Viewpoints

After a storm of criticism over its choice of grand marshal for the 1992 Rose Parade, the Tournament of Roses Assn. named Colorado Rep. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, an

American Indian, as co-grand marshal along with a direct descendant of Christopher Columbus. Was it a good compromise?

Bunny Nightwalker Hatcher

Member of the Pasadena Human Relations Commission

There’s a gaping wound of cultural insensitivity that we have to overcome. This is just a Band-Aid compromise. American history didn’t begin in 1492. The arrival of Columbus is just one little dot on an incredibly long time line that began tens of thousands of years ago. The idea of “discovery” grates on a lot of people. But the Indian community does not speak with one voice. Many feel that this (Campbell’s participation) is a good opportunity for Indian concerns to be expressed, and many feel that Campbell has been co-opted. In my opinion, Ben wanted to show his willingness to come more than halfway. Indians always seem to be the ones making the larger share of the cultural compromises. I’m not satisfied. I think the Tournament of Roses did this because they were facing massive protests and the prospect of looking terribly insensitive. If I thought there was real consciousness-raising here, I’d feel a lot better. Cynic that I am, I believe that expediency rather than the genesis of a new sensitivity was the motivating factor.

Don Young

President of the Pasadena High School student body When I first heard about the selection of Colon, I was shocked. I think it was sort of insensitive. It wasn’t that Colon himself actually did anything wrong. He couldn’t control what his ancestors did. It was the Tournament of Roses. A lot of other countries view the United States as the world leader. President Bush is trying to promote unity and equality. Having Cristobal Colon as the grand marshal of the Rose Parade would cause a lot of countries to question American culture. Colon’s ancestor started slavery (in the New World). A lot of people in school say: “Big deal. It’s not that important.” But they’re overlooking the true meaning of it. It’s bad to ignore things like that. The American Indians are one of our most important role models. They had to overcome so much tragedy in their past. Now they send a congressman to be in such a high position, a really honorable position. I think the Tournament of Roses showed courage by picking another grand marshal. I think it was real positive. I’m glad they did it. It’s just a shame there had to be so much controversy before they did it.

Bess Licher

Secretary/treasurer of Licher Direct Mail This whole thing is ridiculous. I’m totally sick of it. I think it’s just shameful the way the tournament has been so badly bruised. These are all just negative things. Everything seems to be tearing down nowadays, instead of building up. There are a lot of good things going on in the city, but all you hear is big, loud noises from a few people on the City Council who have nothing to do but make negative statements all over the place. Racial turmoil has been pumped up to the point where it isn’t even reasonable. I’m a little disappointed that the tournament capitulated and got the second grand marshal. It’s the first time in history. Why should we change precedent? (Tournament President Robert L.) Cheney didn’t do anything so awful that they had to change the rules. I don’t believe compromising solves anything. You compromise, and they demand something more. It turns into blackmail. Columbus killed Indians? Come on. This guy (Colon) didn’t have anything to do with it. It was his ancestors.

Michael Zinzun

Co-chairman of the Committee for Justice and a civilian review board If they really want to address the issue, they shouldn’t just gloss over racism in America by naming another grand marshal. This is a cop-out. Racism still exists. People from all over the world watch this parade. Let’s openly serve justice by showing that the city of Pasadena went on the record condemning the type of enslavement and exploitation that Columbus brought when he stumbled upon America. The Tournament of Roses must be accountable to the people of Pasadena. They say they’re a private organization, but look at the services that the city unleashes for them every year. Where do all their profits go? Why aren’t there more blacks and women involved in the decision-making process? It wouldn’t take that much to have this relative of Columbus step down while we keep the Native American. It can be done. I think it would set an example for the rest of the country, showing that we’re not going to sit by and let this myth continue. The buck stops with the Tournament of Roses.

Morgan Kousser

Caltech history professor I’m always interested in people learning about history. This discussion has been very informative. A lot of European-Americans and African-Americans hadn’t really thought very hard about all of this. For the first time, the Rose Parade can serve a legitimate educational purpose. Now, when one of the floats breaks down or when there’s a space between the marching bands, people don’t have to engage in insipid conversation about how beautiful the Rose princesses are or how beautiful the weather is. They might talk about what was for Native Americans a holocaust. The vast majority of the Indians (who died after Columbus’ arrival) were killed by disease--malaria, syphilis, smallpox. We’re in a parallel time in world history, with a disease for which there are no built-up immunities beginning to scourge the world. This time, we are all Native Americans, facing the AIDS epidemic. It gives us a sense of our own connection to historical events. The discussion has already been very productive. Education can be dislocating. It’s not simply something that goes on in a classroom.