Butter Maiden Mia Isn’t Racist [PHIL-OSOPHY]

Life is too short to fall for cock-and-bull-stories where they play the race card. What am I talking about? After nearly 100 years, Land O Lakes has decided to remove the "butter maiden, Mia" from its packaging after years of constant subjection from critics claiming the Native American woman logo was racist imagery. I consider it to be iconic imagery.

Fundamentally, the overarching question is did racism actually occur here? The removal of Mia was met with celebration and cheer by Twitter users who said Land O Lakes should never have used the maiden with feathers and braids. Oh, my God! Folks, can you believe she wore long braids? According to the apostates, this logo was on the same level as the Native Americans and Pilgrims sharing a quiet reverence of the first Thanksgiving.

Mia appeared in 1928 and was created by illustrator Arthur C. Hanson for the advertising firm Brown and Bigelow. Native American artist Patrick DesJarlait, of the Ojibwe tribe, redesigned the look in the 1950s to foster a sense of American Indian pride. His son, Robert DesJarlait, said the logo that critics have for years called racist has become a paradox or a Catch-22 for Native Americans because, in the 1950s, nobody thought about stereotypical imagery. Today, he says, it's a stereotype, but it's also a source of cultural pride.

If you gauge support from comments on social media, the majority applaud the removal of what they call a racist logo and are glad she's finally gone. I'm not glad, though.

I call, what they've done here, the other contagion or virtual superbug that's going around and killing off the fabric of society, and everyday people are fearful to stand up against them for worries of being labeled a racist and a bigot. Get rid of that fear because you're not the intolerant one. They are!

Phil Paleologos is the host of The Phil Paleologos Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Contact him at phil@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @PhilPaleologos.The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.