I know tons of blacks who use the n-word daily. Does that make it okay for everyone to use it now?

Apples to oranges and I think you know why. You can't really compare the two, plus we're talking about a team here that has been named that for years and years. I would also assume you think the Seminoles need to stop their war chant and tomahawk chop, right?

Apples to oranges and I think you know why. You can't really compare the two, plus we're talking about a team here that has been named that for years and years. I would also assume you think the Seminoles need to stop their war chant and tomahawk chop, right?

 

The point I am making is that just because the offended group says it okay doesn't make it okay. Nor should it.

 

And yes, IMO FSU should change their mascot and quit with the tomahawk chop. IMO as a society we should probably get away from naming team mascots after something that could be deemed offensive. Let alone a mascot that was invented in a racially tolerant time of 1930.

I remember reading a poll late last year where there were many Native Americans that had no problem with the mascot name.

The Beothuk Tribe were said to paint their bodies with red ochre, leading white settlers to refer to them as "red men." Early historical records indicate that "Redskin" was used as a self-identifier by Native Americans to differentiate between them and the white man. Who made it derogatory? When did it change? It was when the phrase gained widespread usage among whites when James Fenimore Cooper used it in his 1823 novel The Pioneers. The Pioneers and other books by Cooper were largely seen as sympathetic toward Native Americans and their struggles in the 1800s. Decades later, the word "redskin" began to take on a negative, increasingly violent connotation. Sorry for the history lesson, but my point is it wasn't started as a slur, it was just later perceived, by whites, to be one and somehow stuck.

Hey, if we're going to call it racist, then you must support an end to war chants and gestures during sporting events like we see from the Atlanta Braves, KC Chiefs and the Florida State Seminoles.

 

Are You Ready For Some Controversy? The History Of 'Redskin' : Code Switch : NPR

 

This article is interesting, but it also explains that the term wasn't merely perceived by whites to be a slur, but used as such in the past as well, or at least was not used as a term of endearment.

 

At any rate, the author's closing paragraph begs the question: If any of you met a random Native American on the street, would you feel comfortable calling them a redskin in the course of your conversation?

Are You Ready For Some Controversy? The History Of 'Redskin' : Code Switch : NPR

 

This article is interesting, but it also explains that the term wasn't merely perceived by whites to be a slur, but used as such in the past as well, or at least was not used as a term of endearment.

 

At any rate, the author's closing paragraph begs the question: If any of you met a random Native American on the street, would you feel comfortable calling them a redskin in the course of your conversation?

 

Excellent question.

The point I am making is that just because the offended group says it okay doesn't make it okay. Nor should it.

 

And yes, IMO FSU should change their mascot and quit with the tomahawk chop. IMO as a society we should probably get away from naming team mascots after something that could be deemed offensive. Let alone a mascot that was invented in a racially tolerant time of 1930.

 

I guess then...technically...if they are OK with it, then they cant be an "offended group", right?

 

Let me give an example. My nick name in high school among some of my friends was "Moose". It steamed from an 8th grade football game where, as a full back I was literally dragging the whole defense on my back at mid-field and wouldn't go down, prompting the PA announcer to say "...he looks like a big Moose out there carrying the other team on his back"! The name stuck.

 

Now, if one of my friends came by and said "what's up Moose"...that would not be offensive to me. If a passerby overheard that and came up and said to my friend "you can't call him that, it's offensive". Well, no, it's not, and I'M the one that decides that, not someone else for me. I see a similar situation here. There sure seem to be a lot of OTHER people saying Redskin is offensive OTHER that the supposed offended ones.

Edited June 19, 201412 yr by BigVMan23

They said on TV just now that anyone could sell "Redskins" merchandise and the team would have little recourse. I'm not sure if they are correct in saying that or not.

 

Not with that logo on it.

I guess then...technically...if they are OK with it, then they cant be an "offended group", right?

 

Let me give an example. My nick name in high school among some of my friends was "Moose". It steamed from an 8th grade football game where, as a full back I was literally dragging the whole defense on my back at mid-field and wouldn't go down, prompting the PA announcer to say "...he looks like a big Moose out there carrying the other team on his back"! The name stuck.

 

Now, if one of my friends came by and said "what's up Moose"...that would not be offensive to me. If a passerby overheard that and came up and said to my friend "you can't call him that, it's offensive". Well, no, it's not, and I'M the one that decides that, not someone else for me. I see a similar situation here. There sure seem to be a lot of OTHER people saying Redskin is offensive OTHER that the supposed offended ones.

 

Post 36.

The point I am making is that just because the offended group says it okay doesn't make it okay. Nor should it.

 

And yes, IMO FSU should change their mascot and quit with the tomahawk chop. IMO as a society we should probably get away from naming team mascots after something that could be deemed offensive. Let alone a mascot that was invented in a racially tolerant time of 1930.

Actually they shouldn't. FSU has the full support of the Seminole nation or what ever it's called. As a matter fact don't the Seminoles supply the dress for the FSU mascot?