On my way into Opening Day to watch the Cleveland Indians beat the Chicago White Sox in an exciting, offensive game, I passed a line of Native Americans quietly protesting. I looked at their signs, "We are NOT Honored" and looked down at my T-Shirt proudly displaying the comical, silly looking Chief Wahoo logo that the Indians have been using for decades.
My mother has already voiced her displeasure in the use of this logo and refuses to buy any merchandise that uses it. I have long thought I should do the same. I would like to stand for things like that. But in the end I continued to wear and display the logo.
On one extreme, people feel the name "Indians" alone is an insult. Throw in the clown face and it is just plain wrong in their mind. The other end of the spectrum says, "get over it!" Who cares? It's a name, a picture. And the name is supposed to be a positive name. You don't name your team something you would use as an insult or harmful term. So take it as a compliment.
Then you have this guys: A guy behind me started making the woo woo woo sound with his hand over his mouth in an obvious mockingly fashion. This was followed by the tomahawk chop and FSU or Atlanta Brave chant. I thought this was just plain classless regardless of where you stand.
Who am I to say whether the logo is insulting or not? The people it represents are the ones who should have the say, right? So if they do not like it, it should be discarded. And apparently they do have a problem with it.
I can't say I personally have a problem with the name, "Indians." But I think I will try to stop buying merchandise with the logo. Their are plenty of good apparel and hats with the script I, or C or word Indians.
And I have the loud "yip" sound I like to make during exciting parts of games that I now worry people will mistake for a mocking Indian sound. I don't mean it in that manner, it is just a loud sound I make like whistling or yelling. So what do I do about that?
5 comments:
I know the big issue is the fact that the term "Chief Wahoo" actually means "drunken Indian" or something to that effect... unfortunately Chief Wahoo is known to be one of the most recognizable images of any sports trademark... much like the golden arches of the fast food world. So there are only two ways this will change.. One would be if enough people boycotted the merchandise to impact sales.. which I don't think is practical. Second, the company would need to figure out a way to make money off of the change... possibly changing the image when the Indians are HOT, much like last years post season.. when sales of merchandise are high.. people will rush to the store to pickup the last of the "wahoo" products, as well as purchase the new clothing style.. The Indians would make a killing, and Mark Shapiro could tout himself as a humanistic leader that helped negate the bad image for the Native American population....even if the decision behind the scenes was just about making money..
I was actually considering this very topic. Although, I was taking the stance of my hesitancy in becoming an Indians fans based on the offensiveness of their logo. I'm considering supporting the Royals. (no bandwagon, local, I hate the Cardinals)
I agree that the really offensive part is the image and name, Chief Wahoo. There are actually a lot of Native Americans who have adopted the term "Indian" since it is what they were first called...as ignorant as it was, but it was the English/Euro word for what they were.
You should read about the Fighting Whites of Northern Colorado.
Mike, you make some good points, somewhat jaded, but good points. It's interesting how money drives so many decisions in our society. It's also interesting how John will now only put his money down for merch that doesn't feature Chief Wahoo. I wonder if anyone else came to a similar conclusion.
Good post, BTW.
I think the Chief will eventually be phased out (quietly). Taking him off the hat was the first step. I don't think the symbol is that cherished in Cleveland anymore, so it's really not a big deal. The Indians are a classy organization and it's just not worth the trouble.
You can't get rid of the yip sound. It's a classic. However, you should get rid of the Albert Belle picture because his hat displays the Chief Wahoo symbol, which you have now disavowed.
I thought you might be interested in reading this article about an Absolut campaign that caused some problems in the US: http://adage.com/hispanic/article?article_id=126347.
I'm certainly not offended by the ad, because I think it's funny to Mexicans. I am, however, offended by the Chief Wahoo logo. On one hand, I'm going with the flow but on the other I'm picking a fight. I guess my point is (if I have one) that we're never going to make everyone happy, because everyone's basis for taking offense is different. What, then, is the answer? Majority rules? Play to the dollar (dollar bills ya'll)? I don't know anymore. Good post. My comment is rambling I realize. Now you've got me thinking.
follow up article:
http://adage.com/bigtent/post?article_id=126359
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