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Originally Posted by todeen
Agree with everything. Also wanted the Spiders.
Caricature/stereotypical figures are always racist. Think Lil Sambo, black face, or Shylock from the Merchant of Venice. Chief Wahoo was racist from his creation in 1949, and MLB allowed it to exist beyond what the normal public was comfortable with. I was only able to get a WS patch hat of Chief Wahoo, and my wife asks me to not wear it everytime I want to go out in public with it.
I think if MLB had acted a decade or two earlier, they could have saved the team name. A great example is MiLB team Spokane Indians who have worked very hard to create a respectful relationship with the local tribe. This relationship was built over many years while Cleveland did nothing similar. The team mascot is a salmon, and they have occasional jerseys written in the native language, plus other cool things.
If you want an interesting read, African American historian Henry Louis Gates writes about caricatures and black face in his historical book STONY THE ROAD, and explains how Southern Leaders used caricatures/black face/and stereotypes during post-Civil War Reconstruction to invalidate the right of African Americans to vote.
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At Vikings games, there's a fat guy in a fur outfit with horns on his head and a big sword. I'm Scandinavian, but I choose to not be offended. I suppose I could be if that was my nature.
Just sayin'.