And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Name-callers are more than poor sports http://www.freep.com/voices/columnists/qpitts15.htm September 15, 1999 BY LEONARD PITTS JR. OUR subject for today: Braves, Indians, Chiefs ...and Redskins. As you might know, football season is just getting under way. In Washington, they've been awaiting it with more than a little anticipation. The town's beloved Redskins got a new owner during the off-season and he has been making changes. He has changed the practice facility, changed the name of the stadium and threatened to change coaches if the team's miserable play continues. But there's one thing Daniel Snyder says he won't change: the name. In a recent interview with the Washington Post, Snyder explained that the term Redskins "was taken actually as an honor," though he didn't say by whom. He also said it was "never meant to be derogatory." Which would doubtless come as a surprise to Native American people, who, generally speaking, find the term nothing but derogatory. My dictionary backs them up. "Offensive slang," it warns, "a disparaging term for a Native American." I get the sense most sports fans wish they'd go away, that noisy band of Native activists who have been crusading against not just the Redskins, but also Cleveland's Indians, Atlanta's Braves and Kansas City's Chiefs. Sports fans, I think, wish they could just enjoy the game without being pushed to ponder touchy questions of racial insult. But that's a luxury Native Americans are unlikely to allow them. Nor should they. A time-honored idea In fairness to the Redskins, it might be instructive to recall what the world was like when the team took the name in 1933. Racial and ethnic branding was prominent in those years. You could go to the store for a pipe cleaner called "Cannibal," whose logo was a spear-wielding African with a bone in his hair. You might watch a basketball game featuring the Buffalo Germans or the New York Hakoahs, an all-Jewish team whose name was a Yiddish term meaning strength. Native Americans were a particularly popular commercial icon -- they were used to sell corn flakes, life insurance, motorcycles, butter, baking powder and a brand of tires called "Savage." Ethnic branding is hardly a thing of the past. Consider the Boston Celtics, the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame and the Lucky Charms leprechaun. And, yes, you might fairly wonder: If Americans of Irish descent are not up in arms about any of those, why should Native people pitch a fit about sports teams? The answer is simple: It's easier to laugh when you're in on the joke and Native people are not. See, there's a crucial difference between the Irish and the Natives. The one was assimilated, the other decimated. A shameful practice The mainstream has never welcomed Native people. Instead, it has given them lies, land thievery and death. Those who survive it has chained to lives of poverty, alcoholism and disease. Is it any wonder, then, that seeing themselves held up -- or more accurately, reduced -- to the status of commercial mascot stands for many Native Americans as one more belittling insult? I understand the emotional bond between fans and the team. I also understand that doing the right thing is most important when it's most difficult. In this case, the right thing could not be clearer: Rename these teams. That way, everyone can enjoy the game. LEONARD PITTS JR. appears most Wednesdays and Fridays in the Free Press. You can call him toll free at 800-457-3881, then select option 8. Or E-mail him at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ UPDATES: CAMP JUSTICE http://shell.webbernet.net/~ishgooda/oglala/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
