Apparently, the skirmish has flared up again. That being the fight over the name of the NFL team located in Washington DC -- the Redskins. Actually, quite an unexpected turn just happened, but more about that later.
In the red corner, no pun intended, there are those that deem the name "Redskins" as being insensitive, derogatory, and even a racial slur toward Indians -- oops -- Native Americans. In the blue-blood corner we have current owner Daniel Snyder who refuses to change the name of his club, standing on "tradition". That, and he paid $800 million for the team and probably thinks he can call them whatever he damn well pleases.
Let's look at a little history of the Redskins. They weren't always in Washington. Back in 1932 they were the Boston Redskins. This was when a man named FDR was first running for President. You remember him. He had polio, which left him a "cripple". Over the years, polio has all but been eradicated and so has the word "cripple". We're not supposed to say that anymore, though if someone had referred to FDR back then as being "mobility challenged", nobody would have known what the hell they were talking about. Times change.
Should it count that the Redskins were the first professional football team to integrate in 1962? Given the current dust-up over their name, probably not. That's very old news, right?
The Washington Redskins have led the NFL in home attendance for the last 9 years, a record. Evidently the football fans in and around DC aren't too put off by their name. Is that relevant? Maybe not.
Does it matter that when Snyder bought the team in 1999, the other 31 NFL owners gave their unanimous approval of not only his ownership, but tacitly the name of the team itself? Well, OK. That was 15 years ago. Again, times change. Maybe just because they've been the "Redskins" for 82 years doesn't mean it's etched on a stone totem pole -- oops -- sacred tribal monument, right?
But here's a few things that SHOULD matter.
In 2002, a poll was conducted amongst various American Indians, and it was found that 75% of them had no objection to the Redskins' name. Shortly thereafter, certain activists cried foul. They claimed the poll was too narrow in scope and targeted only a small slice of Native Americans that likely didn't fairly represent the much larger view.
So another much more extensive poll was conducted in 2004, which encompassed the entire continental 48 states. The results of that survey found that a whopping 93% of Native Americans found the name to be acceptable.
That was 10 years ago, you say? Indeed. Just last year in 2013 the pollsters were at it again. 79% approved of the Redskins name, and 19% opposed. A mere few months ago in 2014, the approval rate was up to 83%. These aren't even close calls -- they're landslides amongst the very peoples that are supposedly being offended giving their approval.
As for the unexpected turn mentioned above? The feds, in their infinite wisdom, just cancelled the patent and copyright protection the Washington Redskins have had for decades to market its own name and logo. Evidently, Big Brother doesn't approve of the Redskins name. One would think with all the other issues still festering -- like unemployment, immigration reform, the mounting deficit, the VA hospital debacle, the IRS under fire for targeting certain groups, the spooks listening in on our telephone conversations, and general mayhem elsewhere around the world amongst others -- they would have better things to concentrate their efforts on than the name of an historic NFL franchise. But never underestimate the pettiness of bureaucrats, especially during an election year.
At that, yours truly is dumbfounded as to the logic of it. Sure, by the Washington Redskins no longer having sole control over their name and logo and how it is marketed, it will no doubt cost them some revenue on fees they otherwise would have collected.
But in the meantime, pending an appeal, the doors will be opened for anybody that wants to make a few bucks selling imitation Redskins apparel and gear. And there will be many that hop on that bandwagon because, like the name or not, the Redskins remain hugely popular. So in the end, the name and logo of the "Redskins" would get even MORE exposure, when fans start snapping up the knock-off (cheaper) merchandise. Of course it doesn't make sense, but that's how our "best and brightest" elected representatives always seem to do business.
Finally, despite protests by many factions over the years, there can be little doubt nobody got screwed worse than the Indians in America over the last couple hundred years. It used to be their country from coast to coast. They've been lied to, shunted off to reservations, and otherwise abused since the white man cometh. Native Americans have gone from having free rein over the entire continent to running a few casinos and having "special" fishing and hunting privileges here and there. It's truly a travesty in American history.
But in the case of the Washington Redskins' current name game, if a vast majority of these same peoples indeed support the moniker of "Redskins", as the above polls clearly indicate, then the activists and politically correct folks need to shut up.
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