Washington Redskins

WARNING: SOME OF THE IMAGES IN THIS VIDEO MAY BE OFFENSIVE TO SOME. THEY SHOULD BE AND SO SHOULD THE RACIST WORD REDSKIN.


from Suzan Shown Harjo:


Stanford linguist Geoffrey Nunberg, an expert witness in our case, wrote to me on June 13 that "Ron Butters posted a message to the American Dialect Society list a while ago claiming that 'redskin' was rarely used and was not disparaging." Butters is an expert witness for the Washington football club, but did not identify himself as such in his posting.

"I did a search in Google Groups," wrote Nunberg, "and found a number of citations that demonstrate that the word is still widely used in its pejorative sense. I attach these; the names of the relevant discussion groups are in parens. These are all from the last ten years or so:"

— "Hey Redskin: Go back to the Indian Reservation and make some illegal booze." (rec.sport.pro-wrestling)

— "These redskin c***sucks up at the reservation are now claiming that THEY own the portion of Nebraska that pertains to Whiteclay....Times like this make me wish Custer had access to air support and a couple of tactical nukes." (alt.tasteless)

— "Hop down to Any Boat store. Don't you know how to read? I bet your one of the redskin, indian whoop de do's who object to seeing sports teams demeaning native americans and bitch about everything." (alt.scooter)

— "I am getting f***ing tired of these damn redskins belly aching about how the paleface came and stole their land. Why don't they get off their lazy, reservation living-asses and start working?" (alt.discrimination)

— "As I said the white Europeans had 'firesticks' for CENTURIES before the redskin savages even HEARD about them! The redskin savages didn't even have the incredibly complex machine known as 'the wheel' until CENTURIES after other races had it! They were a VERY backwards people!" (alt.atheism)

— "Those indian savages instead opted for much more equisite forms of torture and methods of creating intense pain in their redskin neighbor victims." (Thread, "Indians Are Sleaze Merchants," alt.fan.rush-limbaugh)

— "I stopped into a New York club and found an American Indian bar-tending. I ordered a Manhattan and the redskin f***er charged me twenty-four dollars!" (3do.bad-attitude)

The R-word for public school athletic programs is being challenged legislatively in California and Oklahoma, and both laws deserve to pass. Opponents say the word is an honorific, which is has never been and is not now.

No Native person who has been called the R-word has ever said: "Wow, they must think I'm a football player or a sport mascot or a person covered in red paint for war." It has always been a fighting word and has never been a compliment.

People of ill will and poor taste need to stop playing their dirty word games, and good people must stop enabling them. They must have better things to do with their time than to hang on to racial-based stereotypes and anti-Indian vulgarities.

Suzan Shown Harjo, Cheyenne and Hodulgee Muscogee, is president of the Morning Star Institute in Washington, D.C., and a columnist for Indian Country Today.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• washington
• redskins

[jrbrewsky]

The City of Memphis is a lot more racist than the Washington Redskins will ever be! You Elvis fuck!

[pensmoke]

Memphis is racist, yes. So is the racial slur 'r*dskins'. And did you call me an 'elvis f*ck'? Are you serious? Way to stereotype a whole city by the only thing you probably know about it you idiot. lol

[jrbrewsky]

Is there anything else about your town that I SHOULD know? Besides I'm from DC. I know how hard it is for you to be able to change the name of our football team. I'm against Racism as much as you, but some how, all types of people here are Redskin fans. You waistin' your time bama. This is one of the most loyal fan bases. Besides, They didn't name the team that with racial intent. Calm down! People get by. Ask Obama. Racism will always be around! It's not American or White! It's Mankind.

[pensmoke]

Im not a 'bama'. Thats so DC of you. I do know people from DC, I have family there. And I don't expect you to see past the blinders that any loyal spots 'fan' wears.

[lion3p0]

dude the vikings are not a race or ethnic group!!!! there were vikings from almost 15 countries, from france,russia,byzantine empire,england,denmark and ofcourse scandinavian countires jesus its a professiona; occupation so to speak, and the fighting irish mascot is a mythical figure not a human being!!

[InfinityNebula]

Remember too that the Washington Redskins refused to draft any black players and to this day refuse to allow blacks to work in the front office

Their was a slogan when John Riggins was playing for them the quote, Cant No Niggy stop JOhn Riggy!"Redskins fans are particularly offensive and ignorant'

and perpetuate that racist stereotype in social arenas and on the job the DC area is extremely racist anyway im from DC and see it everyday Its the most racist

region in the union DC Md Va ~!

[aniyuntik7]

You stupid idiot!!! You just insulted him with that Elvis fuck comment. Now you appologize for it. Whats wrong? A mixed up mind. Insult then try to smooth it over!!!

You need some meds for borderline personality disorder. Thank you pensmoke.

[aniyuntik7]

The word is racist. A term used to describe the blood brought in on the bodies of NA who were killed by bounty hunting colonist. The word squaw came from when the horny Spaniards asked a tribe they came too where the women where? The Indians did not understand so the soldiers pointed to their privates. They replied squaw, "male genitalia!" Yet, squaw has been common term for NA women and educated people know the rest. Racism, reverse racism, stops when we undesensitive ourselves and listen

[jrbrewsky]

I'm justin saying, I don't meen to affend you.

[pensmoke]

The comments in the more info section were made by people recently. And they are used with 'racial intent'. Try again.