Washington loses it trademark for team name.

[Haloti92]

Oh yes, this is all a conspiracy by those damn Political Correctness Police. My God, their power and reach are nearly limitless. I'm glad we have you on the case to ferret out this conspiracy and perfectly judge the credibility of all involved.

You are confused. No one said anything about a conspiracy. I said this is politics. And when 50 Democratic senators, none of whom are American Indians, suddenly decide in 2014 that they feel like making a joint and PR-heavy statement "calling for" the name to be changed, only an abject moron would argue politics isn't involved.

So please tell me, what do the conspirators have to gain from all this effort? Obviously, they're lying about being offended, and they have nothing to be offended about anyway. So what kind of "political gain or political approval" do they stand to gain from all of this--some of whom have spent family fortunes and the best years of their lives on this cause? It can't be because they actually believe in their cause and want to see injustice righted. It must be so they can be the headline story on the Huffington Post.

Again, no conspiracy. What does anyone gain by being sanctimonious? They get to feel morally superior to others, they get to denigrate their political opponents as 'racist', they get to extrapolate that supposedly-sympathetic stance into other avenues of politics, they get to argue vapid platitudes about being the politicians who truly care about the downtrodden, etc., etc.

And yes, Harry Reid, et al, are faking offense. Absolutely. The 70+ year-old, lily-white, sleazeball politician who labeled Obama as a "light-skinned" black man with "no Negro dialect..." entered this fray for political gain only. It is the latest feigned grievance struggle, so he has to line up on his predictable side and start fighting.

Dispensing with the sarcastic derision your post deserves, it is the height of prejudice and arrogance to claim that the users of a word control how that word can affect others. It is very easy for Dan Snyder to say that he means no harm with the name of his team, but he'd probably be the first person to boycott a local delicatessen named The Hook-Nosed, Money-Grubbing K*ke, even if the owner of that establishment earnestly claims it wasn't meant harmfully.

Hilarious irony, speaking of deserved sarcastic derision then proceeding to post this illogical nonstarter. It is completely illogical to claim that if someone says you are offending them, that we must conclude that you are intending to offend them. It is equally illogical to then argue that as long as one person is offended (or claims the be offended, after all, how can a difference be proven) by XYZ then therefore XYZ must be considered by all others to be "offensive."

As for boycotts, I have no problem with that. If the people that are truly offended by the Redskins want to boycott the team and call for boycotts, feel free. But we aren't talking about boycotts here. Nor are we talking about a multi-word, clearly derogatory descriptive phrase (that no businessman would ever choose) as the name of the team.

And the "not many people think it's offensive, including Native Americans" canard has been knocked down many times in this thread. It's a questionable idea that the propriety of a word, particularly a racial slur, can be gauged by taking a poll and identifying the majority position as correct. In any event, the study that meme relies on (the 2004 Annenberg study) had numerous methodological problems that render it nearly invalid. More recent studies show consistent majorities indicating that the term is offensive or insensitive, even if not all believe the name should be changed.

You wish the "canard" has been knocked down, but it is standing as high as ever. And it is crucial to understanding the error in your thinking. There are as many American Indians who think the name is being used as a tribute as there are who insanely think it is being used as a slur. There are multiples more American Indians who are not offended by the name than there are offended, and this includes the people who say they are offended for political gain. And American Indians represent a minuscule fraction of overall population.

In short, times have changed. The word Redskin now means hallowed football team that should be "hailed," to a massive majority of Americans. It isn't 1876 anymore, and almost every instance the word is used in this day and age is to refer to a sports team (of various levels) in a non-derogatory manner.

Arguing that 100 years ago this word meant and conveyed 'this' or 'that' and therefore it will and should always mean or convey 'this' or 'that' is unconvincing. Arguing this for political purposes is unbecoming. Asking the government bureaucracy to seize more control and start picking winners and losers in these situations, on the basis of politics, is dangerous.

And it is only the last point I truly care about.

And btw, 'slippery slope' is offensive to some portion of Southeast Asians. Both of us need to be careful with our usage of slurs.

[Money227]

In short, times have changed. The word Redskin now means hallowed football team that should be "hailed," to a massive majority of Americans. It isn't 1876 anymore, and almost every instance the word is used in this day and age is to refer to a sports team (of various levels) in a non-derogatory manner.

Like...OMG...it's so the 1800's. Some people just need to get over it already and get a life. Right?

Jeez...first they f'ed up our colonization of a new country by already being here and now they are f'ing up our sports teams' names. How much do we have to f'ing have to deal with?

[NCRAVEN]

Like...OMG...it's so the 1800's. Some people just need to get over it already and get a life. Right?

Jeez...first they f'ed up our colonization of a new country by already being here and now they are f'ing up our sports teams' names. How much do we have to f'ing have to deal with?

[Money227]

Wrong historically oppressed race. Save that for a different thread.

[NCRAVEN]

Wrong historically oppressed race. Save that for a different thread.

[Money227]

11201crying1.jpg

[darb72]

I'm full on board with the Redskins name needing to change. Redskins is absolutely a derogatory term towards Native Americans. There is simply no arguing that.

Tell that to the overwhelming majority of Native Americans who don't find the name offensive.

Oh wait, they don't have the right to an opinion according to people like you.

[AirFlacco]

Tell that to the overwhelming majority of Native Americans who don't find the name offensive.

And to these mothers who say those native Americans sold out. Looks like Danny boy is trying
to buy his way out of this one. :grbac:

_____________________________________
Above the picture was a pointed barb at Daniel Snyder: “You can’t buy your way out of racism. #Not4Sale”
___________________________________



http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports...9e1_story.html