Fresno High mascot and racism: Letters to the editor, Nov. 22, 2020

Fresno High mascot not a culture

Tevote! (Hello) I am a sophomore at Fresno High School. I am a descendent of the Yaqui-Yoeme tribe and am disturbed that people think that the FHS mascot is “honoring” my heritage. We have no clubs or classes on campus that recognize Native students. The mascot deliberately puts indigenous people into a stereotype. Not all indigenous people wear big headdresses and feathers. We don’t all use arrows or tomahawks.

In kindergarten, we were taught the “Discovery of America” and the white kids were pilgrims and darker students, including myself, were “Indians.” We were made to wear feathers and use fake bows and arrows and told to make hollering sounds. I knew this was wrong at 5; how come the district cannot? How come it has taken decades for FUSD to do the right thing?

Indigenous people have been trying to remove this racist mascot for six decades, and I stand with my sisters and brothers to remove this mascot. My culture is not a mascot. We have been silenced long enough and we will not be silenced any longer.

Count only legal ballots in election

Democrats, in positions in which strong ethics matter, want all ballots to be counted. Only ballots of people who are legally registered to vote should be counted. Dead people and noncitizens’ ballots should always be thrown out. If illegal votes are allowed, then 72 million voters become victims of robbery.

Theft of votes are unacceptable immoral and unethical crimes.

Time to move the country forward

The shutting of the eyes represents denial from something that is a reality, but also something one wants to consciously steer away from seeing. For Republicans that means denial that Democrats control 48 Senate seats and are two seats away from control of the Senate.

The last time Democrats held the Senate, they used the 14th Amendment to pass affordable health care, social justice and voting rights for all Americans, and for the last 10 years the Republican-led Senate have tried to dismantle those rights. The 14th Amendment happened after the Civil War and Southern states had to agree to it to be readmitted to the United States.

President Biden, please persuade Sens. Sanders and King to flip to Democrat, instead of the power grab of presidential appointments. You can then work in a bipartisan way within the Democratic Party on health care, fair elections, and social justice reforms and later compromise with Republicans. Please keep your eyes wide open that America is made up of every race, culture, and faith from every corner of the planet, and the 2020 elections saw record-setting numbers of Americans voted asking you to move this country forward.

This story was originally published November 22, 2020 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Fresno High mascot and racism: Letters to the editor, Nov. 22, 2020."