So the latest news is about the Cleveland Indians from MLB changing their team name because it is deemed offensive to Native Americans. This follows the recent name elimination of the former Washington Redskins of the NFL, who now call themselves Washington Football Team.
The road ahead is long, as there are numerous teams with Native American monikers, such as the Atlanta Braves, Kansas City Chiefs, Chicago Blackhawks, Florida State Seminoles, and others.
Another team that should probably be on notice are the New York Yankees. Surely there will be something deemed offensive about that at some point in time.
Personally, I’m so relieved that something is finally “being done” about racism. For instance… the elimination of the 100+ year-old Aunt Jemima name from my pancake syrup certainly has solved the problem of racism. Though they haven’t yet settled on a new name, I would follow Washington’s lead and call it “The Pancake Syrup.”
How refreshing to see people concentrating on what is the root cause of the racism problem… team names and brands. This way people can feel good about “doing something” about racism, and go happily looking for the next problem to solve.
I know if I were a Native American, I would not rest easily until all related sports monikers were eliminated, and my life would automatically become so much easier.
My everyday problems such as education, health, discriminatory practices, and financial inequalities would magically disappear once the Atlanta Braves were renamed “Atlanta Baseball Team.”
It continues to be unbelievable to me how millions of otherwise intelligent adults can honestly believe that putting a Band-Aid on a gaping, 100-stitches wound is akin to “solving a problem.” The blatantly misdirected focus is incredibly difficult to believe.
The problem here is that once this “PC snowball” starts rolling downhill, it’s going to grow bigger and bigger, swallowing up everything in its path.
What a sad sign of the times.
Petty for sure. I would not be offended if we had a baseball team called The Tainos or The Boricuas. On the contrary its a form of pride to me to be recognized as a notable race. This is an example of political correctness gone too far. But that’s my opinion. Obviously there’s a whole lot of people out there that don’t agree with me or you. Go figure.
Good point regarding “The Tainos” or “The Boricuas.” Here is my take. It all boils down to the intent behind the name. If the intent is to insult with a racial slur… then that’s pretty clear-cut. There are obviously some words out there that are meant to offend and provoke. We all know what those are. Even the Indians’ logo. I have said for years that the logo of Chief Wahoo is pretty demeaning. I would have had no problem with the logo only being changed. But the word “Indian” to my knowledge is not meant to be demeaning, and we need to draw the line somewhere.
“Redskins” I guess a case could be made against that, although I should mention that many Native Americans surveyed at some point had no problems whatsoever with the name. But who wants to know what the Native Americans themselves think, right?
Yes… it IS political correctness gone too far. Gone wild, I’d say. And yes… there ARE a whole lot of people who think otherwise. But again… it is befuddling to me how much time and energy is devoted to changing team names… and how little is devoted to solving the REAL issues these minorities face daily.
Thanks for your great comments, Alex.
I suppose that people would argue that it’s a symbolic first step in addressing those very real world problems that minority groups face daily. Like you, though, I’m skeptical about any actual follow through. It seems more like an “appease the masses and move on” type of action.
I don’t follow football so I had a good chuckle with “Washington Football Team”. They’re definitely not going to offend anyone with that team name…. or sell any merchandise. Insert facepalm emoji.
You’re absolutely right, Angela. It most definitely is an “appease the masses and move on” type of action like you said. If this was being done in parallel with real fixes, I would have less of a problem with it. I said in my article these name changes were like putting a Band-Aid on a gaping wound. I was wrong. It’s more like putting a Band-Aid on a compound fracture.
Loved your quip about the Washington Football Team not selling any merchandise. Not only because it was downright funny… but because it will likely be proven totally correct. Also loved your verbal “insert facepalm emoji” ending. Not sure if it can be done on the comment section, although I think I have seen it in past comments.
Thank you for your comments, Angela. Wonderful to receive them as usual.