Update/Related Post link added below.
First, it goes without saying that Washington Post columnist Courtland Milloy is entitled to his opinion as well, a columnist. So my gripe here isn't so much about liberal bias as it is about Milloy's insistence on projecting a politically correct pall, in the heat of playoff season, over the ONE thing that can unite Washingtonians across party lines. Our beloved Redskins.
Is it asking too much for the liberal Post columnist to refrain from resurrecting a fringe PC issue a mere three days after the Redskins clinched a playoff berth, and that while playing the despised Dallas Cowboys?
I guess it is (see excerpt below fold):
These are the times that try Suzan Harjo's Cheyenne soul.
Her lawsuit claiming that the name "Redskins" denigrates Native Americans appears to have stalled in the courts. Several tribal elders who were among her staunchest allies recently died. And everywhere she looks, the dreaded name and logo of Washington's professional football team are in full bloom.
"It's sad because I'm outside the fellowship of good feeling," Harjo, a District resident and president of a Native American advocacy organization, told me recently. "I want to support the home team. But it's very hard when they are carrying a racist name."
Update (16:45 EST): Fellow NewsBuster and Redskins fan extraordinaire Geoff Dickens reminded me of a blog post of his from January 10, 2006, about some political correctness from the Seattle Times and their refusal to use the term "Redskins" in reporting on a Washington-Seattle game. In that post, Dickens noted a poll showing 69 percent of Native American poll respondants don't mind the Redskins nickname for the Washington football franchise.
Dickens item is also noteworthy given the Redskins-Seahawks matchup this Saturday will present the Seattle Times with more occasion for mindless political correctness. I guess it's to be expected for a city that doesn't know how to tailgate properly.
You may recall that some liberal wackos had a hissy fit last year when Seattle Seahawks QB Matt Hasselbeck and then-fullback (now running back coach) Mack Strong attended a Republican fundraiser.
—Ken Shepherd is Managing Editor of NewsBusters





















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Incredible. These nimrods
January 2, 2008 - 16:41 ET by Gary P JacksonIncredible. These nimrods just can't stand the fact that someone, somewhere is enjoying themselves.
These people who claim to be offended by the name of a sports team, or it's mascot, need to get a life. There are too many real issues in the world to get pissed off about!
What is the basis of the
January 2, 2008 - 16:54 ET by Hero SquadWhat is the basis of the lawsuit she has filed? I would think that the First Amendment is sufficient enough to prevent the government from prohibiting the use of a team name and mascot.
You can boycott the team. You can protest the team. You can apply pressure to encourage the team to change its mascot. But I think the decision to change the name would need to come from the Redskins themselves and/or the NFL, not the court system.
*****
"There are no stupid questions. Only stupid people who ask questions." - Chris Berman
I believe trademark law
January 2, 2008 - 17:12 ET by Ken ShepherdI believe trademark law forbids the trademarking of patently offensive or crass/suggestive slogans, logos, etc. Depending how the law is written, she may have a leg to stand on to file that complaint. Even if the Skins would lose the trademark suit, however, they still could call themselves the Redskins, they just wouldn't have the federal protections that a trademark affords commercial enterprises, particularly against knock-off merchandising, etc.
A Suggestion for Mr. Milloy
January 2, 2008 - 16:54 ET by BourbeauPlace an ad in his newspaper, giving his home phone and e-mail, inviting diehard Redskin fans, that are in sympathy with his plight, to contact him for a group hug. At the same time, go get a life and worry about something that really means something to anyone. This on the first second day of the year - look out below.
libs
January 2, 2008 - 17:05 ET by iveseenitallAnywhere, anytime, any place---libs can always find something to whine about. And they say its conservatives who spoil the party. Scheeze!
NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal"
I'm also a 'Native'
January 2, 2008 - 17:05 ET by MidAmericaI'm also a 'Native' American. I was born here. I am of European descent but I am not a European. Her ancestors may have arrived earlier than mine but they weren't always here.
Are real Cowboys offended for being a team mascot name?
