The fighting whities t shirt

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Record: 1 Putting the moccasin on the other foot: A media history of the "Fighting Whities.". Johansen, Bruce E. Simile. Feb2003, Vol. 3 Issue 1, pN.PAG. 0p. Article *RHETORIC *BASKETBALL teams *SPORTS team mascots *MASS media *DEMONSTRATIONS (Collective behavior) *POLITICS & students *HIGH schools COLORADO UNITED States 711211 Sports Teams and Clubs 713990 All Other Amusement and Recreation Industries 611110 Elementary and Secondary Schools The use of American Indian mascots or symbols for professional and collegiate sports teams has stirred considerable controversy in recent years because Native Americans in North America maintain that such symbols and mascots are stereotypical and dehumanizing. In 2002, an intramural basketball team in Colorado decided to change its name to the "Fighting Whites" as a parody of the name "Fighting Reds," used by a nearby high school. This article analyzes the rhetorical nature of the "Fighting Whites" (or, as they also were known, "Fighting Whities") short but meteoric journey in both print and electronic media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Simile is the property of University of Toronto Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) 6928 1496-6603 10358331 Academic Search Premier

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Putting the moccasin on the other foot: A media history of the "Fighting Whities."

ABSTRACT The use of American Indian mascots or symbols for professional and collegiate sports teams has stirred considerable controversy in recent years because Native Americans in North America maintain that such symbols and mascots are stereotypical and dehumanizing. In 2002, an intramural basketball team in Colorado decided to change its name to the "Fighting Whites" as a parody of the name "Fighting Reds," used by a nearby high school. This article analyzes the rhetorical nature of the "Fighting Whites" (or, as they also were known, "Fighting Whities") short but meteoric journey in both print and electronic media.

Introduction Stressing their right to dignity and self definition of ethnic identity, Native Americans have been bringing increasing pressure on a number of sports teams, from the sand lots to the professionals, to retire stereotypical mascots. "The pace is really picking up," said Cyd Crue, president of the Illinois chapter of the National Coalition on Racism in Sports and the Media. "We're seeing more educators around the country, in middle schools and high schools and at universities, concerned about the racial climate in schools ... dropping these symbols" (Johansen, 2001). Since the early 1970s, about 1,250 of the nation's 3,000 elementary schools, high schools, and colleges with American Indian nicknames and mascots have dropped them, said Suzan Shown Harjo, president of Washington D.C.'s Morningstar Institute (Johansen, 2001). Harjo has successfully sued the Washington Redskins over their use of Indian imagery, and the initial judgment in her favor (Harjo v. Pro Football, Inc, 1999) has been affirmed in United States Trademark Court. [ 1]

Native American sports mascots became an active political issue during the late 1960s, with the founding of the American Indian Movement (AIM) in Minneapolis. Because of AIM, some of the first Indian stereotypes fell in the Midwest. At the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO), for example, a chapter of AIM spearheaded a change of mascot from "Indians" to "Mavericks," a beef animal with an attitude, in 1971. The change was popular on campus in part because the visual depiction of "Owumpie," the "Omaha Indian," was tacky - tacky enough to make the Cleveland Indians' Chief Wahoo look like a real gentleman. The student body of UNO eventually voted to give "Owumpie" the boot. Stanford University changed its Indian mascot to a cardinal at about the same time. During the late 1960s, the National Congress of American Indians launched a campaign to bring an end to the use of Indian sports mascots and other media stereotypes. [ 2]

In the meantime, Marquette University has replaced "Warriors" in favor of "Golden Eagles." Dartmouth changed its "Indians" to "Big Green," and Miami of Ohio changed "Redskins" to the "RedHawks." Manufacturers of Crayola Crayons have done away with the color "Indian Red" (Babwin, 2000). In October 1991, when the Atlanta Braves arrived in Minneapolis for the World Series, they found more than 200 protestors surrounding the stadium's gates, with placards reading, among other things, "500 Years of Oppression is Enough." Minneapolis was AIM's hometown, and even the mayor had made a statement calling on the Braves to sack their Indian imagery. When the Twins management asked the police to move the demonstrators further from the Metrodome, they refused, citing principles of freedom of speech and assembly. [ 3]

