Is LSU’s Mascot a Racist Symbol?
As one Confederate symbol after another disappears from view, a student at LSU is now drawing attention to what is being called another symbol of racism.
The LSU Tiger mascot.
According to a story on the website theblaze.com, an LSU student has started a petition on change.org, calling for the removal of the Tiger mascot. The petition states, in part:
“These powerful white males choose the Tiger [sic] as a symbol to honor a confederate regiment called Louisiana’s Tigers,” it says. “They were known for their propensity for violence on and off the battle field. They were just as violent to the black slaves they owned, and later even more violent once those slaves were set free.
“It is incredibly insulting for any African American to have to attend a school that honors confederate militantism. It is already hard enough to be black at LSU, and these symbols must be changed,”
The petition also criticizes the use of a live tiger as a mascot, claiming it is cruel to cage a live animal "for the amusement of privileged white people.
As one would expect, not everyone is in agreement. In a response to the story, one person rebutted the premise, citing Wikipedia as his source:
“The Louisiana Tigers were not slave owners. They were the poorest Irish immigrants who performed such backbreaking and dangerous manual labor that the slave owners of the time didn’t even want their slaves to do it because their lives were considered more valuable.”
There has been no official response from LSU on the petition.