Or Irish Americans by the
January 2, 2008 - 17:15 ET by Ken ShepherdOr Irish Americans by the Fightin' Irish of Notre Dame. That ascribes pugnacious, arguably belligerent, behavior to an ethnic group, after all, whereas the Redskins logo is a dignified profile bust of an American Indian.
If you are picking fights over sports logos on principle alone, it would seem this activist should get her Irish up over that too.
I've got some Norwegian in
January 2, 2008 - 17:28 ET by DaBirdI've got some Norwegian in me, should I be offended by the Minnesota Vikings?
NOOOOOOO!!!
January 2, 2008 - 17:39 ET by danybhoyNo, take no offence. Instead, be offended that they did'nt get a QB that can actually play the game. Jackson sucks, a competent QB with Peterson & Taylor in the backfield would be hard to stop.
"Some of us are wise, some of us are otherwise" Mark Levin
No worries dany. No offense
January 2, 2008 - 17:45 ET by DaBirdNo worries dany. No offense taken on my part. I'm here in Minnesota also, and I too can only imagine what the Vikes could have done with a competent QB and head coach. I'm not a big Childress fan at this point.
I am offended
January 2, 2008 - 17:46 ET by kgI'm a PETA person and I am offended that these 'brutal' teams are named after caring and loving animals.
I am a descendent of a New
January 2, 2008 - 17:50 ET by kgI am a descendent of a New Englander and I am offended that a NFL team has
the gall to name a team the 'Patriots'.
I am half Norwegian and
January 2, 2008 - 18:04 ET by ForeverOnTheRightI am half Norwegian and half Swedish and I don't have a problem with the Minnesota Vikings. I don't take it personally and I don't think anyone associates me with the Vikings of history. Just like I do not view "native Americans" as backwards, inferior or savage because of the Washington Redskins. This objection to team names and mascots is hyper sensitivity in my eyes.
LAW & ORDER LIBERALS...
January 2, 2008 - 17:35 ET by danybhoyI don't know anyone who has any kind of Irish backround who is troubled by the "Fighting Irish" moniker, including myself. The one that flies under the radar is the Minnesota Vikings. Vikings were evil, rotten SOB's. They raped, they killed, they took what they wanted, they burned down what they did'nt rape, kill, or steal. Nobody here in Minnesota gives a damn about nicknames, unless some Indian activist group is bellyaching.
This is an example of law & order liberalism...go after what's easy what is not really the problem. Add Indian nicknames to the list that includes anti-smoking laws, transfat laws, fighting Wal-Mart, anti-pornography bills, & anti-gambling measures.
Never do the libs really go after real crime in a real way. Terrorism is a law & order issue, not a security issue, the border is not an issue, sex offenders need to be "rehabbed"(that NEVER works) & then blame the police EVERYTIME some community "activist" bitches about some career criminal gets has @$$ kicked by a cop when he SHOULD have gotten his @$$ kicked. Self esteem is really important as well, Everybody gets a trophy, & lets not keep score. No to dodgeball, king of the hill, & anything else that is fun. This is the world of the law & order liberals. They can kiss my @$$.
"Some of us are wise, some of us are otherwise" Mark Levin
Dan, 1) Viking as a
January 2, 2008 - 17:43 ET by LeonDan,
1) Viking as a term is not in any way offensive.
2) Is it possible that Minnesota is called the Vikings because of the strong presence of Scandanavian settlers in Minnesota?
3) How can you even attempt to compare a historically accepted name for a group against a racist slang term used to slander a group?
Basically your comparison makes zero sense.
You mean like whitey? But
January 2, 2008 - 18:01 ET by kgYou mean like whitey? But whitey is the accepted norm these days and considered non-racist.
The point is there is NO disrespect intended in any way for these team names. Ask the 'Fighting Illini' and the team from Keokuk, IA, and teams from SD and ND and anywhere else there are offended people who dislike team with names of heros, of the brave, etc.
LEON...
January 2, 2008 - 18:06 ET by danybhoyFair point Leon, the name Redskins is the only nickname I would consider problematic. There are plenty of Swedes & Nordskis here, thus the Vikings name, however, Vikings were not nice people, they were feared for good reason back in the day.