Scholars have also paid attention to the mascot issue, especially King and Springwood (2001) and

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Spindel (2000). In 1999, the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport initiated annual conferences practically in Chief Wahoo's shadow at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Cleveland, with sessions that included papers with titles such as "Escaping the Tyranny of the Majority: A Case Study of Mascot Change" and "Red, Black, and White: 'Playing Indian' and Racial Hierarchy at Florida State." [ 4]

The genesis of the "Fighting Whites" A singular moment in the history of the mascot controversy occurred during February 2002, when an intramural basketball team at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC) composed of Native American, Latino, and European American students collectively decided to change its name from "Native Pride" to "The Fighting Whites." The new name was a parody of North America's many Native American mascots, most notably nearby Eaton High School's "Fighting Reds." It was the first time in popular memory that a multi ethnic sports team had decided to adopt a European-American stereotype as a mascot. The team printed a few T-shirts (their uniform of choice) on which were printed the team's new name, a be-suited, clean cut white man with a bland smile on his face, and the slogan "Everythang Gonna be All White." A wave of nearly instant, continent wide publicity ensued - a wave that stood the long standing debate over the decency of Native sports-team mascots on its head. The Fighting Whities set thousands of virtual tongues wagging. Everyone had an opinion, from AIM to affiliates of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). The reactions provide a flash-frozen ideoscape of racial humor in an age of political correctness. [ 5]

Within weeks, the Fighting Whites (or, as they soon became known in many circles, the Fighting Whities) had become nearly as well known as established professional monikers such as the Washington Redskins and the Cleveland Indians. A Google search in March 2002 for the phrase "Fighting Whities" turned up 4,700 hits. The publicity helped to sell thousands of T shirts and other items for a hastily endowed scholarship fund to aid Native American students. By the end of 2002, the team had raised $100,000 in merchandise sales for Native American students. [ 6]

As Ryan White, John Messner, and Charles Cuny explained on the official home page of the Fighting Whites: "We came up with the 'Fighting Whites' logo and slogan to have a little satirical fun and to deliver a simple, sincere, message about ethnic stereotyping. Since March 6, when our campus newspaper first reported on the Fighting Whites, we have been launched into the national spotlight, propelled by a national debate over stereotyping American Indians in sports symbolism" (White, Messner, & Cuny, 2002). [ 7]

The Fighting Whites' parody quickly sprang from the sports pages to the front pages. From the student newspaper, the story spread to the Greeley Tribune, then over the state, regional, and national Associated Press wire services. Some of the stories popped up as far away as The Guardian in the United Kingdom. The "Whities" also were contacted by Fox Sports Net and NBC News, among many other electronic media. Soon, the Fighting Whites had developed at least nine T shirt designs for sale on an Internet site, with receipts fueled by publicity in many major daily newspapers, electronic news outlets, and such other large audience venues as the Jay Leno Show. The effect on sales was downright salubrious. Soon the merchandise was available not only on T- shirts, but also on sweatshirts, tank tops, baseball jerseys, several styles of caps, a coffee mug, boxer shorts, and mouse pads. [ 8]

On the court, the Whities confessed that they were hardly championship caliber, but soon their

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prowess at basketball didn't matter. Their reputation soon had very little to do with dribbling, jumping, or shooting, and more to do with the incendiary nature of the ongoing debate regarding Native American names for sports teams. Brooks Wade, a member of the Fighting Whites who is a Choctaw and an employee at UNC Native American Student Services, told the Rocky Mountain News: "It's a huge media rush. It kind of snowballed out of control, really. We started it as more of a protest so we could change things in our little world, and suddenly it's worldwide" (BeDan, 2002, 12- A). [ 9]

