Racist Relics and Mascots Essay Sample

📌Category: Racism, Social Issues
📌Words: 776
📌Pages: 3
📌Published: 19 June 2022

As the topic of racist relics and mascots is becoming more and more prominent in every day news, there is pressure on community leaders to remove these relics. These leaders need to determine where to draw the line saying something is racist.  Determining factors include where the relic is, the good and evil ideas and actions the person represented stands for, and the potential backlash from the surrounding community.

Considering these relics, location is a well-thought-out factor in the conversation.  Southern states are more likely than others to have their Confederate flags and statues of leaders from that period of time.  Many people who live in these states are not ashamed of the actions these monuments represent while others are offended by them.  In 2020, it was found that 168 Confederate symbols were removed all across America (Source C).  The movement is spreading from what started mainly in southern states, all across the country. It is important to consider what the community thinks of the relic or mascot before removing it.  Many controversial topics like this have two sides to the story; one that may be seen as a good side and another that may be seen as a bad side.  Source C states “Critics argue that removing or renaming tributes to Confederate figures amounts to erasing history.”  These relics represent the history behind the states and the stories on how they were founded.  On the other hand, these monuments can remind people how bad the past was for their family members or ancestors.  Situations like this can put community leaders in a tough position; as aforementioned they need to consider contradictory angles such as this when determining a relic’s future. 

Many people will do much good in their lifetime, while others do much evil, and some have a combination of both in their life.  When considering whether or not to remove racist relics of the past, they have to see if the good outweighs the bad or if the bad outweighs the good.  Source B states “Thus, George Washington is memorialized in statues and placenames, although he held slaves. Adolph Hitler gets none, although he was kind to dogs.” It is shown that George Washington did more good leading our country to become an independent country than he did bad by owning slaves.  Compared to Hitler who killed millions of people just based on their beliefs was a more important factor than him being kind to dogs.  Societal norms also have a play in whether or not something is interpreted as good or evil.  Almost everyone in society at any time does what is socially acceptable. (Source B)  Nowadays, slavery is seen as one of the worst things to ever happen in history but, back when slavery was used, it was seen as an everyday normal thing.  Community leaders will have to consider the change in what is socially acceptable over the years when determining whether or not to remove these relics and mascots.   

Backlash is a likely response to any decision made.  If the community decides to remove the relic, people will be upset over the fact that a piece of their history has been erased.  On the other hand, if the relic is not removed, there will be backlash towards the community leaders claiming that they’re supporting this racist ideology. When the Cleveland Indians changed their name and mascot to the Cleveland Guardians there was immense pressure on other teams with this type of mascot to change their name too. The Atlanta Braves responded to this pressure by saying “ After the Washington Football Team said they would review their former name and mascot, a spokesperson for the Braves[said] that the team "honors, supports, and values the Native American community. That will never change." ‘ (Source F)  The Braves have stated that they do not see their mascot as a bad thing but a representation that honors them. Braves stands for what used to mean “Native American Warrior.”  Some Native Americans see this as a proud representation of their people and who they used to be while others think the Braves don’t deserve to use their people as their mascot.  Atlanta’s team received mixed emotions from fans after they decided to not change their name.  With social media, it is very easy for people to express their emotions and opinions whether it is good or bad for the community.  People being easily able to share what they think about the community leader’s decision, they need to incorporate this backlash as a factor in their decision making. 

Whether racist relics and mascots are an imminent issue for community leaders or not, they should always be prepared for making a decision on removing them.  Making this decision will require considering the location of the relic, the good and bad that person represents, and the inevitable backlash the leader will face from their decision.

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