- Illustration by Aaron Sechrist
Last week, The Plain Dealer took an “historic stance” (that’s the paper’s term) in opposing Chief Wahoo as a logo for the Cleveland Indians (they were mum on the team name and, uh, all relevant cultural context). Pretty forward-thinking stuff, really, and they self-celebrated in due fashion with just a smidge less zeal than when Mary Kay Cabot passes along her incomparable brand of beat reporting by tweeting whatever bit of Browns news ESPN broke yesterday.
The paper’s main argument here buzzed around the inevitability of Wahoo’s dissolution, which is not what you would call a meaningful argument. The geniuses over there pose a question, paraphrased here: Why not just rip off the Band-Aid and get the PR hassle over and done?
Wahoo Nuts, predictably, flipped their shit on the Plain Dealer. The Cleveland.com comments section eclipsed all other bouts of insanity from its past. Truly, it was a sight to see.
Interestingly, the paper’s writers, often clamoring into the comments section to rep their “digital first” mantra, were nowhere to be seen. Also completely absent from the discussion was the newspaper’s Jan. 17, 1915, editorial cartoon that degraded Native Americans as subhuman and incapable of communicating. Google it. An umpire is seen saying to a Native American ball player, “When you talk to me, talk English, you Wukoig!” The artist emphasizes that “that last word is in Indian.” The cartoon is unbelievable, and it was all kept quietly under the rug this week.
This article appears in Mar 5-11, 2014.
If only the crack editorial suits were as aggressive with Dimora & Friends…before the Feds came calling. The PD should actually back up its words by not accepting any advertising from the ball club until Chief Wahoo disappears.
Love the Chief!
Isn’t it “a” historic stance?
I would say the Indians ownership took a Historic stance and the PD is talking out of the side of it;s proverbial Rear end.(you know they love & wear the chief just like the rest of us, Eh Hoynsey?)
I think every article you post about this should include a link to the big write-up y’all did a couple years back.
so because almost 100 years ago the paper published a racist cartoon they aren’t allowed to think wahoo is racist today? that’s a hell of a journalistic standard.
Let’s just go back to the Cleveland Spiders.
why are Native Americans the only “minority” we can disrespect in this way without worldwide clamor? there are no team mascots that make stereotypical cartoons out of black people, Latino people, Asian people or Arab people… it’s time to remove this stain on Cleveland. Dragging it out just makes this town look even worse.
Face of Cleveland.
I used to like Chief Wahoo as a fun logo to the team. But when I thought about it I realized that this is a community’s baseball team and it should not cause anyone in the community to be legitimately offended and alienated. It’s interesting that in the early days of pro sports no one made such a big deal about changing team names. Now people act like a team name or logo can never ever be changed. Why? I’d strongly prefer Cleveland’s baseball team to just change the entire name, and if people want it to have history then choose the Spiders. But as to Chief Wahoo, that logo should’ve been dumped a looooong time ago, and it is embarrassing to Cleveland that we hang on to it.
I wonder what the reaction would be if the Redskins or Indians proposed changing their name to “The White Men” or “Caucasians” or to ensure political correctness, the “European American’s”?
What Cival Rights organization do you believe would cry “Racism”?
I’d bet you wouldn’t find a single person, much less an organization try to claim the name was derogatory against whites. (unless of course the team was the Browns).
I wish I knew which Plain Dealer article we are discussing.
The problem with the Johnny-come-latelys media like the Plain Dealer and certain Politicians and Others ‘coming out’ now against Chief Wahoo is the it takes away from the genuine activists who were continuously protesting against the racists logo for over the last 25 years. To add salt in the wound is that most of the protesters became blacklisted by the local media and Cleveland non-profit sector and are unable to add their comments to the new story’s being circulated thus creating confusion and distorting the timeline of the historic issue. Not that we want go up against the Wahoo Nuts, who predictably, flipped their crap in the Plain Dealer. But it would be relevant to add a serious comment to someone who interested in ‘fair’ play.
Example: The ‘People Not Mascots’ Logo is meant to be a Native American protest caricature of the Cleveland Indians Baseball team. It was originally painted by David Jakupca at the historic ARK in Berea incorporating elements of the Theory of Iceality on Environmental Arts, it has drawn criticism from some sportswriters, fans and local businessmen, but gained immediate acceptance among humanitarian, religious groups and Native Americans. It gained international popular attention when it was it exhibited by ICEA at the 1993 UN World Conference on Human Rights held in Vienna, Austria and has become one of the most recognized anti-racists logo’s in existence. It also caused repercussions for the groups connected with using the logo in protest demonstrations.
Full Story with photos on the Google Link: “Internecine Matrix”
Everyone is too sensitive. This one is so petty you pretty much have to choose to be offended. I guarantee that virtually every single person involved in this movement has at one point in their lives played Super Mario Brothers. As an Italian American should I not be offended? I could if I wanted but it’s so petty why should I? Why should I choose to be miserable. I could call all of you racist hypocrites because you have played Mario Brothers. But I won’t because first of all I’m not a over sensitive blow hard, and 2nd you’ll find some way to say that Wahoo and Mario are 2 totally different things……which they’re not. As a matter of fact Nintendo’s exploitation of Italians generates far more money then the Cleveland Indians. Not only that it has 2 racist caricatures instead of one and it’s not only caricatures it’s a nut ton of stereotypical sound effects as well. ……oh screw,….ya racist hypocrites. I sunk to your level. Now find a way to make my comment not legit.