The original protest had been aimed at Eaton (Colorado) High School's Indian mascot, the "Fightin' Reds," after the wife of one of the "Fighting Whites" resigned a job there in anger over the issue. The protest parody quickly cut a much wider swath. Solomon Little Owl, a Crow, whose wife resigned at Eaton, was director of Native American Student Services at UNC when he joined the team. Little Owl's wife, Kacy Little Owl (who is European American), taught special education at the high school seven miles north of Greeley for two years before leaving at the end of the previous school year (Garner, 2002). [ 10]

"The message is, let's do something that will let people see the other side of what it's like to be a mascot," said Little Owl (Fighting Whities, 2002). The Whities had reason to agree with a comment on the Wampum Chronicles message board, a Native American website: "They'll swamp the country with publicity which has everyone laughing at their opponents, all the while our boys will be laughing all the way to the bank. Way to go, Fighting Whities. Give 'em hell" (Wampum Chronicles, n.d.). Little Owl said that the couple, as parents of a son who is half European American and half Native, felt uncomfortable mingling with townspeople at school events, especially at ball games where Eaton High School's large nosed Indian caricature was the prominent team symbol. "It was offensive in its own way," said Little Owl (Garner, 2002). [ 11]

Who was insulting whom? The Eaton Fighting Reds found themselves unwillingly sucked into the tornado of publicity created by the Fighting Whites' parody. The defenders of the Fighting Reds did not take kindly to the notion of basking unwillingly in the reflected glory of the Fighting Whites. According to a report in the New York Daily News: "School officials have been unresponsive to the protests of local Native American activists. John Nuspl, the school district superintendent, has said the Indian logo is not offensive but that the Fighting Whities are insulting. Yesterday, a school official would only offer, 'The Eaton school district has no comment, but thank you for your call.' The inquiring sports writer was then disconnected" (Bondy, 2002). A reporter for the Associated Press was told by Nuspl that Eaton's logo is not derogatory. "There's no mockery of Native Americans with this," Nuspl said. As for the Fighting Whites, he said: "Their interpretations are an insult to our patrons and blatantly inaccurate" (Team Chooses, 2002). [ 12]

The reaction of Eaton's school superintendent brought to light an unintended irony that dogged the Fighting Whites wherever their newly minted name went. Many people who had no problem with naming a sports team after a Native American image became profoundly offended when the same thing was done, tongue in cheek, with a European American mascot. GOPUSA, a Colorado Web page of "Republican resources," declared the naming of the "Whities" a case of "Political correctness gone mad!" (GOPUSA, 2002). [ 13]

Aside from a small number of people in Eaton and one editorial writer in Omaha (described below),

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most "white" people harvested a belly laugh or two from the parody. Some commentators went out of their way to show that, as European Americans, they could take a joke. The "Portal of Evil" website declared the Fighting Whities to be a "mascot for the rest of us." Another virtual commentator had a suggestion for Fighting Whities team colors: "Off7white and Velveeta Cheese yellow!" (Mr. Cranky, 2002). Rush Limbaugh, the popular radio commentator, used the controversy to demonstrate his appreciation of all stereotypes: "Now, I think that's great! The team chose a white man as its mascot to raise awareness of stereotypes that some cultures endure. I love this, and it doesn't offend me at all! I'd be proud to be on the team - which is the difference here. There isn't a white person around that's going to be offended by this" (Limbaugh, 2002). [ 14]

Limbaugh, who called Native Americans "Injuns" in this commentary, aimed perhaps to show that he is as good at taking ethnic stereotypes as he has been at dishing them out. "That's great!" he said. "I had to laugh and laugh on the air" (Limbaugh, 2002). Limbaugh disagreed with Eaton's offended school superintendent: "Now, come on. This is not insulting, Whitie; it's funny" (Limbaugh, 2002). "If these Native Americans had wanted to offend," Limbaugh continued, "They could have come up with something a lot worse than the Fighting Whities ... . What's going to happen is you're going to have a bunch of civil rights groups led by Jesse Jackson saying, `You can't do that!' Still, it's just too good. The Fighting Whities? It just rolls off the tongue. Who wouldn't want to be on that team?" (Limbaugh, 2002). The Fighting Whities nearly sent Limbaugh into rhapsody: "In fact, let's rename the 101st Airborne Division the 'Fighting Whities.' I mean, can't you see that painted on some Air Force squadron, on the tail of a bunch of F 16s: the Fighting Whities -- and paint the airplanes all white. Oh ho! I'll guarantee you that this is not going to fly well with the NAACP crowd, folks, because it's good, the Fighting Whities. I really do wish that I had authored this ..." (Limbaugh, 2002). [ 15]

