Chief Wahoo shirts are ‘far cry’ from show of disrespect

Dear Editor:

(In response to Jennifer Sinyella’s letter to the editor)

After reading your opinion on the Forum page of the Stater, I realized that I could no longer bite my tongue about this debate.

Chief Wahoo is a mascot, nothing more. His creation was not meant to make mockery out of the native American culture. Is it to say that Luigi and Mario are making a mockery out of Italian culture, saying that all Italians are plump, dark-haired and obsessed with pasta? Do you hear people from this cultural background crying out that they are being mocked?

YES, what happened to the Native American people was horrible, and YES it was wrong. And yes, it is history, but get over it. The Native American people are not the only people who have experienced hardship because of ignorant individuals. The African-American, German, Irish, Polish, Asian and every other cultural and ethnic group has endured its share of hardships.

Your ancestors do not own this land, just as people do not own the sky, water and air we breath every day. Nobody owns Mother Earth.

As far as you “disliking white people,” that is just unfortunate. The majority of the “white people” you are speaking of have fought to their deaths so people like you could write an article in a college paper about how a mascot is a symbol of disrespect.

Sorry if you are so insecure with yourself that you take the symbol of Chief Wahoo literally to make yourself feel uncomfortable. When students wear their Cleveland Indians shirts, it is just an act of supporting their team and city or an act of having no other clean T-shirts to wear that day. It is a far cry from a sign of disrespect. So, I must say if you don’t like northeast Ohio, then leave — nobody is keeping you here.

Sarah Kershner

Sophomore ceramics major