All hail “The Fighting Whities!”
Excuse me? What's that you say? You haven't heard of “The Fighting Whites” college basketball team? Where the hell have you been? Watching some other lame-o stuff on TV like March Madness or something?
C'mon! These guys are the hottest college sports team out there, man! And not because of their won-loss record. No, I don't have a clue what their record is, or even how good they are at basketball. In fact, with a name like "The Fighting Whites," they've probably got snappy chest-passes and perfect backdoor picks, but can't jump worth a gosh darn.
Satirical T-shirts
What's more, they're not even an actual college team - they're just a bunch of guys, college students who wanna play intramural basketball every Tuesday.
Yet, recently, they've been thrust into the national spotlight, simply because of the name of their team — “The Fighting Whites” — which has now become the more barbed “Fighting Whities.”
This group of Indian and non-Indian young men at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley formed their team in early February, and officially named it “Native Pride.” But, as a light-hearted jab at nearby Eaton High School (“The Fightin' Reds,” whose mascot is an Indian with a misshapen nose and an eagle feather), they made T-shirts with “Fighting Whites” emblazoned on the back. The shirts also bear an image of the team's mascot — a 1950s-style caricature of a middle aged white guy, complete with slicked hair and tie — and the phrase, “Every thang's gonna be all white!”
I love it.
What's also HOT about the team is the SALES of these “Fighting Whites” T shirts. At $20 each, sales of the team's shirts are going through the roof of the gym.
What's FUNNY about this is who's buying them. It's non-Indians who are buying up the shirts like they're going outta style (something that the boys on the team certainly did not expect), because some white folk appreciate the twist of humor.
Television fame
What's COOL about this is that the money raised from the sales is used entirely to support education of Native American students at UNC.
Also cool: Fox TV is interested in the boys. Jay Leno even mentioned them in one of his monologues.
Now, what's unfortunately inevitable about all of this, of course, is the wave of criticism leveled at the team. Some non-Indians consider the name "Fighting Whites" to be derogatory, offensive and even insulting.
Imagine!
Some non-Indians see the team as another example of how the fragile fabric of their culture is being torn, thread by thread, by the mean-spirited insensitivity of others. How sad!
And other non-Indians, especially sports enthusiasts, are decrying the growing trend of schools and universities who are now dropping their Indian mascots for new, more politically correct ones. They lament the ravaging influence of political correctness upon their sacred institutions and cry, “But ... what about tradition?”
Oh, cry me a freakin' river.
You'll still have your Braves, Redskins and Indians. Nothing's going to change. Even Sports Illustrated magazine recently pointed out, in a scientific poll, that people, including Indians, don't care much about Indians being used as mascots. And if you can't trust that bastion of journalism, the very same publication which annually provides us with the intellectual stimulation of the "Swimsuit Issue," who can you trust?
No, nothing's gonna change, and the boys of "The Fighting Whites" know that. In their own words, they just wanted to have a little satirical fun and deliver a simple, sincere message about ethnic stereotyping. They're only trying, in a humorous way, "to promote cultural awareness through satire."
And besides, personally, I think that Indian people have much bigger and more important issues to tackle than racist team mascots. Health care, treaty rights, mineral and water and other land-use issues, to name a few. Oh yeah, and then there's that poverty, alcoholism, child/elder abuse thing as well.
Drawing attention
Hey, if “The Fighting Whities” can get some attention, maybe we can then get some attention turned toward the heavier stuff as well.
Maybe it's a start.
Education is the key, and if buying a T-shirt will help support education, I'm gonna go search beneath my couch cushions for coinage.
But first, have you heard about this team I'm putting together?
It's open to Indians and non-Indians alike, and our goal will be to blot out racism and other forms of stupidity. I'm having T-shirts made, which I'm sure will DRAW some criticism, but who cares!
All hail, “The Combative Cartoonists!”
The pen is mightier than the mascot!
The “Fighting Whites” Web site is www.fightingwhites.org. T-shirt styles are shown at www.cafepress.com/fightinwhite. T-shirt requests, go to fightingwhites@hotmail.com. Readers may contact John Potter at speakup@billingsgazette.com.
Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.
John Potter, an Ojibwe from Wisconsin, is a gifted artist, illustrator and writer. After more than 20 years as an editorial artist and columnist with the Billings Gazette (Billings, Mont.), he now spends his full time and energy on his oils, painting the landscapes of the West that he loves the most. His work can be seen online at www.lonewolfgallery.com.
