Five Native Americans have succeeded in getting the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, a branch of the U.S. Patent and Trade Office, to revoke the official trademark of the Washington Redskins football team after the owner, Dan Snyder, refused to change the name that has become highly controversial in the last few years.
So what does this mean? What it really means is that technically the Washington Redskins no longer have legal control over their team name and symbols. Anyone else can now use them as names and/or symbols of their businesses, organizations and teams. They didn't stop the football team from using the name and symbols. What they effectively did was open opportunity for more people to use it. Hats off to the Patent and Trade Office for encouraging free enterprise!
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2012, Native Americans (including Alaska Natives) numbered 5.2 million. In a country whose population is 317 million, that's .016%. Of those 5.2 million people, a total of 5 filed suit against the Redskins. That would be .00000096% of Native Americans and .00000001% of the national population. Yet liberals everywhere took up the cause and a tiny minority wins a tiny victory.
So can someone please explain to me how the name "Redskins" is disparaging to anyone? Maybe it was 150 years ago, when it was used quite frequently by western explorers and settlers who battled against the Native Americans. When is the last time you heard a Native American referred to as a redskin? And even if someone is offended (which, by the way, the overwhelming majority of Native Americans are not) - why is this issue so important to the United States government (and to the left in general) that it is discussed on the Senate floor and by the President of the United States? Don't they have real issues that are more important?
A Wickipedia article concerning the term "redskin" quotes the following: The term derives from the use of "red" color metaphor for race following European colonization of the Western Hemisphere, and one of the earliest known citations of its use is by a Native American called Chief Black Thunder in which he stated:"My Father—Restrain your feelings, and hear ca[l]mly what I shall say. I shall tell it to you plainly, I shall not speak with fear and trembling. I feel no fear. I have no cause to fear. I have never injured you, and innocence can feel no fear. I turn to all, red skins and white skins, and challenge an accusation against me".
The lyrics for the fight song for the Washington Redskins, played at the beginning of every game, are as follows:
Hail to the Redskins!
Hail Victory!
Braves on the Warpath!
Fight for old D.C.!
Run or pass and score -- we want a lot more!
Beat 'em, Swamp 'em,
Touchdown! -- Let the points soar!
Fight on, fight on 'Til you have won
Sons of Wash-ing-ton. Rah!, Rah!, Rah!
Hail to the Redskins!
Hail Victory!
Braves on the Warpath!
Fight for old D.C.!
Maybe it's just me but I don't see anything offensive in the lyrics. They are meant to inspire and cheer the warriors on the team. Personally I think we are becoming a nation of crybabies whose feelings get hurt over things that shouldn't matter.
I guess if we're going to begin reigning in freedom of speech for sports teams' names we better get busy. We need to change the names of the following teams immediately:
Kansas City Chiefs (definitely offensive to Native Americans)
Phoenix Cardinals (possibly offensive to birds and Catholics)
San Francisco 49ers (offensive to the families of those brave men working the gold mines)
New England Patriots (offensive to those in America who have no patriotism)
Chicago Bears (offensive to other animals who were not selected)
Oakland Raiders (offensive to real pirates)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (as above)
Green Bay Packers (possibly offensive to meat packers - and the fans call themselves cheeseheads...?)
Minnesota Vikings (offensive to real vikings)
New Orleans Saints (offensive to Catholics)
New York Giants (offensive to big people)
Carolina Panthers (possibly offensive to the New Black Panther Party)
How about baseball teams? Let's see what we can change there...
Atlanta Braves (offensive to Native Americans)
New York Yankees (the term "yankee" might be offensive to Southern Americans)
Cincinnati Reds (Reds eludes to Native Americans)
Chicago White Sox (the term "white" could be offensive to other ethnic groups)
Cleveland Indians (offensive to Native Americans - and many baseball fans)
Kansas City Royals (they think they're better than everyone else)
Los Angeles Angels (possibly offensive to religious and spiritual people of all kinds)
Minnesota Twins (offensive to twins and to Geminis)
Pittsburgh Pirates
San Francisco Giants...
And how about a few college names we need to change?
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (offensive to those Irishmen who don't always fight - and possibly to leprechauns)
Florida State Seminoles (again offensive to Native Americans)
Alfred University Saxons (could be offensive to the British)
Alvernia University Crusaders (potentially offensive to Muslims)
Arkansas Razorbacks (also offensive to Muslims)
Arkansas Tech University Wonder Boys (gay slur?)
Auburn University at Montgomery Senators (should be offensive to everyone)
Bethany College (Kansas) Swedes (need I say it?)
I could go on. There are thousands of sports teams in this country and probably millions of people who could find something offensive about one or more of the teams' names. It's ridiculous. And what's the point? No one is ever going to be satisfied with everything all the time. It's an impossibility.
I would like liberals to understand something. Every time you whine about something someone else is doing or saying, and the result is that action or speech is outlawed. you are removing your own freedom of speech as well. Just as in the case of Harry Reid doing away with the filibuster in the Senate, your efforts to control speech in this country will one day come back to bite you. Democrats won't be in charge of the government forever. And when it changes just remember who made all the overly restrictive rules...
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