Most Indian names are more of a tribute to the Indian people, rather then a slur. Indians, Braves, Fighting Sioux, Seninoles, Fighting Illini, Blackhawks, Chiefs, Eskimos(Edmonton-CFL), & Warriors are a few of these names. I agree that Redskins bothers some(not all) Indian people. But it way down ont he list of things to worry about for them, they have plenty of problems that need real leadership. Worrying about nicknames is taking up valuable time that could be used by these "leaders" to adress the issues that effect people everyday on the reservations & in general.
"Some of us are wise, some of us are otherwise" Mark Levin
Dan, I agree in the grand
January 3, 2008 - 09:55 ET by LeonDan,
I agree in the grand scheme of things it's not a big deal, but I just get annoyed when people that aren't of Native American descent belittle those people that are offended by this obviously racist term.
Seriously it would be like having a team, The New York N-Words. I mean, could you imagine that? There is literally no difference between my fictional team name and the Redskins.
So if you think a team called the N-words is wrong, then you should surely agree that calling a team the Redskins is wrong.
Ken, I personally am not
January 2, 2008 - 17:40 ET by LeonKen,
I personally am not offended by the Redskins because I don't think the intent at the time of naming was to be offensive. It was a term that was commonly accepted at the time.
However, I don't think the fighting Irish comparison is equivalent at all. Many teams have the word 'fighting' before their name. It's very common. Furthermore, it doesn't ascribe anything to any ethnic group. It ascribes something to the team it's specifically referencing.
As far as I'm concerned, referring to Native Americans as Redskins is the same exact thing as referring to black people by the N-word. There is no difference as far as I can tell. It's a racist team name. It's indisputable and if Native Americans had more of a voice and more of a presence in America, you could rest assured this name would have been banned long ago.
I'm not offended for the reasons I stated above. But to claim it's not racist and that Native Americans shouldn't be offended is absurd. As is your Irish comparison.
Fightin'?
January 2, 2008 - 18:31 ET by Galvanic"Or Irish Americans by the Fightin' Irish of Notre Dame. . ."
After their horrible performance this past college football season, I object to their application of the adjective Fightin'. ;-)
The Slap-Fighting Irish of
January 2, 2008 - 19:03 ET by sunandsteelThe Slap-Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.
What doesn’t kill you, only makes you pissed off. -Children of Bodom
what is truly incredible ...
January 2, 2008 - 17:25 ET by pmohbuckthe people who complain most about indian mascot names are ... arrogant WHITE people
i, for one, stopped buying into the PC way of thinking ... i was told that the term "oriental" was a way to describe an object, not a person and it was "impolite" and "rude" to refer to someone as oriental. i'm tired of self-righteous white people telling me how to refer to people from different cultures and races ... as if the people they are trying to "defend" are too inept to speak for themselves.
I don't see why she'w
January 2, 2008 - 17:20 ET by BruzillaI don't see why she's worried. I lived in the DC area for 12 years, and I remember going to the mall in Waldorf, just south of DC, and went into the FootLocker store there.
They had a long rack of Redskins shirts, jerseys, sweatshirts, pants, etc. Right next to that rack was an identical one that was filled with the same stuff for the nearby Baltimore Ravens. And right next to that was three identical racks of stuff for the greatest football team, the Pittsburgh Steelers. There was more Steelers stuff being sold in the DC area than Redskins and Ravens stuff combined, so rather than suing the Redskins, maybe she should join everyone else and support the Steelers, and she won't have to see the Redskins logo anymore.
Uno momento Ken.....Despised Cowboys ?
January 2, 2008 - 17:24 ET by JayTeeWhat's with this Despised Cowboys comment Mr. Sheperd ?
First the Redskins have to scalp the Seahawks, then they might be in the same building as the Cowboys. Is Scalping torture ?
March 15 2008 GatheringofEagles.org with MAF, FW, VFF, etc. will congregate in DC to Support Our Troops and Gen David Petraeus
Despised, that is, by
January 2, 2008 - 17:28 ET by Ken ShepherdDespised, that is, by Redskins fans, and we beat them on Sunday. That victory punched our ticket to the Seahawks game.
Sorry for the confusion in my wording.
Ken....then If you are a Redskins fan, you weren't confused..
January 2, 2008 - 18:33 ET by JayTeeIndy also got beat, and Pittsburg, and Tampa Bay, etc...I don't think you can draw any conclusions from nocount games. You can conclude you won, but that's about it.
March 15 2008 GatheringofEagles.org with MAF, FW, VFF, etc. will congregate in DC to Support Our Troops and Gen David Petraeus
When Washington Post
January 2, 2008 - 17:56 ET by SMGalbraithWhen Washington Post writers have nothing to write about they bang out the old "That racist-Redskins-name-must-go" column.
It's a hardy perennial.
My guess is that none of them actually give up any of their seats to the games in protest.
Luxury suite liberals, one might call it.
Thin skin libs.
January 2, 2008 - 17:45 ET by obxrayHave you ever seen such a group of poeple like the libs that always has to whine and cry about simple words?These people are the most pathetic creatures on earth.
CHOP
January 2, 2008 - 17:49 ET by CaringwhiteguyMr. Milloy and Ms. Harjo both deserve a good old-fashioned Tomahawk Chop. (That's symbolic you lefties. It does not advocate violence.)
If you think about sports
January 2, 2008 - 18:26 ET by alamojbIf you think about sports Mascots, they are almost always named after something that has a reputation for fierceness. This is why there are "lions" and "tigers" but few "buterflies" (ok maybe some peewee teams named "butterflies"). In other words , Mascot names are usually named after Carnivours. If they are named after herbivours it is usually one that is capable of defending itself or is fast or can fly. Hence, few "snails" but maybe a few "bees" or "wasp". Of course, even many of the bees and wasps are also carnivours.
For mascots named after human groups, it is the same way. "Cowboys" generally are considered independent and probably armed. Various Indian groups, would have been the same way. Or "Vikings". There seems to be a real shortage of "paper pushers" or "babysitters".
so naming your team after something is a sign of respect for its fiercness.
Of course, liberalism is all against the whole carnivour, armed thing.
The poison of Multiculturalism has made people so that if the "Borg" of Star Trek were to show up saying "resistance is futile, you will be assimilated", half the Western World would call those of us who resisted "Bigots" and "xenophobes".
Is it a crime to offend
January 2, 2008 - 18:32 ET by JasonPIs it a crime to offend someone? Is it a birthright to not be offended? What is wrong with being offended? What types of outreach to the American Indian community does the Redskins organization participate in? If they do participate in outreach, does it equal, surpass, or fail to reach the monetary amount this lawsuit would produce? I would argue that adopting the 'Native American' moniker hurt their community politically more than the name of an NFL team. The PC path will lead you to the world Bradbury writes of in 'Farenheit 451'. By having terms like 'Redskins' in the social lexicon, it sparks debate on history and reasons why it should or should not be an accepted term and displays a certain degree of progress from the ways of previous societies. Is there harm in that?
Sharing Isn't Stealing
January 2, 2008 - 18:36 ET by viluzionHow about the Pittsburgh Pirates and Oakland Raiders? I want to be offended too!
The "New York" Giants
January 2, 2008 - 18:38 ET by Free StinkerThe "New York" Giants offend me.
I'm only average (5'10") height.
/Sarcasm Off
Newsbusters. Log on and find out What the heck is so yummy over here!
JayTee
January 2, 2008 - 18:52 ET by pbdmillerAmen to that..........GO COWBOYS!
Liberals and Indians same communist ilk
January 2, 2008 - 19:09 ET by Lame CherryThis is nothing with Redskins as North Dakota is now in a pissing against the wall contest with some whining Sioux who with the NCAAP are attacking the U over the name Fighting Sioux.
None of this has to do with Indians or as some say offensive names. It has to do with the same communist garbage Indians were raised in and liberals adore. It is not about names, but about aggitating the masses in some sort of revenge.
I wrote about a solution for this long ago. If Indians do not like Squaw Creek (squaw means the female sex organ) then change the name to Big White Man's Penis Creek. You won't have any white people filing claims on that.
