I didn’t ever really pay much attention to the American Indian protestors complaining that the use of the term “Redskins” was truly offensive. I mean…how could it be, no one really meant to denigrate them with the term. As time has gone by, however, I’ve begun to question the wisdom and validity of this perspective.
How would it feel if someone named a sports team after a group we identified with, and did so with a somewhat insulting or condescending take on our ethnic or belief background. Would we be OK with the Pittsburgh Polacks, the Washington Wops, the Houston Hebes, the Miami Micks, the Detroit Dagos, the Kansas City Krauts, the Wilmington Wogs, the New York Negros or the Fort Worth Fundies? I think not.
I think Washington ought to drop the Redskins name.
My question is - does anyone anywhere use the term Redskin to refer to anything other than the football team? I’ve never heard it used in any other (current - meaning outside some 1950’s cowboy movie) context, and I’m in my mid-30’s.
In other words, has the definition of the term “Redskin” changed, and if so, how does that affect the Native Americans’ argument?
Sorry to dissapoint, although I imagine the Fightin’ Fort Worth Fundies vs the Joltin’ Jersey Jewboys might draw a good sized baseball crowd to the bleachers on some muggy summer night.
I don’t even want to think about the mascot possibilities.
When I was a student there, my Irish American History professor was trying to drum up support to get rid of the nickname. The leprechaun mascot we use is frighteningly similar to derrogatory charicatures of the Irish from the mid to late 1800s, when they were socially on par with African Americans.
The nickname “Fightin’ Irish” was coined by a Chicago sportswriter in the 1920s when he described the Notre Dame Ramblers by saying “they play like a bunch of fighting irish.” It stuck. However, I don’t see ND changing back to the Ramblers anytime soon, as the school is so connected to its adopted Irish heritage.
Don’t have anything to back this up, but a friend of mine in the military was stationed near an Indian reservation and he said a great majority of the residents there (of those that were football fans, that he spoke to) were Washington Redskins fans BECAUSE of the name.
I don’t say this as an argument for keeping the name, but I thought it was kind of curious.
“I hope in the future that Americans are thought of as vicious and warlike, that way they’ll get pro sports teams named after them”
-Jack Handey
Is it too soon to start naming teams after current evil figures?
I mean, we can name teams after the devil. And that’s just as evil as it gets.
Although there’s often a color that gets attached to devils.
Maybe: the springfield high school “blue taliban”
or The “sun taliban”
The Duke university “blue terrorists” has a nice ring to it.
The california “oppressing communists” or maybe “fighting communists”
their colors could be red and khaki.
Maybe some middle east soccer teams will name their mascots “Americans” soon.
That depends. Since the franchise started in Boston in 1876 and only moved to Milwaukee in 1953, I guess Bostonians might think “Boston Braves” has a nicer ring.
I was ten years old when they played their last game in Boston. I’m not from there, and I’ve never even been much of a baseball fan. But, being a geezer, I remember lots of really old stuff!
