Are any DUers offended by the "Redskins" mascot name?

[Catherine Vincent]

There was a poll that said only 9% felt offended by the name. I guess that settles it, eh?

[Maple]

1. And who

did the poll ask?

[tcfrogs]

3. Racists!

Duh!

[Blue-Jay]

4. Apparently..

They didn't ask any "injuns".

[enigmatic]

2. I'm a quarter Ojibwa and it doesn't bother me..

It's a non-issue to me..

[Maple]

6. And you are three-quarters.......?

And this matters up against 'full-blooded' First Nations who bore the full brunt of the European encroachment?

[enigmatic]

10. I'm also Irish and French-Canadian

And they didn't have it too well, either.

My Mother was half-Ojiwa, and she didn't care about it either; her favorite NHL team was the Chicago Blackhawks. There are more important things in the world that need to be addressed than this IMO..

[LiberalTechie1337]

5. I bet they would feel different if it were their heritage being mocked

can you imagine the outcry if there was a team called the Whities.

[buycitgo]

9. Hartford Honkie Mofos?

[HEyHEY]

7. Seeing as how I'm not of first nations heritage- does my opinion matter?

I sure hope not. Cause I wouldn't want a bunch of Americans deciding what offendsme as a Canadian.

[buycitgo]

8. would this be considered racist?

btw, I think the redskins logo be racist, and I'm a fan of them and the Fightin' Illini

[LTR]

13. No, that would be considered fucking hilarious!

That's funny.

I don't consider too many of those names to be racist. Granted, the Cleveland Indians' mascot is pushing it, but these names have been around long enough to lose most of their offensive value.

As an example, I'm Irish, and I'm only offended by Notre Dame's nickname (Fighting Irish) when they field shitty teams. As a matter of fact, I use the nickname "Fighting Irish" on other boards, and it was my original moniker here (but for some reason, I had trouble registering at the time, and chose my current name as a spur of the moment thing when I came back and finally re-registered a few months later).

[Jokinomx]

11. I am not offended by the word so much as the fact that teams that

use it and the fans that support the use of it... have no regard for the feelings of a group of people that we (Europeans) simply massacred. If the word offends one Native American... the term shouldn't be used. There are so many other names that are suitable...

Greenville's (my hometown) H.S. rivals are the Belding Redskins... I simply have no use for the town or the people that support the use of the name.

On a lighter note.. did you hear of the basketball team from North or South Dakota... that used the nickname.. "Fighting Whities"...:-)

[buycitgo]

14. top this: Pekin Chinks

just outside Peoria

they finally dropped it

this is pretty entertaining...window to the soul, if you will

am a "Chink"!

My ancestry is French/Dutch.

I graduated from Pekin High School, in Pekin, Illinois.......

We were known as "The Chinks".....and it was, to us an honor to be a "Chink".....still is.....

We thought of the term, as explained in the only actual explanation we ever got, as "Worker".....

There was nothing at all negative in our thoughts or comments on the subject.....In fact we were proud to be named such!

We, each year, elected a "Chink & Chinklette" who appeared at our football and basketball games as representatives of the school.....
complete in coolie hats and robes. Their job was to welcome the visiting teams cheerleaders...

It was an impressive ceremony, especially in the basketball games, as they walked to center court, greeting the cheerleaders from the opposing team under a spotlight while the main lights were lowered.....in the background we in the band were playing "Chinatown".....

Pekin was reported to be halfway around the world from Peking, China, and our movie theatre had a glorious dragon over the marquee...and dark reds inside with dragon heads all about.

There was never a negative connotation placed on the entire thing.....although I understand today's attitudes given our near-rabid lurch toward political correctness

[Blue-Jay]

18. You know about the Pekin Chinks?

Pekin IL, was named so because it was on the same latitude as Peking (Bejing) China. Their HS mascot was the "Chinks" until the late 70's, IIRC.

My former bass player used to brag that he was in the last class of "Chinks" (complete with racist mascot), before they decided to become the "Dragons".

Pekin, IL still remains one of the most rasict communities in Illinois. Some of the locals seen PROUD of that.

I met the last "Chink". Dan Zimmerman.

[Donkeyboy75]

26. I had the misfortune of meeting someone from Pekin

as well. He was proud of the racist heritage.

[Jokinomx]

23. How times have changed....

I had never heard of that one... thanks for the grin...:-)

[fishwax]

15. It was Colorado

The University of Northern Colorado in Greeley had the intramural team the Fighting Whities ... http://www.fightingwhites.org/

[Jokinomx]

22. Thanks for the correction fishwax....

I knew I was depending on my memory to much...LOL...

Love your Username...:-)

:kick:

[Catherine Vincent]

12. Here's the link:

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040925/ap_on_sp_fo_ne/fbn_redskins_indians

They polled only American Indians.

[Nightowl_2004]

16. They said that 14% of liberals found it offensive and 6% of conservatives

I think the poll was taken exclusively amongst Native Americans.

[jessicazi]

17. Not the name that offends me...

(btw I am white) but the look of the mascots, or how they are depicted. For instance, the name of "Braves..." depicts them as violent. It also takes something sacred to Native Americans, their culture, regalia, and dress, and demeans it. Or when white mascots mimick religious Native rituals. It is basically saying their culture is nothing better than a mascot.

The only time many Americans recognize Native Americans is when they go to a sports game and see the mascot. That would make me feel pretty shitty.

However, I do think there are other issues that are more important, however, this is an issue that is more important than most people realize.


Jessica


Indian psychologists support retiring of offensive team mascots
http://www.apa.org/monitor/apr99/mascot.html

The United States Commission on Civil Rights
Commission Statement on the Use of Native American Images
and Nicknames as Sports Symbols
http://www.aics.org/mascot/civilrights.html

[Jokinomx]

24. Great post Jessicazi...

I agree with you totally.... I lived in Utah for several years and of course the University of Utah uses the "Running Utes" as their mascot.... they have received permission from the Ute tribe and use a respectful symbol to honor the Ute nation. As I understand it... the Ute tribal council had very strict requirements for using the term "Running Utes".

Also.. now being in Michigan.. the Central Michigan Chippawas also have the permission to use them as their mascot... again in a respectful manner.

I have no problem with this type of agreement between cultures.

:kick:

[Blue_Tires]

19. interesting thread n/t

[tuvor]

20. There's a "Chinaman Lake" in BC.

Many here are offended by the name, but shouldn't they also be offended by "Englishman, "Frenchman," and so on?

I know..."China" is the country and "English" and "French" are adjectives, but that's a small detail IMHO.

Maybe "Chinaman" just carries a lot of weight because of history, I dunno. Words are funny things.

[ghostsofgiants]

21. ...

http://www.plyrics.com/lyrics/atomandhispackage/ifyouownthewashingtonredskinsyoureacock.html

[mark414]

25. i think

that it unfortunately takes a group of people and marginalizes them into nothing more than our entertainment; funny looking mascots with war chants; go fight win! and as long as this still happens in our society, as long as an entire people are turned into gimmicks, we still live under the spectre of the violence and the hatred that decimated those people in the first place.

culture and ethnicity are not props, not mascots, and no one in their right mind would ever do anything of the same to any other ethnic group, so why should this be any different?

[tarkus]

27. Well, I would be offended by a name like "The (city) N- Bombs"...

So I guess I should be offended by the Redskins. I'm not sure though, so I guess I should leave this up to the Native Americans...