The fighting Sioux can be the fighting Norskis as North Dakota was settled by Norwegians and have great fun with Ole and Lena jokes.
The Redskins change their name to the Whiteskins. No white people are going to be so miserably thin skinned to whine about that.
All of this is so hillarious that liberals actually take Indians seriously in this. Indians according to actual history, celebrated theft, rape and murder. That is what scalp dances were all about. It was their culture and quite savage and reprehensible.
The reason rapine thrived under Indians was because they had one ruler who dictated, a group of dog soldiers who enforced the law with death penalty, a slave force of women who worked themselves to death and an elite male group who were quite effeminite according to diaries from the time as they never worked and only gambled, slept, went hunting and went on rampages.
None of that is to be celebrated, but Americans have had this romance about Indians but those who study history know there never was a Fenimore Cooper Indian who ever lived.
Buffalo Bill as a boy broke his leg while his partner went for help in a blizzard. Indians he knew showed up, stole all his food and guns, left him to the wolves and cold and the only reason he survived is his partner fought through deep snow to save him.
None of this is a slam against Indians, but it is the Soviet system they grew up in and still cherish which produces idiots like Dennis Banks and the liberals WHO ARE STILL MAKING BILLIONS OFF OF INDIAN WARDS.
Check out meth production and mafia gambling some time.
In any case, change all the Indian names to white names as white people never take offense at anything, unless they are liberals uncomfortable in their own skin.
*HIC IACET ARTORIVS REX QVONDAM REXQVE FVTVRVS
A Successful Lawsuit and its Unintended Consequences
January 2, 2008 - 23:15 ET by koorangkooFrom a legal and practical standpoint, the lawsuit, if successful, will produce the exact opposite result desired by Suzan Harjo and her attorneys. According to the article, Ms. Harjo filed a petition "....to cancel federal trademark protections of the Redskins name." Let us suppose that the petition is granted and there is no longer federal trademark protection for the "Redskins" name or logo. This means that everybody can start manufacturing shirts, caps, and other merchandise bearing the Redskins name and/or logo and sell them for profit. There will be no stopping this proliferation of the Redskins name and logo everywhere, and the Redskins will be the only NFL team that will not be able to stop others from benefitting commercially from its name and logo. (After all, the US Patent and Trademark Office has no legal jurisdiction to actually order the franchise to stop using the Redskins name/logo and I believe Daniel Snyder (the owner) is stubborn enough, and a man of principle, so that he would continue to use the name even if there were no federal trademark protection for it). If this happens, and the Redskins name/logo appears everywhere because Ms. Harjo's petition is successful in stripping away federal trademark protection, not to worry: Ms. Harjo can always sue her lawyers for legal malpractice!
If we take the Indian off
January 2, 2008 - 22:50 ET by BlazerIf we take the Indian off the helmet and put a Redskin Potato on it would that be deemed offensive to potato's ?
What if in fact Mr. Milloy the name was in fact chosen to honor the indian's ?
How about this 2002 article from a fellow columnist at your newspaper Mr. Milloy is he wrong.
By Marc Fisher
Scalp 'em, swamp 'em
We will take 'em big score
Read 'em, weep 'em, touchdown
We want heap more
"Hail to the Redskins," original 1937 lyric
In a few days, football will fade from view and the Redskins will lurk in the background as an autumnal hope. But the debate over the Redskins' name knows no seasons; it has been with us for more than four decades and shows no sign of abating.
With local governments now in the act, urging Dan Snyder to pull an Abe Pollin and change his team's name to something bland, the name game takes on a new urgency.
The name changers appear to have the upper hand, as they sweep the nation forcing high schools and colleges to abandon traditional mascots and scrap names such as Indians,Chiefs, Braves and Warriors
Interestingly, most of the people who sizzle with outrage over Indian team names and mascots are not Indians. American Indians can be found vigorously arguing on both sides. Academics are split, too: Anthropologists call team names and mascots humiliating, while linguists say "redskin" describes "stalwart attributes." Even dictionaries disagree (the Oxford English says "redskin" is "generally benign," while Webster's says it is "usually offensive").
The Redskins debate — in addition to the latest condemnation from the Metropolitan Council of Governments, a challenge to the team's trademark is tied up in federal court — focuses on the genesis of the name (was it born as an ethnic slur?) and its use today (does it denigrate Indians?).
There are at least three versions of the name's origin. The official story, says team spokesman Karl Swanson, is that when the Boston Braves football team left Braves Field to play at Fenway Park in 1933, owner George Preston Marshall needed a new name for his squad.
He chose Redskins in honor of Lone Star Dietz, the team's coach and an Indian who often wore an eagle feather headdress, beaded deerskin jacket and buckskin moccasins. Dietz brought four to six — accounts vary — Indian players with him to Boston from the Haskell Indian School in Kansas, where he had coached for four years.
Another version has the team being named for the white men who dressed up as Indians to stage the Boston Tea Party at the start of the American Revolution. Yet another genesis story says the name stems from the colored clay that Plains Indians used to paint themselves for tribal ceremonies.
Whichever version is right, "the reality is more benign than people on both sides of the fence are attributing to it," says sports historian and museum consultant Frank Ceresi. "The name was meant very, very positively."
The genesis may always remain murky because Marshall never wrote a word about his choice, the Boston newspapers from the time are silent on the question (football was a minor sideshow in those days), and survivors of the period offer conflicting and vague recollections. But it is clear that the Boston Redskins, who moved to Washington in 1937, sought to capitalize on their Indian players and coach: The team played wearing red war paint. And Indian players from the time considered the name and trappings an honor.
So does Walter Wetzel, former chairman of the Blackfoot tribe and president of the National Congress of American Indians in the 1960s. By the early '60s, the Redskins had dropped any reference to Indians in their logo, uniforms and merchandise. Wetzel went to the Redskins office with photos of Indians in full headdress.
"I said, 'I'd like to see an Indian on your helmets,' " which then sported a big "R" as the team logo, remembers Wetzel, now 86 and retired in Montana. Within weeks, the Redskins had a new logo, a composite Indian taken from the features in Wetzel's pictures. "It made us all so proud to have an Indian on a big-time team. . . . It's only a small group of radicals who oppose those names. Indians are proud of Indians."
Snyder, meanwhile, intends to keep the name, no matter the protests. "Frankly, we don't hear much from fans about this," Swanson says. "Words take power from their usage. We don't use funny mascots. We don't have tomahawk chops. We've always used the word in a respectful way, to mean tradition, courage and respect."
© 2002 The Washington Post Company
"You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious. "
- Ben Kenobi on Liberals, and the MSM.
Quick Story
January 3, 2008 - 01:30 ET by Founding_Father69% of native americans don't mind.... But the white guilters are going to make a fuss....
Hmmm... Reminds me of story... The superintendent of the school i coach football at made a big to-do about how the name of jr high was going to be changed from the "Blackhawk Braves" to the town name... and use the same benign mascot as the high school. The chief (pardon the pun) reason for this is because "we" were offending Native Americans. So, I went to the board meeting. After they all discussed the measure, and wanted to vote, I asked a simple question, "What did the Sauk (Black Hawk was a Sauk) nation say about the name? Are they offended or consider it an honor?" Nothing was said for two solid minutes. Then the superintendent said, "we didn't consult them, let's vote."
Poor libs and minorites
January 3, 2008 - 11:03 ET by ahusserPoor libs and minorites always offended about something. (or anything) and only they can be offended. So in Congress if you wanted to band together by race and be the White Caucus it would be offensive and be branded as racist. How about Ivory magazine with no blacks allowed in the pages or ads like Ebony excludes whites. How about the NAAWP ooh! so racist. We white folks, because of our race, are not allowed to be offended or band together by ethnicity. The predominantly American Indian University of North Colorado tried to turn the tables by calling their team the "Fighting Whites" or "Fighting Whities". It backfired on them cause all the "whities" were flattered and bought T-shirts from them. I guess I should be offended but I thought it was funny. When I was a police officer I was offended by the newspapers constant referral to cops rather than officers I thought then and still do that Cop is a denigrating term for Police. I guess they used it caused it saved space.