Barry Benintende, executive editor of the La Jolla Light in California, loved the idea almost as much as Limbaugh. "In this day and age it's tough to come up with a nickname for an athletic department [or] team that won't offend at least some portion of the population," he wrote in the publication's March 2002 edition. "Short of naming every school or pros ports team 'the Vanillas,' someone is going to have their knickers in a twist over a nickname. Well, speaking of vanilla, let me bring up the name of my favorite sports team of all time, edging out the Banana Slugs of UCSC [University of California at Santa Cruz] - 'Fighting Whities.' The slogan they adopted - "Every thang's gonna be all white!' - is pure genius" (Benintende, 2002). Sadly, lamented Benintende, only the most self conscious "whites" were offended by the turnabout. "What was intended to turn the tables on insensitivity and support for teams like the Redskins, et al., the reaction shocked the team founders: Caucasians not only loved the name but sent them congratulatory e; mails and requests to buy Fighting Whities jerseys" (Benintende, 2002). Benintende continued: "I'm a fan of the San Diego Padres, who could be seen as offensive to Catholics. Instead, many of us find the Swinging Friar a lovable guy with whom to identify, much like we would a briefcase toting Middle America dad type" (Benintende, 2002). Like many other commentators, Benintende used the Fighting Whities parody to take issue with an April 2001 United States Commission on Civil Rights opinion that said Indian themed sports teams may violate anti discrimination laws, and should be dropped. "Does this commission finding also apply to the Fighting Irish at Notre Dame? The Celtics of Boston? And why limit it to sports teams? Does the name Rabbinical School Dropouts offend Jewish people who do not listen to the Klezmer band?" (Benintende, 2002). [ 16]

One virtual tongue wagged at "The Geekery: Biased and Unbalanced News": "See, this is what I'm talking about. "Racial stereotypes got you down? Now you can reverse the stereotypes back on your

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oppressors and not receive ANY backlash whatsoever. God, I love this country. This is probably the best idea any minority has ever had. Next we just need a baseball team, maybe "the Atlanta Trailer Park Trash" or "the Nebraska Rednecks." Hell, let's not stop there. Let's branch off into rugby too and have "the Preppy White Boys from Upper class Neighborhoods that Look Down upon Every Color they have Only Seen on TV. The possibilities are endless" (Geekery, 2002). [ 17]

Clarence Page, an African-American syndicated columnist based at the Chicago Tribune opined, tongue in cheek, that "Sometimes offense is the best defense" (Page, 2002). Page remarked that network television, major newspapers, and radio talk shows had made the Fighting Whites the best covered intramural squad in the nation. The Greeley Tribune's Web site crashed when demand for the story soared to 29,000 from the usual 200 hits a day for a high-interest local story (Page, 2002). Yet, quipped Page, "Caucasians have proved to be remarkably resistant to offense. Many agreed with an e mailer who saw the new name as an 'honor' to white Americans, who apparently don't get enough credit for their many contributions to history" (Page, 2002). "Help me out here," asked one e mail to the Greeley Tribune. "Why am I supposed to be offended?" (Page, 2002). In Page's opinion, "Whether their experiment turned out the way they expected to or not, the Fighting Whites deserve to go to the head of the class for giving us all at least one important lesson in cross cultural differences: It's not what you slur that counts, it is who is slurring it - and how ... . As an African- American who has heard more than my share of slurs, I can tell you: to be truly offensive, it helps for a slur to carry at least a hint of a threat ... . Most Redskins fans undoubtedly mean no harm by their passivity about their team's name. If it reminds some Indians of the days when there were bounties on Indian scalps, that's just tough tomahawks, pal" (Page, 2002). Page concluded, "I give the Fighting Whites credit for keeping their wit about them. Humor often opens doors that battering rams fail to budge. If nothing else, they've stumbled across an unusual way to raise scholarship money. It's like the old saying: If you can't beat 'em, make a few bucks off 'em." (Page, 2002). [ 18]

