What is the Difference Between Racism and Tradition?

Today I read Arguing Over Images: Native American Mascots and Race by C. Richard King. This article was an in-depth look at Native American Mascots and different views about the mascots. The article used the research from the USA Magazine survey about whether the mascots should remain or stay. One of the points that stood out to me is the large number of people who felt that the mascot should still remain mascots. The views on this subject was able to be broken down into 3 different categories: Retired (eliminate the mascot), revise (make changes to the mascot) or no compete against schools that have the Native American Mascot. The article and then continued to look at the two different kinds of Native American Mascots that there have been. They are the warrior and the clown. The warrior form is the brave and strong, while the clown is a mockery of the race for instance Cheif Wohoo of the Cleveland Redskins. To go even farther into the study, the writers looked at the reasons why certain individuals would feel a certain way. For instance, the pro side of the subject said that it should be viewed as an honor for it is a symbol of bravery, completion, and strength. However, the con side felt that it was just insulting and was an unwanted honor. 

This article touched me on a personal bases because this issue came up at my high school with our mascot of the Radnor Raider. Similar to the article was that the are two sides to this issue, the situation at my school was different because the article didn’t mention how fans may have felt very attached to the mascot because of tradition. For instance, the alumni said it should not change because they grew up with it. Looking back on the football games it really did feed into the stereotype with tribal dance music playing and having strips painted under our eyes. In the end the mascot did change and it became just a football looking mascot. I personal feel that this is a double edge sword because it does make things politically correct, which is right and just, but it also took away a sort of bond between all the fans. For example, cheering for the Raider was something that all the fans both new and old were able to do together. 

Source:Native American Mascots and Race by C. Richard King
Image: http://www.leaguelineup.com/radnorboyssoccer/radnorboyssoccer_logo.gif