To the Editor:
In her letter to the editor discussing the Indian mascot (Nov. 15), Tai Antoine '01 brings up a couple of points that I would like to address.
Point Number 1: Ms. Antoine says, "No group of people would like to see their face (or the face of someone that looks like them) plastered on a T-shirt, baseball cap, trading card, etc. I don't care who they are."
Oh really? How about Irish-Americans? Notre Dame uses the Irish as their mascot and Irish-Americans actually rally around it. Irish-Americans throughout the country with no direct ties to Notre Dame actually support the school's sports program because they call their teams "The Irish."
Point Number 2: Ms. Antoine asks, "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."
Well, if you want to get technical, Notre Dame calls themselves the "Fighting Irish" and for a mascot they use a cartoonish image that you would find on Punch's editorial page around 1890. The pig-nosed, red-faced "wild" Irishman with a bowler hat and cornpipe. And (get ready for the shock) once again Irish America rallies around it.
Finally Ms. Antoine concludes, "We live in a very sad world."
Well Ms. Antoine, if mascots are the most of your worries during these times in America, you sure do. You sure do.
