If nothing else, the current debate over the Wakefield Warrior logo has been educational.

I’m not talking about learning the unique history of the logo. It’s been well-established that a local Native American family and the four-star general for whom we named the Galvin Middle School played key roles in the history of the Warrior name and logo.

What the current uproar has revealed are the depths to which one side will sink to win a political debate.

It’s not just the usual freelance social media attack dogs. We are also seeing coordinated political strategies designed to discredit and silence opposition while at the same time distracting the public.

Let us examine a few of these tactics, which come straight out of a well-worn playbook.

First, attack history. On a national level, this involves tearing down statues in order to deny the past. In the current local debate, it means tearing down the Bayrd family by claiming that they are not true Native Americans.
The Bayrds have deep links to the Warrior name and the logo’s origins, and members of this local Native American family have long proclaimed their support for retaining the name and logo.

So, of course they must be discredited.

Anyone else remember when questioning someone’s ancestry was unfair and “racist?”
That was then. This is now.

The defamers on social media cite an anonymous online blog called “Ancestor Stealing.” The blog’s nameless author claims that in the early part of the 20th century, some Bayrd ancestors told the U.S. Census that they were white.

Those spreading this smear on social media are the same people who are telling us that we should not use the Indian logo because of the past injustices suffered by Native Americans. Yet somehow, it never dawns on these folks that, historically, some Native Americans have claimed to be “white” to avoid those very injustices.

Another tactic is to ridicule WHS graduates, especially former Warrior athletes, who dare voice any attachment to the logo. They have been mocked in online posts as “aging jocks” desperately clinging to their “glory days.” The targets of this cruel mockery have included members of the Wakefield High School Athletic Hall of Fame.

Another charming strategy being used to silence opposition is a coordinated campaign to publicly accuse anyone, including the press, of “attacking children” if they dare voice anything short of enthusiastic support for the Youth Council’s recommendation to cancel the Warrior logo.

So, if you differ with the Youth Council and want to preserve the logo, you are not merely a racist. You’re a bully and a child-abuser too!

Are you beginning to see how this works?

Finally, there’s the manipulation of language. Is the Warrior a logo or a “mascot?”

While I’m sure that many believe those terms are interchangeable, a “mascot” is typically seen as something frivolous, even silly, like Wally the Green Monster or the Phillie Phanatic.

“Human beings are not mascots,” they tell us.

A good logo, on the other hand, is an effective symbol that stands for something substantial and consequential.

Is there any doubt that some are deliberately referring to the Warrior as a “mascot” as a way to trivialize its importance to the community and make it into something offensive?

As the debate heats up over the coming weeks, it’s important to recognize these tactics for what they are: part of a coordinated game plan. When you don’t have public opinion on your side, all you can do is try to discredit and smear your opponents.

It’s a strategy as old as politics.
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[This column originally appeared in the February 11, 2021 Wakefield Daily Item.]