Senator Urges Redskins Change

[deleted-05292014 331]

I know what you are saying and I completely understand how difficult it is to have a conversation, especially here, and I know Native Americans personally who are for and against renaming the team. Our own local school team name is the Braves and there is the same debate about that, with the same folks on either side of that argument as well.

The history of our local school team name and mascot though is very interesting in that now deceased Tribal elders were the driving force behind the school team name and mascot.

I personally find it quite possible to separate use of offensive words based on context instead of seeing them as always bad. I think we are turning into a nation of people who are far too easily offended and try too hard to force their issues on everyone else.

Having said that, I know racism is a long way from being dead and gone.

Yes but Braves & Redskins are not the same. Not even in the same ballpark, matter of speaking.

If you understand the history of the word, the origin particularly as it applies to the football team then I think you would reconsider your position. I'm sure there are many Indians who do not know the history of the Washington Redskins and therefore out of ignorance may not see it as offensive.

[GandD 5,966]

http://black-face.com/

http://yellow-face.com/

http://brown-face.com/

http://arabface.us/

http://jewface.us/

Pick your flavor you want to read about. Redskins is as offensive as any of the other racist images and names associated with other races.

Meh, most of those were funny. I don't think you get the concept of comedy. It can be healthy to joke about stereotypes. Comedians do it all the time. Sometimes its race stereotypes and sometimes its about gender stereotypes. The "buck" image on black face made me laugh a little. Kinda reminded me of Bernie Mac when he was being "interrogated" in oceans 11. Anyway, yeah, I laughed at that stereotype and a few others, because they're funny. Would i assume a random black guy I meet on the street or in a job interview or whatever is a certain way because the color of his skin? Of course not. I think that you link those two together because of your own issues. I'm from KY so I always get made fun of for being inbreed or a hick from northern folks. Its funny and I usually play into it. But there's a difference between people joking about stereotypes and counting you or your opinion out because of what you look like or where you come from. People that do that, well, you and I are on the same side there.

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

I know what you are saying and I completely understand how difficult it is to have a conversation, especially here, and I know Native Americans personally who are for and against renaming the team. Our own local school team name is the Braves and there is the same debate about that, with the same folks on either side of that argument as well.

The history of our local school team name and mascot though is very interesting in that now deceased Tribal elders were the driving force behind the school team name and mascot.

I personally find it quite possible to separate use of offensive words based on context instead of seeing them as always bad. I think we are turning into a nation of people who are far too easily offended and try too hard to force their issues on everyone else.

Having said that, I know racism is a long way from being dead and gone.

You know reading this made me think. I don;t know one single Native American person, that I am aware of. I wonder if that is common.

[LibCampFireClub 635]

Yeah. I'm on this bandwagon. It's time to change this age-ole name from an injun name to a happnin country redneck name. Lessee. Gots to keep the ole injun part in the name, but keep it nice and sweet. Hmmmm. I gots it. To keep in tune with social trends we can have the Gay Hunters, or Happy Wampums. For the metro sexuals we can have the Firewater Martinis.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

You know reading this made me think. I don;t know one single Native American person, that I am aware of. I wonder if that is common.

This made me think about the Chris Rock skit about Native Americans, how you'll never see a group of them walking around.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

This made me think about the Chris Rock skit about Native Americans, how you'll never see a group of them walking around.

I had a bunch of them in my Guard unit. Mexicans too. Don't ever mix them up, especially when they have been drinking. It seems alcohol effects the two groups differently. One group becomes much too friendly, the other can become rather confrontational. That is not to generalize, but a word to the wise is sufficient.

[scandal 951]

In my view, it's the members of a minority group who ought to have the ultimate say-so on whether they find a term offensive to their group.

