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Graham Dockery

is an Irish journalist, commentator, and writer at RT. Previously based in Amsterdam, he wrote for DutchNews and a scatter of local and national newspapers.

is an Irish journalist, commentator, and writer at RT. Previously based in Amsterdam, he wrote for DutchNews and a scatter of local and national newspapers.

Social justice types cheered when Minnesota dairy firm Land OLakes removed a racist image of a Native American girl from its packaging. But on the bizarre battlefields of the culture wars, nobody wins.

Mia, a Native American woman complete with feathered headdress, has graced Land OLakes packaging since the 1920s. During that time shes gone through several redesigns, but the company quietly scrapped her in February, leaving a plain landscape behind. By the end of the year, Land OLakes farmers and suppliers will feature on its packaging in her place.

The company gave no reason for doing away with Mia, but its widely suspected that the move was to please the social justice crowd. Native American academic Lisa Monchalin previously called Mia an example of sexualized depictions of Indigenous women, while North Dakota state Rep. Ruth Buffalo (D) - also a Native American said that the image of the comely butter maiden goes hand-in-hand with human and sex trafficking of our women and girls by depicting Native women as sex objects.

Hang on. Who on earth associated the butter girl with sex? When last I checked, fully clothed milkmaids dont make the Playboy centerfolds. Burlap dresses arent the new bikini bottoms. Her ties with human and sex trafficking too are a ridiculous overreach.

But the conservative outcry at her removal is ridiculous too. Land OLakes website has been flooded with one-star reviews in recent days by customers who say theyll boycott the company for buckling to political correctness. Even Iowa Congressman Steve King (R) got involved, lamenting the work of the PC millennials whove taken over his apparently beloved butter brand. Okay boomer.

To top it all off, Robert DesJarlait, the son of the artist who drew the current iteration of Mia, joined the debate in a Washington Post op-ed on Wednesday. DesJarlaits father who is Native American added some genuine Ojibwe tribal motifs to Mias dress, a flourish Robert said helped his father maintain a connection to his identity.

She simply didnt fit the parameters of a stereotype, DesJarlait said, adding that her removal leaves behind a landscape voided of identity and history. Paraphrasing an ironic meme thats done the rounds since the debacle kicked off, DesJarlait quipped they got rid of the Indian and kept the land.

If theres anything we can learn from this debacle, its that in these most minor battles in the online culture wars, nobody wins. Mias inclusion on the butter pack is racist, but her removal is erasure. You cant please everyone, and if we remove everything deemed problematic, who really benefits?

Not the Native Americans, DesJarlait thinks.

As an Irishman, I dont feel stigmatized, and certainly not sexualized, when I see the Lucky Charms leprechaun. But I wouldnt get beat out of shape if General Mills removed his winking visage from their cereal boxes. I simply wouldnt eat Lucky Charms because I dont want diabetes.

Maybe everyone aggrieved by Buttergate can reevaluate their choices on different grounds. For instance, should Land OLakes products be canceled not because of their imagery, but because of their practise of pumping their spreadable butter full of canola oil a nutritionally devoid seed oil that causes oxidation of the organs?

At the very least, discussing the health implications of consuming such a product would go some way toward solving a real problem.

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The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.

Link:
Who needs woke butter wars? Dairy company removes racist depiction of Native American woman but Native artist says it was fine - RT