Columnists
Not appropriate
Hallowe’en has come and gone, and despite a fear of creepy clowns, it passed happily, without incident.
That is, with the exception of the inevitable celebrity-wearing-an-offensive-costume controversy.
This time it was former Disney star Hilary Duff and her boyfriend, Jason Walsh, who went out as Thanksgiving—she as a pilgrim and he as a native American, his blonde beard peeking through bold red tribal makeup.
Their apology likely met eyerolls, people questioning why there would even be a need to apologize for such a costume. All this despite a long-running campaign from several minority groups to remind the world that they and their heritages are, in fact, not costumes.
First Nations stereotypes—and outright racism—abound though, and it seems where we might be squeamish about picking on other ethnic groups, appropriating, mocking and mixing native culture is just fine.
At least, for now.
As of press time, there were two more games left for the World Series title in major league baseball. Both teams in the final series have had a long dry spell, making it an exciting series even for Canadian fans, many of whom can recall the Jays’ back-to-back win in the 1990s.
But it wasn’t the drama of the game, with the Chicago team holding on in game five to continue the series, that caught the majority of the public’s attention. Rather, it was the name of their opponents and, worse yet, their mascot and sometime-logo the Cleveland team has insisted upon maintaining since its creation in 1946, two years before their last World Series win.
Chief Wahoo, a gross, crimson-skinned caricature of a native American, has caused the team to face protests, boycotts and accusations of racism. And although in 2013 the official logo reverted back to the pre-1920s bold letter C, the Chief persists on uniforms and merchandise from the franchise.
The team isn’t alone. Using outdated, racist terms and images is rife in national and international sports leagues. Notably, in North America, baseball also has the Atlanta Braves, while football teams like the Kansas City Chiefs, the Washington Redskins and the Edmonton Eskimos continue, and in hockey, the Chicago Blackhawks have faced criticism over their name and logo.
The excuses for keeping ethnically charged or downright racist names and imagery range from insensitive to downright ridiculous. Franchise owners argue their teams have had the same name for so long it makes no sense to change now, or even that the names and logos are misunderstood, meant to honour native culture.
Really, the answer is simple. No one wants their culture to be skewed, referred to in demeaning way, used without cultural context for the sake of style. That should be what makes us cringe, not the need to apologize for it.
Of course, there will always be those who think, in that backward way, that black people are more prone to crime, that queer people are just living an objectionable ‘lifestyle,’ that the First Nations of Canada are “just satisfied being alcohol or drug abusers.” There are always people who will tolerate rather than embrace differences. But if they themselves are the minority—and I hope they are—-there’s no reason to accept cultural appropriation or racism in any form.
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