Watertown TAB & Press
Thursday, March 22, 2007

Keep the loyalty, shed the logo

I'm writing in response to the recent letter from Mark Swoyer referring to the term "Red Raider," and the use of the image of a Native American as a Watertown team logo (March 16, "Mascot celebrates history and Indian successes.")

The writer argues that this name and logo are used respectfully, and that there is no racism implied. Mr. Swoyer writes "it should be obvious that when we name ourselves Red Raiders we are drawing attention to those attributes that made them successful and noble, in the hopes that their best aspects might be ours as well." This is certainly a laudable interpretation, and I don't question the author's sincerity, but I would suggest that there is another side to the matter that should be considered.

Last fall at the Faire on the Square, I helped out in a booth shared by the World in Watertown and the Watertown No Place for Hate Committee. One of the features in the booth was a large map of the world, on which visitors were invited to place a star showing their family's place of origin. Many countries around the world were covered with stars. Early in the afternoon a couple, with two small children approached the booth. I asked if they would like to add a star, and they responded enthusiastically. The children proudly placed their marker on the state of South Dakota. The father explained that they were Native Americans, and that South Dakota was the homeland of their tribe.

He then went on to observe how ironic it was the just across the sidewalk from the No Place for Hate sign was another booth showing the name "Red Raiders." He could hardly contain his feelings of anger and hurt that the town would still use a name that evoked so many memories of hate and discrimination for him and for his family. He noted that when his children had seen the words, as young as they were, they started to cry. Clearly, in their short lives they had experienced enough of the prejudice that has been inflicted on their people for generations, that the words "Red Raiders" instantly evoked pain.

Several years ago, the Watertown School Department, recognizing the potential hurtfulness of their team name, dropped the word "Red," so our teams became simply the "Raiders." However, as we see from Mr. Swoyer's letter, and from the Faire on the Square, the use of "Red" has not ended altogether.

I would say to Mr. Swoyer and to all those with justifiably proud and sentimental feelings for Watertown sports teams past and present, hold on to your loyalty, but please let go of a name and logo that hurts. We may not have racist intentions, but until we have walked in the shoes of those who have suffered first hand from hundreds of years of racist stereotyping, as well as from economic and social discrimination, we cannot know the pain that our seemingly innocent labels can inflict.

To know that those beautiful young children at the Faire cried when they saw the words "Red Raiders," and that their parents were appalled at the insensitivity of a community that still embraced—even unofficially—this kind of symbolism, should be enough to have us permanently shelve such nomenclature. The pride we feel in the high school's history should center on the people who made it, not on the name they called themselves.

Will Twombly
Marion Road