Goodbye Rebel– good riddance, too

Good riddance; it was long overdue.

This summer, the University of Mississippi announced a… Good riddance; it was long overdue.

This summer, the University of Mississippi announced a change to one of the most recognizable mascots in all of sports by getting rid of their long-standing Colonel Rebel, described by ESPN as a “Southern gentleman with his cocked wide-brimmed hat, snow-white goatee and cane,” or, in layman’s terms, a Southern plantation owner. The elimination of the mascot, along with the banning of the formerly ever-present rebel flag at Ole Miss football games, is a continuing attempt at phasing out the stigma of the Old South at Mississippi athletic events.

As a symbol of the Old South and its shameful era of slavery, a plantation owner is an insulting figure to millions of Americans whose histories are (and are not) deeply rooted in the South and its disgraceful history. We are still far from the times in which slavery and racial inequalities are afterthoughts that would allow such a character to be regarded as lightly as Ole Miss had intended, and it is – however belated the action – more than appropriate that Colonel Rebel disappears forever.

There are various mascots and team nicknames that could be questioned, from the Atlanta Braves to the Fighting Illini of the University of Illinois, and there are others that are obviously outdated. As the Colonel went, with even greater urgency, so should go Chief Wahoo, the mascot of the Cleveland Indians. Not that we need more reasons why Cleveland sucks, but there is something amiss here. Since groups of people are not appropriate to caricaturize, this would appear obvious; still, popular opinion appears to hold Native Americans as exceptions, and Chief Wahoo is an infuriating portrayal of a stereotyped Indian.

If you disagree, place your own ethnicity in traditional clothing, and envision a cartoonish image on a logo that advertises your heritage as a mascot, alongside various mammals and fish, and I think the opposition to such stereotyping will be easier to understand. Imagine, for a moment, a middle aged white male in his traditional suit, tie, briefcase and pretentious smile as the mascot of the Hartford Honkeys. People would be outraged.

Worse yet is the example of the Washington Redskins. Not only are the Native Americans again caricaturized as some sort of symbol appropriate for the entertainment use of those who stripped them of their land and dignity, but they are referred to with an insulting, derogatory term that only Andrew Jackson would still shamelessly support. With it being the 21st century and all, this appears backward and discomfiting, and so the Redskins should immediately follow the example of the Washington franchise, the Bullets, whose far-less offensive name was still too politically incorrect, and so was changed to the Wizards. Tradition is one thing; caricaturizing a race of people, another.

For a not-so-difficult litmus test, we can say that as far as mascots go, animals as in Panthers, plants as in Sequoias, and inoffensive groups of people as in Steelers, Pirates, and Penguin-men are all fine – stereotyping races of people and portraying them as mascots is not.

Up next? High schools with Crusaders as mascots. The crusades were not the greatest moment of Western Civilization, so let’s stop celebrating them. Unless, of course, you would have no problem wearing a sweatshirt of Your Local High School Mujahedeen.

Pedja Jurisic can be reached at pej3@pitt.edu.