I don't think it's the broader population, which has the history of doing the victimizing, which gets to state whether a certain term is or is not appropriate. I certainly don't think Daniel Snyder has the academic credentials to have researched the effects of his team's name. To those who say "stop being so sensitive, have a thick skin, don't be so PC", I would respond "when you've experienced bigotry and prejudice personally as have oppressed minorities, I'll be more willing to consider your opinion". What I'm hearing here seems to be a lot of people in the comfortable majority not willing to allow themselves to be disturbed by what they might find out about their views if they probe too deeply.

The history of racism in this country is one which has gone from overt and vicious exclusion, to one that is more subtle but still present, and which demands vigilance. To my mind, if the designated representative bodies of Native Americans think it's time for Washington to rename its football team, then by golly I think it's time.

The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) is "the oldest, largest, and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native organization serving the broad interests of tribal governments and communities."

Here is their view on whether the "R-word" (their designation) is offensive or not. Apparently, they believe strongly that it is.

http://www.ncai.org/news/articles/2014/03/25/ncai-true-support-of-indian-country-only-possible-if-dc-team-changes-name

http://www.ncai.org/news/articles/2014/03/25/ncai-true-support-of-indian-country-only-possible-if-dc-team-changes-name

NCAI: True Support Of Indian Country Only Possible If DC Team Changes Name Published on MAR 25, 2014

WASHINGTON, DC – The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) is encouraged to see that after decades of insisting their team name supposedly honors Indian Country, the Washington, DC football team’s owner is dedicating time and resources to the challenges facing tribal nations.

However, this Foundation will only contribute to the problems in Indian Country if it does not also address the very real issue of how Native people are consistently stereotyped, caricaturized, and denigrated by mascot imagery and the use of the R-word slur. For Mr. Snyder and the Foundation to truly support and partner with Indian Country, they must first change the name of the DC team and prove that the creation of this organization isn’t just a publicity stunt.

For more information, please read the following reports on the effects of the R-word on Indian Country:

• Ending the Legacy of Racism in Sports & the Era of Harmful “Indian” Sports Mascots

• The Harmful Psychological Effects of the Washington Football Mascot

[ready4ONE 5,400]

Yes but Braves & Redskins are not the same. Not even in the same ballpark, matter of speaking.

If you understand the history of the word, the origin particularly as it applies to the football team then I think you would reconsider your position. I'm sure there are many Indians who do not know the history of the Washington Redskins and therefore out of ignorance may not see it as offensive.

Yes but see now, there you go using the word Indians. Some Native Americans are very offended by it. Others not at all. I think it's funny because it derives from Columbus mistakenly thinking he had circumnavigated the globe successfully.

The Cleveland Indians baseball team logo is not flattering by any means, yet many Native Americans wear their gear proudly even when not specifically a fan of the team.

The Washington Redskins logo is by contrast quite tasteful. I will have to say that I don't know the original intent in choosing the teams name but it has changed now at least for most people.

Certainly the N word was not a term of endearment in the past, but as I stated, it's now been flipped on it's head and gets used as a term of endearment now. Using it that way takes away its power from those who use it for denigration.

Braves is indeed a proud word in Native American history yet there are people complaining about it.

[Karee 4,190]

I'm from KY so I always get made fun of for being inbreed or a hick from northern folks. Its funny and I usually play into it. But there's a difference between people joking about stereotypes and counting you or your opinion out because of what you look like or where you come from. People that do that, well, you and I are on the same side there.

[ready4ONE 5,400]

You know reading this made me think. I don;t know one single Native American person, that I am aware of. I wonder if that is common.

I imagine that it depends on where you live. I happen to have two Native American children and as I said earlier, the Native Americans I know include both the offended and not offended, so I don't think that it is reasonable to try and say that there isn't disagreement even within the alleged group being wronged by the team names and mascots.

This doesn't mean that some aren't genuinely offended but it does mean that there is some effort to ignore those who aren't bothered by them and somehow still use them as part of the reason for changing the names and mascots.

Completely dismissing the opinions of anyone not a member of the group claiming offense seems to be another one of the tactics in these types of debates.

Racism is alive and well in the US but I don't believe that team names and mascots are really representative of the issue in the sense that they might have been at their inception.