A while back, South Stanly High School was having problems with its mascot, again. A few African Americans blew gasgets after finally realizing our symbol of a rebel is portrayed as a Confederate officer. This wasn't a big deal, I thought. Sure slavery was one of the top issues back then, but the image of a soldier doesn't automatically bring up the thought of whipped slaves. At least, not for me. Maybe they're so hurt by the past that they assume a connection between all soldiers of the South and slavery, which is logical since that's basically what they were fighting to keep, right? I guess I can understand that, although some of the people who were fussing know little about history, have poor grades/reputations, and have shown no interest in anything before this.

So, the school was asking for new mascot ideas. My drawing is to the left. You may click on it for a larger version. The first thing you may notice about the bigger picture is that the paper seems to have been ruffled. That's because it was slightly crumpled by an agitated Tia Huntley, who obviously has similar feelings about Confederates and Revolutionaries. OK, fine.

This is why most schools now have bumblebees and sharks for their mascots. We can't get along, so we personify animals. I wish we could just talk things out. Let's settle our problems. I have minimal prejudices. (I would say none, but every person has some. We can't help it, it's how we're raised. Everything we experience creates a filter of our brains as we grow up and take in the world. It is impossible not to have preconceived notions, ideas about how things should be, what's better, how things would be best, and stereotypes about people, places, things, and so on.) But I guess that's not the way it is for most, or some, at least. Why can't we just analyze our problems, talk about our insecurities, and deal with it all. Even when people realize the situation and accept it, they don't fight the essential wrongs. "All right, so there is a lot of prejudice—racial, economic, age, gender, sexuality, and so on forever. I understand that. I also understand that there's nothing I can do about it, so I'll try to convince myself that I'm OK with dealing with it, and go on like I've self-actualized or something. But in reality, I've done nothing but look at my/our problem(s) from a distance through binoculars and waved."

LET'S TALK ABOUT THIS. Come on, Whites, Blacks, Latinos, Asian, Native Americans, EVERYBODY. Here's what we can do to make this better... Oh wait, I said it already, let's talk. After we talk about it, then we can come to rational, realistic, logical, terms and understandings. We may even get along. Or —GASP!— even, dare I say, like each other! We talk about tolerance and getting along, which is a prerequisite, but we also need to try to appreciate and enjoy each other's company. I know, crazy. Think about it: instead of using stereotypes to infuriate and incite, we can use them to laugh. They'll be a reminder of how stupid we ALL were. Then, we will see that even though our history is riddled with all kinds of stupid, horrible mess, we can try to be different today. I know that some of my white ancestors did some bad things to blacks. I can't help that or change it. Heck, sometimes I feel guilty about it even though it's not my place in the least to do that. But the fact is that when we generalize, like saying that Whites mistreated Blacks in the past, and don't look anything else—the big, full picture—then we're selling ourselves short, very short. We need to focus on the individual. Sure, lots of Whites did bad things, but there were many "good" Whites, too. There have been millions of "bad" African people, millions of "good" African people. There have been millions of "bad" Asians, there have been millions of "good" Asians. There have been millions of "bad" Europeans, and there have been millions of "good" European people. Get my drift?

If Tia Huntley gets mad at me and is a little rough with the picture I drew, I'm not going to hate all black people suddenly. At the most I'll be aggravated by her momentarily, then forgive her action and move on. We need to forgive things of the past, and especially, for God's sake and ours, innumerable happenings of the past that we can't change, or even truly know about fully. Can we please gain some perspective on this issue? Can't we all at least try to get along? Is there so much animosity that deep down we don't want to get along and cooperate? I hope not. And if that's the case, then we desperately need to work on it or we're not going to get anywhere as a community, a country, a world, or as human beings.