The Briefing Room
General Category => National/Breaking News => Topic started by: rangerrebew on June 25, 2014, 04:46:36 pm
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Author: Ashley Herzog
Posted: June 25, 2014
Well, this is the least surprising news ever. Immediately after five Native Americans (yes, only five) calling themselves “People Not Mascots” won a lawsuit against the Washington Redskins to force a name change, they’ve announced that they’re not satisfied, and the Cleveland Indians are next.
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At least one could argue that someone, somewhere in American history has used the word “redskin” as a disparaging term. (Although Slate published a long, well-researched history of the word, and it’s a lot more complicated than that. It seems the people who invented the term “red skins” to describe Native Americans were…Native Americans.) But since when is “Indian” an unspeakable insult?
Even the National Congress of American Indians, the group behind an anti-Redskins Super Bowl ad, included the word “Indian” in a list of positive ways to describe Native Americans. Oh, and the National Congress of Native Americans has a lot more than five members.
Anyway, now that People Not Mascots won its lawsuit against the only team with an arguably racist name, they’ve moved on to claiming that mascots—all of them—are inherently offensive. Listen to this:
“It’s been offensive since day one,” a member of the group told NBC News. “We are not mascots. My children are not mascots. We are people.”
Uh oh. If people aren’t mascots, and that’s what the problem is, then we just opened the door for all sorts of groups—historically oppressed or not—to start spamming the courts with petty lawsuits. Aren’t most team names and mascots based on people? How about the Dallas Cowboys? Cowboys were real people in American history, and many lived short, brutal lives in stark conditions. How can we mock their history? People, not mascots! What about the little redheaded man with his fists in the air who represents Notre Dame’s “Fighting Irish”? As a half-Irish person and a distant descendant of the real-life Irish boxer Jack Dempsey, I’m offended by this stereotype. (Just kidding. You’d be hard-pressed to find an Irish-American who cares, much less one who’s outraged—and trust me, there’s nothing Irish-Americans love more than being outraged.)
I’m not going to be one of those clueless white people who downplays the existence of racial stereotypes, injustices (historical and modern), and slurs. Nor am I going to suggest that all groups have suffered equally from these things. I do, however, believe in sorting out pressing issues from petty ones. “Indian” is not a slur—at least not to anyone but a few power-hungry individuals filing lawsuits and claiming to be offended. Why should five people be permitted to change the name and mascot of a sports team in a city they don’t live in and would probably never visit?
Read more: http://www.thepoliticalinsider.com/native-american-group-files-lawsuit/#ixzz35fcP1NdM
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This ain't gonna happen either.
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This ain't gonna happen either.
Common sense would say as much, but in Obama's America, who knows?
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The Cleveland area was the home of the Erie Indians. Because of their location, and the fur trade, they were the victims of a virtual genocide. By the Iroquois Confederacy. Ain't life grand.
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Truth be told, their mascot does have a bit of a "Sambo" vibe to it.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/52/Cleveland_Indians_logo.svg/200px-Cleveland_Indians_logo.svg.png)
(http://www.backintimetradingpost.com/product-photos/smoking-sambo-standup-1-1294524126.gif)
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The Cleveland Spiders' name was changed to the Cleveland Indians because a brilliant player named Louis Sockalexis was the first self-proclaimed Native American to play baseball.
The name is more than a century old, and there's no way it's going to change because of 5 gripers.
The name is an HONOR to Native Americans.
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Truth be told, their mascot does have a bit of a "Sambo" vibe to it.
I have long thought that it would be best to get rid of Chief Wahoo.
That could be done without changing the name.
Go TRIBE! ^-^
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I have long thought that it would be best to get rid of Chief Wahoo.
That could be done without changing the name.
Go TRIBE! ^-^
I have no problem with the name Indians, but yes, that caricature is just silly, and could easily be changed to something that honors Indians.
Can you imagine a team called the Long Island Jews, and with this logo? :pondering:
(http://martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/jan2009/stereotype-jew.gif)
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I want a lawsuit against Centenary College (La), their team is named "Gentlemen" and as I am no gentleman, I am offended.
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I have no problem with the name Indians, but yes, that caricature is just silly, and could easily be changed to something that honors Indians.
Can you imagine a team called the Long Island Jews, and with this logo? :pondering:
(http://martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/jan2009/stereotype-jew.gif)
Hmmmm.............interesting parallel, and equally inappropriate, methinks.
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I have to believe the name NY YANKEES is offensive to many in the south. Time for them to change the name. :whistle:
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I have to weigh in by admitting my deepest love. I love terrapins!
Whenever I hear a person call a terrapin a turtle, my blood boils.
So given that, you can understand how much it hurts, it hurts, every time I hear the honorable, gentle, terrapins being referred to as being "terrible". This slander must be stopped. NOW!
I am petitioning for all of sport and America in general to stop this awful defamation of a once nobel creature.
This is racism, or "beastism", at full sail. And I will not tolerate it any longer.
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People have been pissing an moaning about this for decades, and with all of the hubbub about the Washington Redskins, the opportunists have come out of the closet.
This. Will. Not. Happen.
Either.
The truth is, many of these people would bitch if you cut their throats from ear to ear. If it was not this it would be something else. Some people are never meant to be happy in life and complaining is the only way in their sad little lives of getting any attention at all.
I say, don't piss on 'em, give 'em the boot.......
:smokin:
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Certainly it is sacrilegious to carry the name "Angels," to at least some.
And exploiting Scandinavians with "Vikings" has to stop.
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They should concern themselves with people like Fauxcahontas and Brokeahontas........
:whistle: