This is none too far from the truth. Coachella Valley High School from California has a mascot known as "the Arab." This was depicted by a fierce looking man in a turban and facial hair, typically with swords. (See below)
For a couple of years now, the school has been under fire from the Arab-American community for misrepresentation of their culture. They go so far as to have kids from the high school dress in belly dancer outfits and dance around the Arab mascot during halftime. Many supporters of the school says it's alright for the school to display their pride in the Arab culture (even if they are non-Arabs themselves). Others argue that they've had the logo for so long, it isn't worth bothering them to change it now. Opponents of this school's mascot, however, explain the bastardization of Arab culture that occurs as a "symptom [of] systematic misrepresentation, dehumanization, and discrimination that occur against us daily." (Source) Finally, Coachella has agreed to change up their mascot: they will become the "Mighty Arabs", and they will switch out their current, stereotypical Arab for one who is more distinguished, a "stoic, strong-jawed man with a neatly trimmed beard." That way, both the Arab-American community is appeased, and the high school can continue on with their traditions.
However, I must say that I do not think this problem is solved. I think the simple fact that this high school uses "the Arab" as their mascot is a sort of objectification and bastardization of their culture, because they have to do these stereotypical "Arab activities" in order to be recognizable as Arabs. Just like how the Don has his sombrero and Spanish knight outfit, and the Tigers have their stripes, every mascot is supposed to have recognizable, distinguished features and behaviors. How can one do that with an Arab without being racist?
What do you think? Is it acceptable for a school to have this Arab (the new and approved one) as their school Mascot? Is their school tradition valid? If not, what can be done for this high school to become "politically correct"?
1 comment:
I find it pretty interesting that the school has been allowed to keep its mascot of "the Arab" for this long, despite the years of obvious backlash from members of the community. Having students parade around a stereotyped mascot, dressed in stereotypical middle-eastern clothing at school events seems like something the school or the district should have addressed earlier, seeing as this could easily be--and has been--interpreted as fairly offensive and almost discriminatory. I also don't think that the argument, "We've had this mascot forever...it'd be a pain to have to change it" should be given any real credibility. After all, without people opposing the status quo how would society progress and become more accepting? This somewhat reminds me of a story from a couple months ago about the state of Georgia issuing new license plates containing the Confederate flag. People choosing to have this Confederate license plate argue that it is part of their culture as southerners and has been around "forever," the way some may say that the mascot of "the Arab" is essentially part of the school's culture and thus shouldn't be changed. However, this mentality disregards the potential offense one could easily take from the the controversial mascot which perpetuates a certain stereotype, the way the Confederate flag is seen by many as perpetuating racism and discrimination.
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