My Cousin Thinks This Is A Stupid Discussion

 My cousin thinks this is a stupid discussion and that Native Americans should stop whining. He believes that the Native American population is small and should just “take one for the team.” He doesn’t get why it’s such a big deal now and not before.He also isn’t in favor of the high cost of a mascot change.

I have opinions (like most people do) and I believe that everyone has the same opinion (until proven otherwise). So when I went to engage in conversation with my cousin about this current “hot topic”, I was shocked to hear my cousin’s dismissive tone of the whole situation. I didn’t understand how someone could think it was ok to oppress a group of people just because they don’t believe there is enough of that certain group. Still, I knew couldn’t win that argument with passion alone, so I looked into it.

Changing of the name of sports teams with Native American mascots is no new objective. It has been going on for years. The debate over the Redskins name was taken to court in 1999, but as we can see the courts ruled in favor of the sports team, so why is it a hot topic now? Earlier this year a new bill (Non-Disparagement of Native American Persons or Peoples inTrademark Registration Act of 2013) was introduced into congress. If this bill is passed, all sports teams that have Native American Mascots will have to change their mascot. Granted, the bill hasn’t seen a lot of support, but obviously its proposal has sparked an intense debate.

Many sports teams other than the Redskins have been under scrutiny for their Native American Mascots; teams such as our very own Atlanta Braves, the Cleveland Indians, Chicago Blackhawks and many more. These names are used to generalize a large group of people. According to the United States 2010 Census, there are 2.9 million people who identify as Native American. Seeing mascots that place Native Americans under one heading is offensive. It might be said that people know better, and they don’t truly think that’s how Native Americans are. But that isn’t true for everyone. I am Zimbabwean and Kenyan (those are two countries in Africa), so yes, I am African. Although we are in 2013 and I’d like to believe we are all intelligent educated humans, I still have people ask me if I’ve had pet lions, or if I speak “African”, or even click their tongues at me and ask what it means. There is a massive population of ignorant people that make wild spread generalizations that aren’t true. And just because you understand it does not mean that everyone around you understands it that way.

Lastly, before you decide that it’s ok to have Native American mascots just ask yourself, can you put a price on someones dignity? Is earning a buck more important than the opression of others? History has proven that opressing a group of people for indivudal gain is wrong, so why allow this to continue? Try to imagine your race or ethnic group as a popular sports team mascot. As something used as a brand regardless of how sacred it is to you and your people, regardless of if it’s a generalization that you don’t fit into. It’s hard to right? Well look at these  mascots: