From the Washington Post’s Eli Saslow, we learn of this bit offensive PC nonsense, from the Seattle Times:
To avoid insulting native American heritage, the Seattle Times decided to limit severely the use of the term Redskins in the paper—even if a team with that name will dominate news coverage this week. The Times will not use the moniker in headlines or captions. Reporters can use it only once, as a first reference, in all stories. The Redskins will be referred to almost exclusively as Washington—which could get a little confusing for local readers who also live in that state.
As has been repeatedly noted, the majority of Redskins fans who also happen to be native american feel no sense of shame or hurt as a result of the team’s iconography or moniker—which hasn’t stopped the professionaly aggrieved among the native American community from protesting whenever the Redskins achieve a degree of seasonal prominence, just as it hasn’t stopped the inveterately self righteous from proving their cutural sensitivities by meta-examining their own complicity in such aggregious cultural imperialism (and finding their position of privilege shameful and wanting).
It is a traditional dance of identity politics—and it is measure of way we are taught to treat signification; and to be offended by perceived slights that are largely hypothetical, and driven almost entirely by the discussion of their nature as slights.
“Redskins” may be potentially offensive to some, but the fact remains that it is now more closely tied to a professional football team’s identity than it is to native Americans, whose identities today are tied to their actual tribal and geographical affiliations.
If the majority of native Americans were actually offended by the name, I think the team ownership, driven by bad publicity and market forces, would change the designation; but as it stands, this is simply another example of our enlightened betters prescribing when and why we should be outraged—and when we are, on whole, not—they nevertheless persist in trying to mold the world into their idea of how it should look, because for all their talk of equality and tolerance and looking out for the powerless and disenfranchised, they are nothing more than cultural bullies who are willing to sidestep populist commonsense in favor of their own brand of manufactured social justice.
If there is a god in heaven — and as an agnostic I’m fairly sure their could be—the Seattle Times will have its corporate headquarters come under fierce attack from irate PETA hardliners tethered to a fleet of outraged and politically-aware sea birds whose coordinated divebombing sorties will teach those presumptuous tree worhipers a thing or two about respecting a species!
(h/t Tom Elia)
*****
previous / related: here, here, here, here, here, and here.
You really need to close that italics tag.
BECAUSE OF THE NONCOMPLIANT XHTML FORMATTING!
Nah, Jeff, I’ll settle for a serious thumping by the Skins. Or just a win. Of any kind. Are you listening, Lord? One hour ‘til kickoff.
GO SKINS
This is getting ridiculouser and ridiculouser.
This past year, this disease struck the FSU Seminoles down here, and it took a special resolultion from the Seminole Tribe of Florida to get the NCAA off of FSU’s back. It turns out that the real Seminoles (GASP!) closely identify with FSU, and are actually (HORRORS!) proud that their name is attached to a winning athletic department in a major school.
Further, the reason FSU chose “Seminoles” for their mascot in the first place was that this is the only tribe in the country that never surrendered to the US Army, and the Seminoles feel that the sports team helps call attention to their unique place in US history.
Be honest… would you have ever heard of the Seminole Tribe if it weren’t for FSU’s chronic winning streaks?
the Seattle Times will have its corporate headquarters come under fierce attack
I personally think Jeff has the right idea here! :D
What is this football you speak of?
Is it some kind of deformity predominant in only Native Americans? If so, I would think it should be called ballfoot. It must be genetic, sort of like sickle cell anemia so perhaps one should not engage in mammalian slathergrinding with this species, no?
Ten minutes. Why is my Redskins shirt soaking wet already?
The confusion has only begun. What will the [misappropriated name of Native American leader deleted] Times do if the Washington [epithet for Native Americans deleted] go on to play the [misnomer for Native Americans deleted]apolis Colts in the Super Bowl?
Here we go again. Relying on the defense to win the game. Cripes.
I was a Miami Redskin (Miami of Ohio) – and they changed that to Redhawk (thankfully after I graduated.) I remember at the time Miami had very close ties with the Miami Indians (who were originally from the Ohio area), and gave scholarships, etc. It was a great relationship, and they were asked if they wanted the name changed. Nope. We even used to have a Miami Indian dress as a “chief” – for the games- in traditional attire. Nothing about it was the comic-book Indian stuff.
I’m still bitter.
I checked out the Seattle Times online today, and they link to one article from the DC Examiner that mentions “Redskins” 10 times.
Other than that, the political correctness is there. Jose Miguel Romero’s piece mentions Redskins one time, every other time referring to “Washington.” Same with the piece by Steve Kelley. And the sad thing is having “Seahawks” constantly in a story with “Washington” really makes the pieces unreadable.
By the way, they have the same policy during baseball season when the Mariners play the Indians. Oops, I mean Cleveland.
The Seminole Tribe of Florida comprises the vast majority of those survivors in Florida, and it has supported Florida State University’s use of the name informally for decades.
On June 17, 2005, the Tribal Council of the Seminole Tribe of Florida voted unanimously in favor of a written resolution to reaffirm its ongoing support of the university’s use of its name and symbols. . . and in the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s view, you honor us by using the name Seminole.â€Â
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Hmmm.
I am writing here to protest the offensive, racist and bigoted treatment of asians by the NFL team the San Fransisco “Yellow Boys”. This whole travesty is demeaning to asians in America and should be stopped immediately. How could any great nation like America stand for this? How could any nation or people who propose that equal rights for all allow such a thing to happen?
And just because there isn’t actually an NFL team in San Fransisco called the “Yellow Boys” doesn’t mean that I can’t protest it or be offended by it.
So there. Nyah nyah nyah.
sw: “sat”. Yes. It is a rainy Saturday. An excellent time for a Mohito. But then again, any time is an excellent time for a Mohito.
Hmmm.
Frankly, on a serious side, if it weren’t for the sports teams keeping America concious of Native Americans, they’d largely disappear from the national conciousness.
Speaking as a Choctaw indian, I can say wih some authority that the Choctaw indians, and the other nations, are generally perfectly happy with being called “Indians”. Hey, you guys stopped shooting us, that’s a good step.
No, go spend more money in the fucking casinos, would you? We’re planning on buying back the motherfucker.
I just realized — Jeff’s comments are just like the letters column in National Lampoon, except that we’re actually writing them for him.
Does anyone at the Seattle Times know where Seattle got it’s name? Applying the same standard, I guess that means you can only refer to their team as the Seahawks and can’t use the word Seattle…
Hail to the [inappropriate name for aboriginal inhabitants of North and South America]!
Hail [inapropriate word for the outcome of a contest].
[inapropriate word for male aboriginal inhabitants in a battle [also inappropriate since the original inhabitants were peaceful until the European invasion]] on the warpath!
[inappropriate word for a disagreement which would be better settled by diplomatic means] for old DC!
The high school I once worked at was nicknamed The Mohicans. The smarter people decided to do away with all names associated with Native Americans, in the district, regardless of what the students wanted. One of the students wrote to the Mohican tribe in Connecticut and was answered with a letter that gave the school permission to keep the name. When she gave the letter to the principal she was told that since there were no more Mohicans(The Last of the Mohicans), he couldn’t possibly accept the letter.
How about if the change the name to the Foreskins, how would you feel then, huh? Huh? Huh?
I’m trying to make a joke with “briss” or “moil” but I got nuthin’.
A band I was in played a festival at a massive, miles-square summer campâ€â€it would be called a “compound” if the ATF decided to shoot at itâ€â€run by a local regional tribe; I don’t remember which, because drugs make you forget little tidbits like that.
Asideâ€â€
Back in the thirties, the place had been a rallying ground for an area union, and there was still ancient Soviet propaganda junk all over (including a hammer-and-sickle inlay in one of the hardwood floors, which looked really expensive). I found a life-size standup Stalin painting, invited him to share the stage, then took him home to rehearse for the fall tour, which he did until someone decided to burn down the building. Nice.
And backâ€â€
One of the opening acts was a traditional Indian (or so they called themselves) drum-circle/mad caterwauling outfit (great music, like an “outsider art” version of Xenakis’s vocal music). The leader of the group wore a Redskins jersey. Realized then that if I could get some crazy Ted Rall-style bloodsucking Jew gear without giving my money to Nazis, I’d do it.
Not everyone’s a pissy baby.
– Charlie – We did all the briss jokes a few threads back… it got kind of messy so we tipped over the bowl, ate the last of the lox and went home…
Hey, well, given the political sympathies in my neck of the woods, I’m surprised we haven’t changed the name of our team to the New England Dissenters.
Is it just me or does the Seahawks logo look a little like the tip of a horizontal totem pole?
FUCKING RACIST BASTARDS AND THEIR HYPOCRITICAL FUCKING NEWSPAPER!!!!!!
Hmmm.
Well if Indian names are out then Hohokus, New Jersey, is fucked!
Remember the “Mighty Whities” or some such?
Note that Irish-Americans have no problem with Notre Dame.
Personally I’d go out of my way to buy the jersey of a nascent football organization in LA nicknamed something like “The Los Angeles Righteous, Down Bruthas of African Descent,” but that’s just me. (All non-African-descended ‘bruthas’ on the team could be adopted.)
Now that the Redskins have left my heart shattered it’s time to jump on the victim-hood bandwaggon…
As a conservative and a constitutional originalist I’m deeply offended at the casual use of the New England football club’s use of the term “Patriot.” My heritage and cultural identity should not be trivialized in such an unseemly manner and I will not rest until this unjustice is… aw fuck it… it’s the playoffs enjoy the show. Don’t like it? Turn off your damn TV.
I am personally offended by the NFL team names that lampoon white people as greedy, pillaging hords:
The Vikings with the stereotypical horn hat
The Raiders with the stereotypical eye patch
The Buccaneers with the stereotypical skull
The 49ers with the stereotypical drunk miner
The Cowboys which affirms the stereotype of all ‘mericans
The Packers with the stereotypical meat industry workers
The Patriots with the stereotypical jingoist
Is there no one to feel MY pain??
<style bloodsucking Jew gear without giving my money to Nazis, I’d do it.</blockquote>
To be momentarily serious, we call ourselves Indians. Remember the American Indian Movement? Vine Deloria just died, or I’d direct you to Golden.
(I didn’t realize he lived so close until I heard that he died, and I’m kinda sorry — I must have read Custer Died for your Sins a dozen times in high school.)
Its nincompoops like Ward Fucking Churchill who do the “Native American” trope.
Well if Indian names are out then Hohokus, New Jersey, is fucked!
Actually, the whole sentence through “then” is probably redundant.
So, who the hell do I write to about abolishing the name of the “Lazy Susan”?
Really, that’s my mom’s name dammit! They can’t just go around disgracing her like that in the kitchen accessories aisle at Costco!!!
Um, there’s no such animal as a Seahawk. It’s a made up word.
There’s seagulls and then there’s hawks.
You’ll have to look elsewhere to be offended. Oh wait, you already did.