Overcoming Misappropriation and Symbolic Misuse
At the root of any controversy regarding misappropriation and symbolic misuse is ignorance. Ignorance and selfish disregard. Sadly, they are easier to come by these days, especially considering our current political climate. Both are heinous. But it is disregard in the face of cultural insensitivity that really gets me going. Spelunking through life wearing cultural blinders is, to put it mildly, presumptive and arrogant. And yet many live in that cave, exhibiting the same kind of entitlement that has led to numerous monstrosities of our collective past.
The most current example of this cultural insensitivity is the attitude toward Native Americans and the flippancy in how emblems, symbols, and costumes depicting them are displayed or used. National sports teams still have references to them as their mascots, the most flagrant being the Redskins. If there were a team called the whiteskins or the blackskins, few would stand for it. As if the demeaning image on the helmet weren’t intolerable enough, the term “redskin” embodies hate harkening back to the days of white men calling “Indians” uncivilized “savages” and handing them smallpox infected blankets, “educating” their children in “civilizing” boarding schools, forcing them on removal marches, then breaking treaties left and right. The fact that a very public, very promoted, very loved sports team still has that name and is somehow accepted by anyone is disgusting.
A little less repulsive are the Indians, Chiefs, and Braves. Fans claim these mascots glorify and respect Native American culture. Truly, how? At a Braves/Red Sox game, I witnessed very little respect as people chopped their arms up and down like hatchets to a “hey-yah” drum theme. Even if respect were its intent, how good is intent if it falls silent to the ears of the very people you are trying to “glorify”? It is like saying, “honey, I did this for you because I love you” about something the other person has a clear aversion to. How does that show respect? Why should the “glorified” party feel grateful?
Of course, defenders are quick to assert that many other cultures do not mind being embodied in a Halloween costume or a jersey. But how do you know the other people aren’t offended? Secondly, the comparisons are moot. Vikings, Trojans, etcetera are no longer alive. Plus, they are historically romanticized in a way that is unoffensive. Even the term “viking” is generally descriptive and is derived from their own language. Packers, Steelers, Cowboys - these are also innocuously descriptive and, in their case, describe jobs and roles, not color, culture, or race.
All told, Native Americans, African Americans, the LGBTQ community, Mexican Americans, Muslim Americans, and even Japanese Americans, all have a common thread - in our American history, quite recently, they have been persecuted in the worst possible ways. Thus, to make light of them in this fashion and disrespect their wishes as we try to move forward from these darknesses is erroneous and flawed.
I am not advocating that we wipe these rich cultures from our attire or the integration into our home decor and traditions. As Americans, we are a conglomeration and meshing of countless cultures, from the clothing we wear to the religions we practice. But we need to heed and be sensitive to areas overtly disrespecting cultural and social traditions, not to mention the peoples who practice them. Otherwise, these wounds will never heal. Native Americans were most recently pushed out of their lands, traditions, health, and overall way of life through reprehensible and callous actions. By not respecting their views, opinions, beliefs, and culture, we are basically allowing history to not be remedied. We are repeating the Indian Removal Act under the guise of it being for symbolic, social “tradition.”
There is a time to let go of symbols, flags, pictures, icons, and clothing, if not for living in the moment, than for loving our fellow human beings. If they are not yours to begin with, have been stolen, borrowed, or misappropriated for your casual use, give them back if they are desired. Racist depictions of an entire people? Obliterate them. We are trying to move forward in this twenty-first century. In order to so do, we need to acknowledge the past, make reparations if need be, and respect each other for the future. Items or ideas begetting hate or symbolizing something fundamentally wrong need to be thrown away. They are symbols, material items, depictions; not the ideas themselves. But as symbols, they hold the power to hurt. Thus to hang onto them in the name of their original intent in spite of an overwhelming negative metamorphosis is a shallow and materialistic thing.