Normalization...

It's a slow creep sometimes. You don't even really realize it completely. Or you justify it so well that you manage to convince yourself it's okay.

The Winterhawks have come up with a new alternative logo. It's a stylized rose inside of a black circle (think hockey puck) I really like it. They revealed it with a cool little video showing how it ties in to the city nickname (The Rose City) and the first hockey club here (The Rosebuds). Then they used it for Pride night and Hawks Fight Cancer night where they took the normally red rose and made it rainbow and purple respectively. I really like it. 

They also have been using a red P inside of a hockey puck for other things. And I noticed that quite a few times when the Junior Hawk comes out for sixth wo/man they are wearing a sweater with that P on it instead of the Hawk Head.

I told Brent I think they are slowly moving to getting rid of the Hawk Head. Which he and I both agreed would be great. I'm not offended by Native American imagery as a mascot, or names for teams, because I'm not Native and so being offended on behalf of someone else rings a little untrue. But I don't like it. I don't like that it makes a large percentage of Native Americans and First Peoples really upset. And I understand why it would. And I see that it's causing them pain. And it's an easy fix to not do it.

I don't understand people who get really bent out of shape about it. I don't cheer for a logo, I cheer for a team. And if that team changes their clothes, they are still the team I'm cheering for. So yeah, change the logo. Do the least amount of harm.

And you, people who are screaming about changes, are not actually being harmed by your team changing its name or its logo. You aren't. The people who are actually being pictured as cartoon images or having a racial slur used as a team name, those are the people that get a vote on if there is harm. Not you, because you have ALWAYS worn a cartoon image of a Native American and now you have to wear something else, that's not harm. It's really not. And just because you have that one Native friend (not really a friend, just a guy you know, okay know isn't really right either, a guy you saw on the news once) who isn't bothered by it doesn't mean they get the only vote. 

In our marriage Brent and I have a rule when it comes to making decisions. The person who actually cares about something gets the vote. Is it important to you and not to me? Then you get the vote that matters.

Are you Native American? Then your vote does not matter. It really doesn't.

Now we come to the part where it's so easy to normalize things.

When we were talking about the changes I told Brent that I was really glad because I was uncomfortable with the Hawk Head gear. He was like, then we shouldn't have any. And took all of his things that he had out to put in the Goodwill pile. Just that easy. 

If it makes you uncomfortable you don't do it.

Oh right.

When we first started following the team I wouldn't buy anything that had the logo on it. If Winterhawks was spelled out with no imagery I would get that. I didn't care for the Hawk Head on the uniform but I couldn't really change that, but I could not buy into it otherwise.

Then it starts to seep. You learn the history of the team and how it ties in to the Chicago Blackhawks and it's not REALLY offensive because it's named for a person, not a tribe and keep ignoring the image it's really fine...and still not buying anything with the logo on it. 

But we are season ticket holders and you get gifts every year and those things had the logo on them.

And then finding any supportive gear without the logo got to be harder and harder. Some years they would have something most years they didn't. So fine. Since it's not really racist...

But I would still have a twinge when I would use my shopping bags or when I was wearing a t-shirt with the Hawk Head logo away from the game. I grew up in New Mexico, I know people who are really offended by the use, it made it uncomfortable. BUT I kept telling myself why it was fine.

Right up until Brent said, Don't do it. You are right, we don't like it. We buy things without it to support the decision to change. We shouldn't support it.

It's good to be married to someone with a black and white view when you are an overthinker. 

So I pulled all of our t-shirts, sweaters, scarves, glasses, mugs, rally towels, flags, jackets...and put them in a stack for Goodwill. I kept our bobble heads and our team pictures, the players are wearing the Hawk Head, but they didn't have a choice in that. The Hawk Head logo will always be part of the team history. And I'm not at the point where I will drop following the team over it, because it seems like they are getting ready to make the right change. If they don't, it will be a decision to face later. But for now what I will do is not contribute to continuing to spread the image. 

If the Winterhawks are planning on completely dropping the Hawk Head logo they are going to get a barrage of nastiness their way from people who are DEEPLY OFFENDED that they don't want to offend Native Americans. It will be ugly.

I hope they do it anyway. 

I cheer for a team, not a logo.

I'd love to be able to wear the team logo without any shame.

Normalization. It happens. We don't even notice it. We justify it. We allow for it. And it seeps in. Pay attention.

Now more than ever we need to be aware of the things that are  normalized.