The texture and potency of assumed insult soon became the main point of debate for many European-Americans. "Some people online were saying that the mascot should be ... a fat guy with buckteeth kissing his sister," said Tom Crebbs of Oakland, Calif., who heard about the idea and started his own Web site selling spin off shirts, hats and mugs (Fighting Whities, n.d.). Michael Gonsalves wondered whether, "If you are fighting against a perceived injustice, is the proper recourse to go out and do the very same thing?" (Fighting Whities, n.d.). Dimitri Vassilaros, a columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, asserted that no one would give a mascot name to a "business or pet" that carried negative connotations. George Junne, a professor in the University of Northern Colorado's Africana Studies department, said that a mascot "is like a pet. People don't want to be pets" (Good, 2002). [ 19]

Vassilaros, who is a Greek American, wrote that is "just my luck" that "drunken college frat brothers [are called] 'Greeks.'" He asked: "Are there any white men who feel violated whenever they see fighting whities mascots such as the Schenley Spartans, Peabody Highlanders, Central Catholic Vikings, North Catholic Trojans, Duquesne Dukes, or even the Quaker Valley Quakers?" In his court of public opinion, Vassilaros finds that "The perpetually offended are intellectually bankrupt" (Vassilaros, 2002). A radio station in Grand Rapids, Michigan, WOOD Newsradio 1300, Grand conducted an on-air poll, asking: "Do you think a basketball team named the 'Fighting Whities' is racially insensitive?" The results: 84.19% "no," 15.81% "yes" (Newsradio, 2002). [ 20]

A number of commentators assumed that the members of the Fighting Whites had set out to offend

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non-Indians, even after a number of newspaper pieces quoted them as saying this was not the case. Usually, such allegations were aired as the commentator strove to display his or her open- mindedness. An example was provided by John Ledbetter: "Offended? I want one of his team's T- shirts. They feature a white dude with a coat and tie and slicked back hair. He looks like an IRS agent on crack, which isn't a bad name for a team either. But really, if offending us honkies was Owl's criteria for success, he may want a job with the visa department in the INS [Immigration and Naturalization Service]. It's just not that often that an angle on the Anglos is spun toward something fierce or feisty. Unless you're Scandinavians - Vikings or from Ireland - Fightin' Irish - there's not a lot of scrappy Caucasians that end up on banners in an auditorium. Of course, if you're Irish you're fighting because you're drunk - and a happy St. Patrick's Day to you too. I'm also part Irish, allegedly, so kiss my blarney if you're offended. And I'm even a lawyer. Now, talk about a maligned group. The San Jose Sharks today rejected a plan to name their team the San Jose Barristers. Ha!" (Ledbetter, 2002). In the interests of parody, Ledbetter then raised the intellectual stakes of the argument in a way that the Fighting Whites never had intended: "Earth to [Spotted] Owl: Don't count on Osama bin Laden to give you the Plains States back, or let you worship the way you want" (Ledbetter, 2002). [ 21]

An editorial in the Omaha World Herald called the "Whities" parody an ineffective insult. In an editorial titled "'Whities' on the Court; Insult Doesn't Work if Name Doesn't Hurt," the newspaper said that "The lack of deep, personal insult in the term "white" may reflect the inequality of racial relationships. Because the majority typically has more power - political, economic, social - than minorities, its members are not so likely to feel diminished by words of contempt" (Whities, 2002). The World Herald argued that: "The white population is in the majority and lacks the depth of race consciousness needed to make a group sensitive to name calling. Break whites down into smaller ethnic groups, however - everyone is familiar with the disrespectful names for Jews, Irish, Italians, French-Canadians and so on - and the anger can surface quickly" (Whities, 2002). By the World Herald's reasoning, perhaps "The Fighting Knee knocking Norwegians" might have been more effective. The editorial continued: "'The Reds' is a generic-enough name that the Greeley high school could easily move from an Indian logo to something less potentially offensive. Neither the Cincinnati Reds nor Nebraska's Big Red refers to ethnicity" (Whities, 2002). [ 22]

