Are The Redskins Offensive?

During recent years, certain sports teams have come under fire for their "controversial" names and/or mascots. A good example is the the Washington Redskins. Although the American Indian is usually a symbol of pride and strength, the Redskins' native American mascot has been called racist and insensitive by many in the politically correct crowd.

(By the way, I never quite understood why American Indians are referred to as "native" Americans. After all, by definition, aren't most of us "native" Americans since we were born here? To stir the pot on this subject, I used to check off the "Native American" box on various forms and applications. When people would eventually ask me if I was an Indian, I would explain,"No, But I was born in America. So, therefore I'm native. Should I have checked another box?" Of course, this would usually generate a "deer-in-the-headlights" look from the person.)

Anyway, back the Redskins mascot. I'm not really sure what's so offensive about it. Although, I'm not a huge fan of their football team, I always thought the Redskins' mascot looked bad ass. But not everyone feels the same way...

Tomorrow, a group known as the Oneida Indian Nation plans to hold a public conference in Washington DC. The group plans to call for the NFL to end the use of the word "Redskins", as they consider it a racial slur. Several US lawmakers are also scheduled to be in attendance. Even President Obama has recently commented on the issue by saying,"If I were the owner of a team and I knew that there was a name of my team, even if it had a storied history, that was offending a sizable group of people, I'd think about changing it." (Yep, the government is still shutdown and these guys are worried about who might be offended by the word "Redskins".)

According to a recent USA Today poll, 79% of Americans feel that the Redskins should keep their name. In a 2002 Sports Illustrated poll, 75% of American Indians surveyed, had no objection to Washington's use of the word Redskin. And in 2004, Annenburg Public Policy Center at the University of PA, conducted a survey among American Indians in the continental US. The result? 91% found the word Redskin acceptable.

So, why all the controversy? After all, almost anything can be deemed offensive if you twist it hard enough. Should we put an effort into changing things whenever anyone raises the PC flag?

Let's try to put things into perspective. Just look at Notre Dame. They're team name is the Fighting Irish and their mascot is a pissed off leprechaun. The mascot, possibly fueled by multiple shots of Jameson, always looks like he's ready kick someone's ass. If one were politically correct or grew up in France, I can see how they might see this as an insensitive portrayal of the Irish people. But do you think the actual Irish are offended by this? Hell, no! They're proud to be labeled as badasses! In fact, if some politically correct asshole even attempted to change Notre Dame's mascot, he would probably be pummeled by a hailstorm of Guinness bottles!

With all of this being said, I have to admit that I am a bit offended by the Florida State Seminoles. It has nothing to do with the their controversial name and everything to do with the 63-0 scalping that they gave to my hometown Maryland Terps yesterday. That was offensive and insensitive!

kw