Stereotyping Mascots

Re “San Diego State Panel Suggests Mascot Changes,” May 3: Once again a controversy surfaces over the use of Native American characters as mascots. And still some have difficulty seeing why this is offensive. Yet, can anyone imagine calling the Washington Redskins the Blackskins? Would the Cleveland Indians’ feathered, grinning Indian logo be tolerated if it depicted any other character by race or ethnicity?

Perhaps those in favor of these stereotypes would get the picture if their mascot was a white person in a Ku Klux Klan robe.

Richard Baker

Beverly Hills