Goodbye to Racial Mascots: California Bans the Use of “Redskins” in Public Schools Oct. 11 marks the victory of a statewide movement to prevent a racial slur from public use. On that day, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law the ban on using “Redskins” as team names or mascots in public schools. The bill was well received by the majority, and many expected that this would set a good example for other states and the next generation. Without a doubt, the term in question — referring to the brutal crimes that British colonizers had done to Native Americans — is a racial slur that many Native Americans have long found offensive. However, when it comes to something as prestigious as the Washington football team or as intimate as a tradition of Amherst College. The change of mascot becomes extremely controversial and no longer a black-and-white issue. It is said …show more content…
People emphasize on “context,” saying, for example, that “Redskins” are not initially created as a derogatory name, and that “Lord Jeff” should not be judged by today’s standard. These comments are certainly off the mark since this is exactly the reason these issues are raised today when public awareness has accumulated to a point that the injustice is no longer tolerable. What we make connection with should be the substance itself — the team members, the details in our memories, the sentiments and personal bonds — rather than a simplified and superficial icon, let alone a negative one — a stigma of our dark history. No one at this point can judge with full confidence whether the change of a tradition lead to a brighter future or not, but when we look back at many radical changes that we had made to our traditions, we might feel grateful that we finally become what we are — not because of the adherence to every single tradition but all the changes we were able to
The context portion in a Rogerian argument is to provide insight on the opposite stance, which Jane Willy fails to do. The author attempts to do a lead up to the point of view by stating the NCAA told universities such as “Arkansas State University was told to stop calling itself the Indians, the University of Louisiana at Monroe was told to drop the name War Hawks, the University of Illinois at Champagne-Urbana was told to drop the name Illini, and the University of Utah was told to drop the name Utes” (Willy, 2005). This is useless information to the reader because it comes before the viewpoint and does not sync up properly in the passge. Next, the author gets to the position of which the “NCAA was responding to a report issued by the U.S. commission on Civil Rights” which labeled the usage of American Indian tribes as mascots as racist and disrespectful to their communities (Willy, 2005). This important information was misplaced and should have been put before the list of colleges affected by the NCAA’s decision to yield a better understanding.
Imagine a mascot that a community rallies around, but not a single person can see. This mascot serves no purpose if it is not on any shirts, uniforms, or bumpers of cars. How difficult is it to rally around a mascot if it cannot be seen? The truth is, it is difficult, yet countless high schools across the United States ban merchandise containing the devil or other mascots including our East Jordan High School. The school can not buy, produce, or sell any apparel bearing the red devil on it.
The name Redskins is seen as a derogatory and racial term traced back to the 18th century. It is found to be demeaning and offensive towards the Native Americans due to the history of the word. Some sources state that the term is in reference to when the Native Americans would paint their faces red, but others proclaim it's related to the scalping incidents. During the mid-19th century, authorities offered bounties for the scalps of Indians and referred to them as redskins. This issue has resurfaced once again as a dispute between the Washington Redskins and the Native Americans over the name of this certain National Football League team.
When people talk about mascots being named after Indian cultures they think that the Indians being recognized should feel honored. However, when that team plays their rival the other fans are taught to hate those people causing them to hear hateful and degrading comments throughout their lives. “If it’s the team’s tradition, then it’s a legacy of bigotry.” (Wulf). People don’t show respect for Native Americans they use them to create a profit.
In the article Hispanic Team Changes Small Town Attitudes, by William L. Holmes, many things stood out to me. First of all, I think the race of the players can matter, especially in this era we’re in. Some races, such as Hispanics, tend to have a bad reputation, in the article it referred to the people in the stands calling them stupid, and mocking Spanish accents, just because they were Hispanic. I think the race can matter a lot, especially if you live in an area, that’s predominately another race. This can cause many problems in a community, if not addressed right away.
These mascots are disrespectful to the natives and pressure people to create stereotypes for the cultures. However, people think that the mascots are a way to honor the indigenous people and other cultures. We shouldn’t use mascots to honor the different cultures instead we should honor them in a way that’s not mocking them. Works Cited Ipatenco, Sara. “Pros and Cons of Indian Mascots.”
The Washington D.C football team has started a controversy with many people that are from the American Indian background. The “indian” sports mascot, logos, or symbols show an image of the Native American people that is not true. To some this may concerning, but to others this is no big deal. I think that this is something that people and teams should care or think about.
In this essay, I’ll focus solely on Black College Football and why it’s becoming a lost but rich history. Some of the greatest NFL football players came from HBCUs such as, Jerry Rice, Walter Payton and Steve McNair. Sadly, we’ve forgotten about the
Sports team’s mascots have been known to have the most stereotypical features. These mascots are offensive towards Native Americans, because mascots have feathers, headdresses, and even braids and mohawks. Mascots in the past have made it look as if them and their teams have no respect or common decency for Native Americans. Some of the most offensive features of these mascots are the mascots having weird, and misshapened faces. For example the mascot for the Cleveland indians.
Recently, the use of controversial words has become a heavily debated topic and has gained international attention as seemingly truthful statements to some, cause insult to others. The Times article "Why 'Redskins' Is a Bad Word", by acclaimed linguist and professor John McWhortor, was published around the time the use of the word Redskin was being debated. In the article, McWhortor aims to clarify the condemnation of the word Redskin, by suggesting that the offence does not stem from the literal definition of such words, but instead the negative and often derogatory connotations the words have. McWhorter begins by introducing the recent discussions surrounding the use of the word Redskins, especially the actions taken by Californian schools
The team has so many bandwagon fans that you see people wearing a jersey or t shirt from the team but can’t name you any players or tell you last night’s score. They only wear their jersey because they are a winning team and they have a sense of pride because they are for the winning team so no one can tell them their team is better because their team is one of the best in the league. We live in a day of age that a good fifty percent of the people bandwagon one way or another because they need to. A lot of people now in days don’t want to be doing anything alone or leading something they have to be part of something. Its more comforting for them to
The Indian mascot was originally designed to render tribute to Native Americans, not as a racial symbol. In the past forty years, changing the name backfired, and citizens began taking offense to the name because they felt like the name represented the color of Native American’s skin. Nevertheless, many fans, including Native Americans, do not consider the name or the mascot to be degrading or racial. Fans of the Washington Redskins participated in a poll that reveals, “77 percent reject changing the name” while in another poll “71 percent of NFL fans did not find the Redskins name offensive” (Lingebach 2). Clearly, from the results of the two polls, many fans would be unhappy if the Redskins’ name were to be changed.
I noticed the tremendous amount of discussion being faced about the controversy of the Cleveland Indians mascot, Chief Wahoo. Is this entire thing a racial slur or just a way to honor our Native Americans? Even though some might think that it is an honor to the Native Americans that Chief Wahoo is the mascot, but there is a whole other side of the argument. I believe the Cleveland Indians should ban their mascot.
And hate will not win in life or football. It is the early 1970’s tension in the community is on the rise between the black and white. Word is they will be desegregating one of the high schools to bring down the tension. T.C Williams is born but tension rises even more with white parents and black parent not wanting their children to be mixed together. Now to the football team which in past years has had a good team that was all white.
The United States of America is a land of freedom, a land of equality, and opportunity. We value independence and should look to exercise this in every form, as a nation. We must stay united and show respect to one another. This means we should not disregard ones ' ethnicity and culture, and use names in which are offensive towards their culture, in order to promote any sort of activity. This is aimed mainly at sports teams that carry racially inappropriate names.