Image Courtesy of [Jimmy Emerson, DVM via Flickr]
Politics
People Suck: Whitesboro Residents Vote to Keep Clearly Racist Seal
The Village of Whitesboro, NY voted to keep this as their official logo, today… pic.twitter.com/BxaJEtucrM
— Gareth Hardy (@downwithdesign) January 12, 2016
Let me start off by saying the seal above is clearly racist.
At first glance it looks like it should belong in “Parks and Recreation’s” fictitious town of Pawnee, as one of the satirically insensitive murals that Amy Poehler’s character Leslie Knope constantly showcases–but it’s not.
No, this image dating back to 1883 of a white settler seemingly strangling a Native American is actually the official seal for the appropriately-named village of Whitesboro that sits in Whitestown, New York, and on Monday residents overwhelmingly voted to keep the seal rather than change it it to…well, something less racist.
Before the vote the town’s Mayor Patrick O’Connor, who has been a strong supporter of the seal, told WKTV, “We want to just put an end to it once and for all. Let the residents have the say about what seal they want to represent them and their home and their history.”
The history he’s referring to is that of their village’s founder Hugh White, who is said to have had lived among the local Oneida tribesmen as their friend. On the village’s website it states that the seal depicts a “friendly wrestling match that helped foster good relations between White and the Indians.”
O’Conner also insisted that the seal isn’t racist saying,
Some have reached out directly to me through my village email. And if they looked at the seal and went with an opinion based solely on what they’re looking at, I could understand why people would have concern about it. But, [as with] everything else, I think you have to take all the facts into consideration. And if people take the time to do that and they reach out to us, or they do the research themselves, it’s actually a very accurate depiction of friendly wrestling matches that took place back in those days
Yet something about the white guy with his hands on the Native American’s neck doesn’t exactly scream “friendly.” In the 1970s the seal did undergo a slight makeover after an Indian group sued saying the choking image was demeaning and prejudicial. However, the re-design only amounted to a small change of White’s hand placement so it appeared to be less “choke-y.”
Still the seal remained a source of conflict for the village for years to come. In an effort to finally put the issue to bed the Village Board decided to hold a vote Monday on whether or not the controversial seal should be replaced, and provided residents with 10 possible seal replacements. Of the town’s less than 4,000 residents, only 212 votes were cast, and of those 212 votes, 157 of them were in favor of keeping the seal as is.
That is why Whitesboro’s residents are the epitome of people who suck.
They had a chance to replace an incredibly disrespectful, demeaning, and racist part of their village’s history and didn’t. Even if the village’s story of a “friendly wrestling match” is true, that doesn’t change the fact that for a large number of people, including Native Americans, the seal represents a violent and unjust power struggle of white men over Native Americans–and also it’s ugly.
One can only hope that one day the village will change its mind and pick something less insensitive to display on town trucks, highway equipment, and official documents. Till then they’ll continue to suck.
Comments