During the 1700’s the British Army would
sing a song that was meant to degrade the Colonists. In it, they questioned the
intelligence and masculinity of the Colonial men and their army. That song is
still sung today across the United States and has become affectionately known
as Yankee Doodle.
Yankee Doodle
was meant to be derogatory at the time, and probably was, but now the song is known
by virtually everyone in the same sense that Take Me Out to the Ballgame is known. We all know it, we just don’t
know how or when we actually learned it. It seems ridiculous taking a song like that and making it ours but that’s
exactly what we did. We took what was supposed to be hurtful and embarrassing, owned
it and turned it into something that was the complete opposite of what it was meant
to be.
I like to call it steering into the
skid and it’s honestly quite admirable how well our ancestors did it.
Today, not so much. I'm looking at a
few of you Washington Redskins fans.
Despite Dan Snyder saying they will “NEVER”
change the Redskin name, a loud minority is clamoring for the team from D.C. to
change their name these days, stating the term is derogatory and hurtful.
Even if it was those things over
half a century ago, I agree with Roger Goddell's [1]
letter to congress. In it he writes that the name Redskins is "a unifying force that stands for
strength, courage, pride and respect.”
I read David Zirin’s article on the topic on Grantland (he believes the NFL
should change it) and while he does make some good points, I disagree
with his overall summation. He claims that now is the time to change the name because
for the first time since Snyder became owner, “the burgundy and gold matters.”
But if this is such a big deal, why not change it years ago? Why wait until
they are in the public eye to change it? Why wouldn’t they do it when the team
was dredging through losing seasons and top 10 draft picks and out of the media’s
fleeting scope?
Zirin
claims that when the franchise began, the owner was a racist and named the team
Redskins to degrade Native Americans. He does conveniently forget to acknowledge
that the team was originally known as the Boston Braves (like a baseball team
in Boston at the time) so he wanted to change the name to avoid confusion but
keep the name in the Native American spectrum. He also fails to mention that team’s
head coach was a Native American himself.[2]
Another potential problem arises,
where do we stop with the name changes? This creates a slippery slope…
Do Scandinavian-Americans want the
Minnesota Vikings to change their name because of the pillaging, raping and plundering
their ancestors engaged in and find they find the name an embarrassment?
What about all the trouble the Catholic
Church has gotten into? Do Saints fans write a letter to the NFL and the Pope to
ask the New Orleans Saints to change their name?
What about the Boston Celtics?? The
story goes that the owner wanted to call the team that because there were a lot
of Irishmen in Boston at the time. That can't be politically correct. And to make matters worse, they’re not even pronouncing Celtics right! As an Irish American
should I be offended?
No, it’s a term of endearment, just
like the rest of the team names, including Redskins. Team names as a whole
are derived from something that is held fierce and admirable.
I do understand that as someone who
isn’t Native American, I can’t say what should or shouldn’t offend someone else.
But in talking to my fiancé, who is part Native American and a big time sports
fan, I've learned something. She couldn't care less about the name. She even likes
it!
Even the Seminole’s have given their approval to Florida State to use the name because they like it.
Of course, Seminole isn’t considered a “usually derogative term” but as we’ve
learned over time, nothing has to be.
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