Apr 9, 2012 12:43 PM
sleeper;1140026 wrote:Where does it end? Should the Miami Dolphins re-name to something else because a Dolphin is a derogatory name for someone who can't swim? What about the Cleveland Browns, Browns of course referring to African American people. Or how about the Boston Red socks, referring to people who have dirty socks from working on wooden ships in the 1800's?

Do you really want to live in a country where you can't even step outside without someone getting offended? Where is the liberty?
I want to live in a country well people feel free to express themselves through speech, economic and political action, that is liberty. Hell if something offends me or mine I want to be able to let the world know and if necessary take action against it. Hey the fact that many of us Irish are not offended by fighting Irish, is our choice, that Scandinavians are not offended by Viking, fine. Maybe if it was drunken, wife beating Irish we would be. A portion of the Native American community find Wahoo and his tomahawk insulting. You know it all probability some in the black community may not have been offended by having reserved seats in the back of the bus, but some were and it lead to change which decent people see as being for the better.
Apr 9, 2012 12:43pm
sleeper's avatar

sleeper

Legend

27,879 posts
Apr 9, 2012 12:52 PM
isadore;1140031 wrote:I want to live in a country well people feel free to express themselves through speech, economic and political action, that is liberty. Hell if something offends me or mine I want to be able to let the world know and if necessary take action against it. Hey the fact that many of us Irish are not offended by fighting Irish, is our choice, that Scandinavians are not offended by Viking, fine. Maybe if it was drunken, wife beating Irish we would be. A portion of the Native American community find Wahoo and his tomahawk insulting. You know it all probability some in the black community may not have been offended by having reserved seats in the back of the bus, but some were and it lead to change which decent people see as being for the better.
I like the Wahoo symbol. If the Wahoo symbol was removed, my level of happiness would decline immensely. These groups are infringing on my right to be happy.

See how that works? You really want to live in a country where we defend the few who QQ over the majority who enjoy the symbol? It's a slippery slope and we all know what happens after the first step on the slope.
Apr 9, 2012 12:52pm
like_that's avatar

like_that

1st Team All-PWN

26,625 posts
Apr 9, 2012 12:59 PM
sleeper;1140026 wrote:Where does it end? Should the Miami Dolphins re-name to something else because a Dolphin is a derogatory name for someone who can't swim? What about the Cleveland Browns, Browns of course referring to African American people. Or how about the Boston Red socks, referring to people who have dirty socks from working on wooden ships in the 1800's?

Do you really want to live in a country where you can't even step outside without someone getting offended? Where is the liberty?
I can never tell if you are serious or not, but SMH at the bolded part if you are serious.

Anyway, I do agree people need to quit getting their panties in a bunch. This country has turned into a bunch of pussies. I joined a listserv for the new neighborhood I am moving to, and someone sent an email regarding a dead cat and who to call. Someone replied with "You should call a local carry-out (any ethnicity). ;)" I lost count on how many QQing emails came piling in QQing about how the post was racist (LMFAO), and the lowest of low.

I was watching an old Eddie Murphy standup the other day (when he was funny), and during his standup he pretty much ripped apart every demographic possible. Gay, straight, white, black, asian, latino, men, women, etc. Did people QQ there? No, they laughed their asses off. If he said that type of shit now, his career would be over because some liberal pussy would be QQing on MSNBC.
Apr 9, 2012 12:59pm
A

Al Bundy

Senior Member

4,180 posts
Apr 9, 2012 1:03 PM
isadore;1140031 wrote:Hey the fact that many of us Irish are not offended by fighting Irish, is our choiceQUOTE] Most native Americans are not offended by Chief Wahoo either. It is a small minority that are doing the protests. What percent of a group as to be offended to make it an issue? I am part Irish, and I would tell anyone leading a protest againt the ND mascot to find something better to do with their time.
Apr 9, 2012 1:03pm