Suits

 

People in suits. No, not business suits. Costume suits. 

Let me try to word this better: school mascots. If your school’s mascot is, say, a panther, you will not be trotting out an actual, real-live panther at sports events and other school functions. You will have a person in a suit. Why do we do this?

I suppose it started with college sports. Did those storied gridiron matches of yore produce the first costumed mascots? Or was it professional sports teams that started the trend? I don’t know.

What I don’t understand is why every school from high school on down to elementary seems to require a person in a suit these days. It certainly can’t be very comfortable inside one of those big, furry costumes, especially the head component. Sometimes they can be difficult to move around in. Is it possible to professionally clean and sanitize those things?

It seems to me to be a lot more trouble than it is worth.

And yet costumed mascots are pretty much de rigeur for any respectable school these days. If you asked folks why this has come to be, what do you think they’d say? Perhaps they’d mention school identity, school spirit, community feeling, and just plain fun.

It’s that last one that I’d like to talk about this morning. As we embark on a new school year I’d like to say a word about the kids who do not think that mascots in suits are even remotely fun. There will almost always be some in every school. Just as some people are terrified of clowns, some are petrified in the presence of the Red Robin, the Chick fil a Cow, and the school mascot. 

They may someday outgrow this fear, BUT: it does not help to push them, against their will, to interact or get close to these life-sized characters. Some of my worst memories of childhood come from grownups making me do something I feared and then saying smugly, ”there now, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” afterwards. 

It almost always was “so bad” and observing the adult’s self-congratulatory behavior after taking away my ability to express consent made it worse. Don’t be that kind of adult. 

I was not afraid of people in costume suits, by the way. But I have known some people who are. And taught some. It’s a very real fear to them even if it makes no sense to you. Those kids deserve respect and empathy. It takes thought, creativity, and maybe a little extra time to make sure that those kids feel safe. Do it. There a long-term consequences for everyone involved.

Who gets accepted? Who gets mocked? Who deserves empathy? Seeing a situation like that unfold at school teaches students who can be trusted and who cannot. It also shows them who teachers/adult value and who they don’t. That will contribute to their own world view and subsequent behavior. 

Notice I am not saying that we should get rid of costumed mascots because some students fear them. I’m asking that you be ready to provide some support for kids for whom a person in a suit means terror/dread/flight. They’re not necessarily diagnosed special needs kids, if that is what you are thinking. It’s also incorrect to assume there’s “something wrong with them.” 

Their brains perceive the experience differently. One child said to me, “It’s the size. A real squirrel just isn’t that big.” What ever the reason - - and often it’s not easily explainable - - it’s valid. Honor it. Saying,”Oh, don’t be silly!” will have no positive effect whatsoever.

It’s not the job of schools to teach children to love costumed mascots. They can help students learn how to navigate a world where they exist in a way that affirms who they are rather than squashes it. 

If you are thinking that there are other situations in which this applies, you are probably right.