The World-Herald's editorial writer composed this piece without checking how the mascot was being depicted at Eaton High School. While "Big Red" is characterized visually by Herbie Husker, definitely a down-home farm boy, the Eaton mascot is a no bones-about-it American Indian, which was described by Owen S. Good of the Rocky Mountain News as "a cross armed, shovel nosed, belligerent caricature" (Good, 2002). The World Herald was too polite to let loose with the names it might use to address the "Fighting Whites." Another commentator was not as shy, providing a number of very specific team names meant to insult "white" people, including: "[The] White Slaveowners; Light-Skinned Nigger-Killers; Fighting Crackers; Blue-Eyed Devils; The Rhythm Lackers; The Small Penises; The Non-Dancers; The Big House Massas" (T. Rex Essay, 2002). The author commented: "I suggest that, if they really want to get their point across, and they really want to do the equivalent of names like 'Redskins.' I think names like these more accurately represent the negative stereotyping of names like "Redskins" and the use of images of the 'savage' American Indian" (T. Rex Essay, 2002). [ 23]

Some European-Americans were severely offended at the use of a "white" mascot, and became very eager to pay back the perceived insult. One militant "white" nationalist Web page characterized

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the "Fighting Whities" parody this way: "Some redskins on an intramural basketball team up at the University of Northern Colorado got their feathers all in a bunch recently and decided to show white folks, and especially those at nearby Eaton High School, whose motto is "Fightin' Reds," and whose logo is a caricature of an Indian - how insulting it is to have their identity pre-empted this way. "Damn, didn't the Sambo's Restaurant chain get into heap big trouble with blackskins and have to change their name because black folks found it offensive to be portrayed as anything less than nuclear physicists? If the blackskins can back whiteskins down so easily, then certainly redskins can do the same thing" (Millard, 2002). The same site offered links to another seeking orders for its own European American icon: a T-shirt portraying Knights of the Ku Klux Klan in white sheets burning a cross, above lettering reading "The Knight Time's the White Time" (Klan T-shirts, n.d.). [ 24]

Serious debates nationally Aside from a debate over who was offending whom, The "Fighting Whities" parody provoked a great deal of serious debate on the mascot issue nationally. Student editorialists at the University of Illinois Daily Illini, where a controversy has long raged regarding the school's Chief Illini mascot, suggested that the Fighting Whities take its place. "When University Board of Trustees member Roger Plummer addressed the board about Chief Illiniwek, he said the board has two decisions. Alas, at this prestigious University, we must strive for excellence. That's why Scout was disappointed to see Plummer did not suggest the University adopt The Fighting Whities, the symbol a group of students in Colorado used to make a point. The school could keep "Fighting" on all its merchandise. Just scratch out "Illini." People couldn't call it offensive because it's actually just taking the idea of the Fighting Irish to the next level" (Campus Scout, 2002). [ 25]

"In sports," the Daily Illini editorial concluded, "There's nothing better than taking it to the next level. In life, there's nothing better than poking a little fun at yourself. The students like 'The Fighting Whities,' too. Scout's received numerous e-mails supporting the suggestion" (Campus Scout, 2002). Tanya Barrientos, a Philadelphia Inquirer columnist, took issue with a survey conducted by Harris Research in the March 4, 2002 edition of Sports Illustrated, which asserted that only 32% of Indians living on reservations believed Indian names and mascots used by professional sports teams contributed to discrimination against them. The same survey stated that the proportion of Native Americans not living on reservations who perceived no discrimination in Indian team names or mascots was 83%. Barrientos wrote: "Perhaps I should lighten up. But my gut tells me that Chief Wahoo is wrong. He smacks of a Sambo, a lawn jockey, or one of those Mexicans sleeping under a broad brimmed sombrero. There has to be a good reason why 600 schools, minor league teams, and other pro-sports franchises have dropped or changed their Indian names and mascots since 1969" (Barrientos, 2002). Bob DiBiasio, vice president for public relations for the Cleveland Indians, had told Barrientos that Chief Wahoo was never meant to be a racist logo and that "if there is no intent to demean, how can something demean?" "Tell that," she concluded, "to the Fighting Whities" (Barrientos, 2002). [ 26]

