Offensive? Racist? or Just a Name?

The Washington Redskins have come under fire for the long standing name of their National Football League team name and logo; they are not the only sporting team that has had to deal with this issue of late, even school sports teams are being attacked as being racist in their names and logos. 

To be honest, since my home town police stations logo was questioned years back, I am surprised one of the local High Schools has not been told to change their sports teams names and logos.

Words can hurt, I understand this, but it is a name of a sports team that has been around for a very long time.The name was in honor of the coach of the team and by the sounds of it, many Indigenous peoples are not offended by the name.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-oGPYXPo-Q#t=58

Native Americans and bleeding hearts who want The “Redskins” name and logo changed are more than happy with the “Warriors” and have said so, which to me would be just as derogatory if not worse…as it would relate to violence...their history and now, would it not?

Saskatchewan has had some discussions towards a particular team. When a woman was interviewed, she told the reporter that when someone had explained to her what the issue was, it offended her. So in other words, she did not have a problem with the name of the team or the logo to begin with, she had no opinion either way until someone told her how to feel. Now that is wrong.

Being part Irish, should I be offended by the "Fighting Irish"? Really? It sounds like all Irish are mean, maybe even drunks. I do not drink but that is a trait of the Irish is it not? There is a team known as the Fighting Irish is there not? A very renowned school at that, by the way, University of Notre Dame. 

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/why-notre-dame-football-team-known-fighting-irish-222700412--ncaaf.html

Do I care? No, it is a name. That is it. 

Be proud of your heritage.

We all have ancestors that have done horrible things decades, hundreds or even thousands of years ago. We cannot control what happened then. We could change names of sports teams so SOME people’s feelings are no longer hurt, but what then?

What next? 

When will women start protesting that “Hooters” has to change their name because it is derogatory? There will ALWAYS be something that upsets someone and that someone can always get another person to see their point of view. 

I will not get into the debate of who “owns” the Earth or what happened hundreds of years ago. I was not there and neither were any of the people on the Earth today. Bad things happened to many different cultures. The Native Americans are not the only peoples that have lost “their” land; Jewish peoples have been getting kicked off their lands for thousands of years and keep prospering. African Americans have been dragged off their lands and sold into slavery. 

What is the Indigenous peoples excuse? Farm your land, raise cattle or own casinos, do something to become prosperous instead of laying blame for something that happened hundreds of years ago.

Have enough self-esteem to believe that it is just the name of a sports team it is not meant in a derogatory way, at the time of the naming it was a celebration of the Coach who, and I am only guessing, was probably one of very few Native Americans in that position. 

If you were to take a time machine back and watch as the owner announce the naming of the team...and why...what do you thing that Coaches thoughts would have been? 

Honor and Pride? or Anger and Resentment? 

Letting things go is something I have had to learn the hard way and still work at every day. 

There are bigger fish to fry then worrying about the name of a sports team. 

How about feeding the poor? 

Making medication accessible to those who need them? Curing diseases? Stop fighting Wars? Taking guns out of childrens hands? Educating our children? 

These are more important then worrying about a team sports name. 

We waste too much time thinking about frivolous things that do not move MANKIND forward. 

Peace.