Please help retire an Indian "mascot" right now. Click on this link:
Roseburg, Oregon, is no stranger to controversy, and it has suffered exposure here on Daily Kos. We've been home to Tea Party extravaganzas, an Oregon state senator willing to characterize innocent elderly ladies as "Filthy Traitors,” visits by Art Robinson, and more.
Roseburg is also the home of many good people, some of them my friends. My friends are, right now, trying to retire the mascot of Roseburg High School, a mascot that is generally viewed as demeaning and racist:
The Roseburg School Board has elected to ask for public input on this issue before making a decision. They will collect input via a simple survey which is active from 2/15 until Monday, 2/22. They are expected to make a decision at their 2/24 meeting.
Please take time to complete the survey now even if you do not live in the Roseburg School District. These mascots reflect on the humanity and social justice values of the entire country. They do collect some demographics about the respondent - that is, are you a student, a parent, an employee, a member of the community, etc.
I'm certainly not against having mascots. Oregon Ducks, Oregon State University Beavers, and Evergreen geoducks are all fine, in my book. But the very idea of a mascot carries the connotation of something less-than, other, and a possession—however endearing and precious. Or tasty.
Mascots ought not be humans, in my opinion, and that of others.
Supporters of retaining the name characterize opponents of the name as wishing to “eradicate the INDIANS” in a perverse inversion of moral history.
The survey provided asks what your affiliation is; I suggest that all people are part of the community; injustice anywhere/injustice everywhere, and all that. So, please: participate in the survey! Could you let me know, in the comments below, that you did? Thanks.
I originally had, as an illustration on the diary, an exquisitely offensive image of the RHS mascot from earlier years. I’ve chosen to eliminate any image. You can google images if you want.
If you have a local campaign to retire an offensive mascot, hey: post it below!
And, thank you!