A demonstration in Eaton Eaton High School's 450 students found themselves neighbors of a rally against its Fighting Reds mascot. The demonstration coincided with Eaton High School's graduation ceremony, which was held during the afternoon, after the rally had dispersed. The Eaton police rehearsed for weeks in anticipation of the event, and called in reinforcements from nearby Ault, as well as the Weld County Sheriff's Office. "We are prepared to handle this event," said Sgt. Arthur Mueller of the Eaton Police Department. "We don't anticipate problems, but we do have several contingency plans in place"

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(Ochoa, 2002). The plans included mounted horse patrols, a K 9 unit, police teams patrolling the perimeter of the demonstration, and officers mingling through the crowd, as well as officers posted on nearby rooftop. "We will have zero tolerance when there is an issue of safety for the officers, participants or residents ... . And we will have zero tolerance for the destruction of private property or public property" (Ochoa, 2002). Unarmed security guards trained by AIM also planned to provide added security to the rallying group. Dozens of local and county police, on foot and horseback, as well as private security guards, awaited the protesters. As the rally concluded, roughly 300 marchers promised to return next year and the year after that, until the mascot image was retired. Coloradans Against Ethnic Stereotyping in Colorado Schools wants nearly 40 public schools statewide to change American Indian mascots that it believes are hurtful and racist. [ 27]

"This is our introduction to Eaton on how to live respectfully," said Russell Means, a founder of AIM and a long-time national activist for Native American rights. "If Eaton wants to put up with this every year for their graduation, then so be it" (Nigoya, 2002). According to a report in the Denver Post, "Protesters marched through town - drums beating, chants rising - on their way to Eaton City Park. There were speeches of heritage and strife, racism and tolerance" (Nigoya, 2002). "They're upset, saying we ruined their graduation," Means said. ""With this [mascot], they ruin every single day of our lives" (Nigoya, 2002). [ 28]

Fred Gibbs, a 26-year old fifth generation Eaton High graduate, said he couldn't understand why some people chose to be offended by a symbol that most in town considered a respectful honor to American Indians. The mascot was called "a tough little warrior that we're very proud of" by Gibbs, who was watching from his front lawn. "None of us feels like it's a negative portrayal" (Good, 2002). But Means, who is well known in Denver for demonstrating against the city's Columbus Day parade, said there was nothing even remotely honorable about using American Indian images as sports mascots: "It [comes from] the day when only the fiercest animals were used as team mascots - Lions, Tigers ... . That's what Indians are to these teams, the fiercest of beasts" (Good, 2002). Means suggested that next year's demonstration might confront the school's graduation ceremony directly (Good, 2002). [ 29]

Evaluating the "Whities" in ideological context On an Internet page devoted to anarchist causes, Bob Maxim wrote that "Acceptance of racial stereotypes of 'Indians' as they're commonly called is not only more widespread than any other race, but actually ingrained so steadfastly into the American culture that most people don't see what all the fuss is about" (Maxim, 2002). The proponents of Native American mascots often profess no malice - indeed, they loudly broadcast an admiration of their own stereotyped creations. Sometimes this sense of "respect" can be taken to absurd lengths, as when some European-Americans defend the use of the word "squaw" as a place name with full knowledge that it originated as a reference to Native women's vaginas. However, wrote Maxim, "The fact is ... [that] disrespect ... is disrespect in the eyes of the offended, not the offender" (#m). [ 30]