US Patent Office Cancels Redskins Trademark

[wynnron123]

If any conclusion that comes out of this, hopefully the name change will be the Washington Skins

[Drama Queen]

I agree.

[SCREAMIN EAGLE]

You've already made your weak argument about Vikings - an actual historical group of people who actually have likely been described unfairly other groups of people - namely non-Scandinavian Christians who've written most of the popular "history".

But what ethnic group or race does Raider allude to? It's a general term for someone who raids - raids the corporation, raids the village, raids the fridge, etc. It has nothing inherently to do with an ethnic group or race.

You continue to miss the point.

Redskins is a specifically racial term defining a group of people by skin color and it has a history of derogatory use. There is really no other analog in American sports. Some use imagery that usurps that of indigenous peoples which can be argued as ethically questionable as nearly everything else has already been usurped - and in many cases commercialized.

But only one team specifically uses a racial term/slur as their name. And that team has the name of the capital of this nation in front of it to boot.

None of what you say matters. It's clear to me now that if a small group of people in this country have a problem with a team name and find it offensive it should be changed. Many people have different opinions on what is offensive and what is not. The important thing here is that the squeeky wheel should get the grease. I am the squeeky wheel in this discussion and I find the term "Fighting Irish" to be offensive to my heritage.

[Susquehanna Birder]

I am the squeeky wheel in this discussion and I find the term "Fighting Irish" to be offensive to my heritage.

Which would make you a 'squeeky' idiot.

[SCREAMIN EAGLE]

Which would make you a 'squeeky' idiot.

Typical response. I guess the white guys opinion doesnt matter though.

[TerpEagle]

Typical response. I guess the white guys opinion doesnt matter though.

Playing the poor, oppressed white guy card is really going to firm up your argument.

Especially when trying to compare it to a slur that relates back to the genocide and oppression of a native population which occurred at the hands of said poor, oppressed white guys that no one will listen to.

I'd keep going in this direction, I really think it will garner you some support.

[SCREAMIN EAGLE]

Playing the poor, oppressed white guy card is really going to firm up your argument.

Especially when trying to compare it to a slur that relates back to the genocide and oppression of a native population which occurred at the hands of said poor, oppressed white guys that no one will listen to.

I'd keep going in this direction, I really think it will garner you some support.

You are a real treat. Being proud doesn't make you a racist.

[3rd & Inches]

Typical response. I guess the white guys opinion doesnt matter though.

History shows that it matters too much.

[TerpEagle]

You are a real treat. Being proud doesn't make you a racist.

I didn't say being proud make you a racist. The fact that you label your opinion as that of the "white guy" suggests that the racial aspect of your opinion is important to you but that doesn't make you racist either.

But using the argument that the "white guy" isn't being treated fairly in a discussion of a racial slur regarding Native Americans doesn't imply that you fully grasp the issue.

[xvii_xxii_xxvi]

Academic Research says otherwise...

This is from the Smithsonian Institute. Some very impressive research. There's quite a bit of evidence supporting the benign origins of the phrase. It also debunks that "redskins" refer to bloody scalps.

http://anthropology.si.edu/goddard/redskin.pdf

[Ellsworth]

HAHAA.

[PackWest]

This is from the Smithsonian Institute. Some very impressive research. There's quite a bit of evidence supporting the benign origins of the phrase. It also debunks that "redskins" refer to bloody scalps.

http://anthropology.si.edu/goddard/redskin.pdf

Yes and no. Its interesting research but its benign origins have little to do with how the word is used in the more modern vernacular. Niggers used to refer to people from Niger, which is where the first slaves came from. And of course they were proud people, proud of their heritage and no problem being called Niggers.

The same applies here, the early Indians were very proud of their heritage and took on the white mans' term, not because it was a pejorative, but because they were very proud of their race and traditions. They weren't cunning linguists and relied on the terms they were taught by the French, British and others

Fast forward a couple hundred years and the world has changed and so has the meaning of the words. How they were actually used is far more important than how they originated as far as this discussion is concerned

We've decided to stop itemizing people by the color of their skin - mostly because its a very divisive and polarizing way to treat people.

The Star-bellied Sneetches from Seuss explain it pretty darn well

[bk]

None of what you say matters. It's clear to me now that if a small group of people in this country have a problem with a team name and find it offensive it should be changed. Many people have different opinions on what is offensive and what is not. The important thing here is that the squeeky wheel should get the grease. I am the squeeky wheel in this discussion and I find the term "Fighting Irish" to be offensive to my heritage.

The 'fighting irish' refers to tenacity, and overcoming odds (presumably in the context of a sporting event, and to a lesser extent, I suppose, conditions of living here after immigration to the US). It's akin to the Atlanta Braves.

I don' t see the connection with 'redskins" though. How are you drawing a comparison?

[TerpEagle]

Whoa

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/...y.html?hpid=z1

This was posted on their official cheerleaders instagram yesterday.

[TerpEagle]

Here's another good one

http://www.theonion.com/articles/ant...-weirdo,36332/

This is one of my all-time favorites from the Onion:

http://www.theonion.com/articles/loc...-his-wife,854/