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cc&d (v253) (the Jan./Feb. 2015 Issue)




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Word Police Need Not Apply

John Amendall

    Personal, national and global problems face us all. The following is not one of them yet. Disciples of political correctness (pc) the word police have elevated changing the name of the Washington Redskins Football Team to a cause celebre. I know I’ll feel much better if I add my two cents.
    The Boston Redskins Football team was brought to Washington D. C. in 1933 who retained the nickname and logo. For 80 years this NFL franchise played under the same. The word police duly informs us that the name and logo is disparaging and must go.
    Across the U.S. athletic teams ranging from high school to college to the professional ranks adopted the word Indians as a nickname. This wide spread adoption recognized the courage and valor displayed by Native Americans throughout their history.
    Sports Illustrated (SI) conducted a survey asking football fans should the Washington Redskins be renamed. Sixty-five % responded leave it alone. Fifteen % didn’t care one way or another. Twenty % favored a change.
    Polls from reservations in New York State indicated that the present name and logo was not a problem. The name actually emphasized their singular ancestry.
    Prodded by the word police high schools and college teams are now dropping the disparaging word Indians. The University of Illinois downgraded its halftime, football entertainment eliminating the war dance of its official mascot and symbol Chief Illiniwek. As a former student (1956) I witnessed this dance performed by a powerful, muscular, acrobatic figure accurately adorned in authentic buckskin regalia and handsome ceremonial head dress. The physically demanding dance was not for sissies.
    There was considerable competition from the student body for the role of Chief Illiniwek. The 81 year old dance was always warmly appreciated by Illini fans rising to their feet greeting the Chief’s proud and dramatic entrance to the field. The dance was last performed in 2007 because pc influence deemed it as “an offensive use of American Indian imagery.” How the challenging, ethnically accurate, artistic dance could’ve been viewed as disparaging eludes me.
    More recently Stanford University changed its nickname and logo from the Stanford Indians to the Stanford Cardinal. What an effete downgrading. The name change doesn’t have the same bite and élan vital of the former name. Indeed Native Americans might consider the change as disparaging.
    While pc unfortunately continues to rear its unsolicited voice what should the Cleveland Indians do about a name change? The Atlanta Braves? The Kansas City Chiefs? A Brave or Chief can hardly be viewed as disparaging.
    In contrast Florida State fans proudly revel in its name and logo. The Seminole Tribe of Florida granted permission to the University to use Chief Osceola as an approved mascot. Too bad Illinois and Stanford wilted to the word police.
    Presently pc curiously accepts tribal names. Seminoles, Chippawas, Black Hawks, Utes as team nicknames and logos. Only time will tell if the word police attempts to pressure the NCAA to do something about this insidious problem. But wait. These tribes are members of the redskin nation.
    The U.S. Patent Office apparently outraged by the word redskins has spontaneously and unrehearsed summarily canceled the trade mark for the Washington Redskins Football Team. The latter is no longer protected from others using the nickname to sell products of memorabilia. The potential loss of revenue might induce the franchise to reconsider a name change. It is difficult to understand how a relatively small department in the humongous federal bureaucracy would take such a step without approval from above. Perhaps it was prompted to do so when the commander-in-chief opined he would change the name, if he were in a position to do so. For some one serving in the senate and presidency in D.C. for over 5 years, it is not encouraging that he would be so responsive to the word police.
    Still, others have threatened to boycott purchasing the team’s memorabilia or avoiding games until the heinous word is removed from the franchise. Many of the team’s fans living in D.C. and the margins of surrounding states are federal employees.
    How will the fan base respond to the commander-in-chief’s fiat, who suddenly seems strangely embarrassed that such a disparaging nickname and logo exists in the nation’s capital. Many seats are legacy ticket holders and the waiting list for seats is lengthy. Football fans in other cities may elect to boycott Washington games, but I wouldn’t bet on it for the D.C. fan base.
    If the word police aided by the federal government can suppress according to them a disparaging word, they are flirting with violating the First Amendment. There are a whole host of disparaging words which might fall within this ambit. Boche, back of the yards, bogtrotter, chink, cracker, dago, facist, frog, greaser, gringo, guinea, heine, hun, limey, mick, nazi, nigger, nips, PB, papist, peckerwood, pinko, polack, raghead, red neck, snapper, spic, wet back, wog, wop. You get the idea.
    For example the NFL is considering assessing a penalty for using the word nigger on the field. Any one other than a black American using this word would be considered a racist. However, black Americans use this word in anger, jest or irony with other members of their race. Playing with black Americans I witnessed this behavior for years. How could the NFL adjudicate this?
    “All right you guys,” the referee asks,” which one of you on the line of scrimmage used the n word?” Ridiculous huh!
    Maybe we should include George Carlin’s 7 filthy words borrowed from Lenny Bruce’s original 9 words. Carlin’s challenge to publicly use these words went all the way to the Supreme Court. The latter ruled restriction of these words on TV and radio when children were listening. Courts still don’t know how to handle this issue. The folks at South Park apparently didn’t get the memo as their potty-mouthed, animated children continue to ramble on. Carlin would’ve loved it.
    Some of the above words are historically more disparaging than others. Further none of the above are used for commercial purchases distinguishing them from the Redskin’s name. The names represent diverse ethnic, religious, and political groups. Living in a mixed neighborhood one did not causally run their mouth. Failure to do so would result in a fight. Did we ever use these words? We did sometimes. But we rapidly learned to zip our lips. Clergy, teachers and parents explained how insulting and inflammatory these and other words were. It was in every one’s best interest to avoid using them to get along with one another. Was this fool proof? No. But for the most part we grew, matured and became more sensitive to using such derisive words.
    It deserves emphasizing that many of the above words have been used in a historical or literary context. For this reason alone we should not be so quick to suppress any words.
    Changing the Redskins name and logo through government intervention is a frivolous exercise. Moreover, it approaches one of those notorious slippery slopes. If this change is pressured by the government what other words might become grist for the mill. Words neither inflammatory or disparaging, but involving freedom of expression towards government incompetence, corruption or poor management may be considered for purging.
    Resolution of this issue rightly resides with Native Americans and the free enterprise system without the influence of round eye government or the word police.



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