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Washington Redskins name
- Thread starter blue4
- Start date
Yeah, I like that name.
What bout the Chiefs? Braves? Blackhawks? Surely those names can't be 100% pure.
From what I understand, Yankee was a derogatory term also, used to describe Americans by the British. Maybe, we should find that offensive too and stop using it.
What bout the Chiefs? Braves? Blackhawks? Surely those names can't be 100% pure.
From what I understand, Yankee was a derogatory term also, used to describe Americans by the British. Maybe, we should find that offensive too and stop using it.
Those are either names of people, or something akin to a title.
Yankee, I am not sure.
Empathy has been on a steady decline for years. Amazing how clueless some are. People are so thick that they can't see a slight unless it's against them?
Sad but true.
This topic brings to mind comedian Dom Irrera's classic bits. He'd call someone every derogatory name in the book and tag it with "... but I don't mean that in a bad way". Which of course made it okay.
The Redskins are local for me. Dan Snyder is making money because of the rabid fan base but the organization has sucked for years on the field. The local basketball team used to be called the Bullets. Now the Wizards That name change yielded a great opportunity to sell more swag (can't remember the last time the old name was mentioned)... I'd think that would be an obvious plus to Snyder and maybe he's pushing his refusal as part of a bigger ploy. Or maybe he really is the arrogant, myopic bonehead many think he is.
As someone who grew up watching westerns where the term in question was rarely used alone, it was usually preceded by "dirty", "filthy", etc., the name always struck me as derogatory even as a child and the fact that so many were willfully blind to it was sad but hey.... that's real life. Maybe they could change the name to the Washington Savages. Who'd have a problem with that?
People have had a problem with this for decades. Decades. This isn't new but that doesn't keep folks from raising the PC flag or some such nonsense. It's been wrong, it can't be fixed retroactively. What really cracks me up is when I see people of color defend the name locally because of their blind allegiance to a sports team. Nothing quite like a short memory or worse... no memory or awareness at all.
If you can't see what's going on simply take a name that is very derogatory to something about you or your family or friends. And put it after the name of a sports town. If you still don't get it and no doubt some might not, buy a Washington jersey... for the good times. I don't expect any more than I get from most folks so either one works for me. It's the real world.
I LOL'd.
In that vein, a TSA agent in Florida IIRC recently demanded a passport from a traveller because they had a District of Columbia drivers license.
I didn't, actually.
Apparently I do a very good job of being a sports ignorant geek.
Evidently polls have shown that even most Native Americans aren't highly motivated to change the name. Even fewer of the non-Native-American population see it as a big deal.
But to those who really care, they REALLY REALLY care and they have done a good job of keeping this highly visible and a current news item.
The smart thing to do and the best PR move would be to find a new name which relates to the concept of Native American valor and strength, and to make the change. After all, think of the new merchandising opportunities...jerseys, hats and such. They will go flying out the door...and they will also be able to sell tons of nostalgia jerseys.
But to those who really care, they REALLY REALLY care and they have done a good job of keeping this highly visible and a current news item.
The smart thing to do and the best PR move would be to find a new name which relates to the concept of Native American valor and strength, and to make the change. After all, think of the new merchandising opportunities...jerseys, hats and such. They will go flying out the door...and they will also be able to sell tons of nostalgia jerseys.
I've always heard that myself (the bolded part) and figured "Well...I guess that must be what it is". Two years ago I went to the Santa Barbara and paid a visit to their mission. One display was a puzzle map of the Native tribes of California; a puzzle piece for each tribe. There were hundreds. It was impossible to try and put that puzzle together without sticking around for an hour or more. I knew there were a lot of tribes here originally, and each functioned as its own culture. But that put it in HD for me. The next time I heard about this Redskins thing I thought "Well who is conducting the poll (I think the team itself is the one who put out the results)? Whom are they polling? Which tribes heard "redskin" all the time? Which tribes never, ever heard it?" Personally I never thought anyone would be offended by it. But far be it from me to make the call....
I agree the name will probably be changed, as the best PR move if nothing else.
EDIT: In my quest to find out just how many tribes there were originally in CA, I came across this piece about a guy who made a "Map of Native America." Very interesting read
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Correct me if I am wrong, but I am going to assume you're a white male. As a fellow white male, it is easy for us not to perceive the effects of words and images because, purely by accident of birth, we're at the top of the, ahem, totem pole. Image of a leader? Typically a white male. Image of a hero? Typically a white male. Superhero? Typically a white male or less frequently white female. What I'm getting at is that that we, as white males, are accustomed to the world reflecting back our own image what is best and most desirable. This is beginning to change, and I think part of the animosity in our national politics stems from this change.
I am not engaging in white guilt or apologetics, this is simply a demonstrable fact of life in the United States, and I can't the change the fact that I was born white and male any more than anyone else can change their race/ethnicity and gender (yes, you can change your sex, but that's not exactly a widespread phenomenon).
So, all that being said, I can certainly see how 'redskin' would be considered offensive and derogatory and I have no problem with DC's team having to change their name and logo. It's an NFL team, they have plenty enough money, especially if the league assists them, to rebrand.
I am indeed a white male.
I don't think derogatory terms are meaningless, but my point is there's a difference between a hateful person calling someone a racist slur.... and hitting them with a baseball bat because of that hatefulness.
