What if the Washington Redskins said that they would keep the name Redskins, but the name no longer referenced Native Americans (despite the high honor it obviously bestows upon them)? From that point on, so they could say, the Redskins so referenced are, say, the fans and the team*, whose passion burns so bright in their hearts it is visible through their skin (sorta like ET).
Now, before I am guffawed out of town on a rail, consider that King County, Washington, wherein sits Seattle, did a similar thing about 30 years ago. When the county was formed back in 1852, it was named after then Vice President elect William Rufus King, an Alabamian who never set foot in the land named in his honor (and who incidentally died of TB several months later). In the latter decades of the prior century, a movement came afoot that the commemoration of William Rufus King was historically passe, and it would be much more meaningful to “rename” the county after Martin Luther King, Jr, a Georgian who, back in the early 60’s, had once spent 2 days in the county. The county council then passed a thingamajig, and the state later ratified it, and from that moment on, while the actual name of the county remained the same, the namesake of the county had changed.
Why couldn’t the Washington Redskins do something like that? Of course, they would have to delete any references to Native Americans in their accoutrements and logos and such, but teams to that all the time. (King County did that too.)
Or would this whole thing just be silly?
*What makes the most sense would be to rename the team after the Virginia Redskin Peanut, as a large chunk of the team’s fan base hail from Virginia and peanuts, who doesn’t like peanuts?
I’m sure when King County was renamed, the people proposing it were sincere in wanting to honor MLK. In this case, I don’t think anyone would believe for a second that Daniel Snyder would be sincere in the slightest in wanting to get rid of an overtly racist team name.
If the Klan announced that henceforth whenever they use the word “nigger” they really just mean “asshole”, do you think people would be okay with the Klan using the word “nigger” all the time to describe people? Do you think people should be okay with that?
If everyone followed that shift in meaning – and this has happened in the English language – (are you feeling gay today?) – then, why not? It would be fine if the word could be de-coupled from its current meaning.
If only a group of assholes did it, it doesn’t count for much.
The latter, but that’s the problem. It’s like thinking of black people as proud African Savages. The whole “proud Indian” thing–the noble savage imagery–is a huge part of the problem. Unless it’s actually a part of your ancestry, appropriating another group because they are “proud warriors” or similar is kinda offensive. Throw in a derogatory name on top of that, and people see it as racist.
The courts proved that “Redskin” was an offensive term when the trademark was created. That’s what’s required to invalidate it on indecency grounds. But the people creating it just didn’t care.
Noble Savage… :dubious: Who is painting the picture this way?
American Indians are part of our ancestry. We named tributaries and land areas in deference to the names they gave them. Small compensation for forcing them off the land but the respect is there.
It’s not that I don’t understand your point, I just think it’s somewhat misguided. Maybe it’s because my old HS used a similar figurehead. I’ve always looked at it as part of history.
I feel like people have already tried this, I have heard a defense (multiple times from various folks) that the term redskin comes from when the team was in Boston, and it was related to Boston baked beans. Which are maybe red-skinned beans? It seems like an urban legend to me.
I don’t know what their logo was while they were in Boston. If it was a picture that featured a baked bean, perhaps people could buy that argument. But in any case, it’s currently an Indian head and no longer a legume (if it ever was that). So I don’t think anyone would really believe Redskins refers to the beans currently.
IT won’t work because you can’lt dictate the meaning and connotation of words. There’s glory for you.
The Boston Redskins were clearly referring to native Americans, since at the time it was first used, there were also the Boston Braves. Newer teams in big cities sometimes draw some connection to established teams for their nicknames (Giants/Titans, Tigers/Lions, Mets/Jets/Nets).
If the Washington Redskins did this maybe it would facilitate a decoupling of the word redskin from its historically pejorative meaning. In a way, they have already done a decoupling, as the word Redskins seems far more often to be used in reference to the team, rather than used to disparage Native Americans, a usage which in and of itself seems to be dying. Paradoxically, however, by continuing to use Native American motifs in association with the word, the team is also the main driving force keeping the pejorative meaning alive.
I’ve always thought “Warriors” would be the best fit. The theme would be Native American warriors, and their imagery (without the Chief’s face imagery) could be similar or identical in most uses to what’s already used.
Maybe they should change it to “Brownskins” and have a mascot of a black dude with a fro. You know, to honor African Americans, since those ungrateful Native Americans aren’t quite digging the way they’ve been honored. Whatever happens, I’m sure with enough white guys working the problem, we’ll come up with a good solution.
I think that in this internet age, its too late to do something like this and expect to get away with it. Too many people would still protest the origins of the name. It just wouldn’t work.
If he really doesn’t want to change the name, Snyder can do a little bit to make the angry mob back off. Just remove all instances of Native Americans from the team. That may buy him some time until the current wave of outrage die down. Get rid of the log, get rid of any language anywhere that reference them, everything.
But he should really change the name. Also sell the team and go away forever
Or Snyder could simply say, “damaging men’s brains in the name of entertainment is a lousy way to make a living. I’m putting the team on the market, and whoever buys the team can deal with both the name of the team, and the effects of the game.”