To the Editor:
This is in response to the letter by Tai Antoine '01 ("Mascot is Dehumanizing") of Nov. 15. Referring to a panel discussion held earlier this week, Ms. Antoine expresses her satisfaction that Dartmouth students have come together to discuss the issue of the Indian mascot. This, of course, is more than a little disingenuous. According to an article in these pages, not a single student presented an argument in favor of the mascot. Discussion, indeed.
Ms. Antoine also says, "For those of you who do not understand this very simple, very basic concept, ask yourself how you would feel if I wore paraphernalia and danced around imitating what I thought to be behavior that characterized you as a person and you as a member of a specific ethnic group no matter how stereotypical it may be." If Ms. Antoine had gone to Notre Dame instead of Dartmouth, this is precisely what she would be doing. She would be sporting the image of a pugilistic leprechaun, for all the same reasons that I sport the (comparatively noble) image of the Dartmouth Indian.
The difference between the two cases? The Irish are white, and they therefore cannot be "victimized." They are not one of the official Minority Groups holding official Victim Status.
Lest anyone misunderstand, my point is not that the Irish should now cry foul every time a Notre Dame fan wears a "Fighting Irish" shirt. That would simply compound the error. My point, rather, is that all these crusaders looking desperately for racism to challenge should expend their efforts in something a little more worthwhile than getting bent out of shape over a T-shirt.
In this silly and puerile debate over an incredibly unimportant topic, there is one source of solace: that we live in a country where fighting racism doesn't mean fighting lynches, poll taxes, and the like. In the America of today, fighting racism means petty debates about a petty subject. We must be doing something right.
