Current Events > Was Chief Wahoo offensive to you?

(+) Yeah! (+)

First home game for the Guardians

I was underwhelmed when they announced it... But it looked pretty good as a sleeve logo on the away jersey. Home uniforms look kinda boring but they can be improved over the years

The character was literally created to make fun of Allie Reynolds's Native American ancestry.

I thought it was offensive, but it wasn't offending *me* in the sense that I'm not the group that's targeted by it.

As a lifelong Clevelander, no. Mainly because I saw it so frequently, it lost its meaning.

No, but I also completely support a logo change.

As someone with parents from India...
No

It was a pretty godawful logo even aside from being very offensive

Yes, but I am also offended that they changed their name to guardians instead of steamers.

No, but I was never really a baseball fan.

the new chief wahoo:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/9/0/AAOjRaAADJSq.jpg

It's hard to argue in good faith that an exaggerated and cartoony depiction of a Native American with literal red skin isn't offensive.

As a Native American I did not find it particular offensive enough for concern. You might be shocked at how many tribes folk agree with me and felt it was just another yuppy cause championed by worthless twit wits and slacktivists we would not want to see on our lands to begin with...

One of our elders was disappointed with the change despite being told he's supposed to be outraged and offended. He grew up near Cleveland and liked the team. And he's been vocal over his many years about being sick and tired of clueless college brats and crooked politicians dictating what he's supposed to be angry about as a senior minority. I share his opinion.

ClockworkHare posted...

As a Native American I did not find it particular offensive enough for concern. You might be shocked at how many tribes folk agree with me and felt it was just another yuppy cause championed by worthless twit wits and slacktivists we would not want to see on our lands to begin with...

One of our elders was disappointed with the change despite being told he's supposed to be outraged and offended. He grew up near Cleveland and liked the team. And he's been vocal over his many years about being sick and tired of clueless college brats and crooked politicians dictating what he's supposed to be angry about as a senior minority. I share his opinion.

See now that's a perspective I wasn't aware of as a clueless dumb white guy. I'm glad i read that. Thanks for the post.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/9/6/AAJHVqAADJSw.png

I thought it was scary when I first saw it.

Ryven posted...

See now that's a perspective I wasn't aware of as a clueless dumb white guy. I'm glad i read that. Thanks for the post.

I was trying hard not to use that terminology, but that's basically who our elder was primarily pointing the finger at. It's why he ignores a bunch of what he calls "overblown Twitter riots"; getting outraged over what white people tell us to be mad at make him feel like dancing puppet for white clout. And it's not an uncommon sentiment among the rest of our elders. I know it's not all white folk and other race groups contribute to the ridiculous clickbait crap too, but good luck explaining that to hardened seniors set in their ways.

Keep in mind many of these tribe folk are old enough to have lived during times when outright belligerent racism towards Natives was commonplace in the entire USA. So they're not keen on getting political ques for outrage from "angry yuppy folk" (particularly white) who are predominately disconnected from understanding tribal life. They're even skeptical of Native activists who refuse to live on reservations themselves (not the voices they ideally want speaking for them). Sometimes said activists will push issues into the news on our behalf, painting an overblown controversy for the rest of the nation, while we on the res could really give a shit less about it (ie: the Cleveland Indians).

I understand where my elders are coming from on racial tensions. It's their history. However, I do not share the same distrust of white folk some of them do. I learned to differentiate white folk as individuals first as I do everyone else, because that is what many of them have done for me. A basic rule of life on our reservation is "live and let live". This is why, despite distrust, many of our elders do not actually hate white folk as group living today. We're far more likely to just mockingly laugh at the latest yuppy fuss in the news. The Cleveland fiasco was one of them.