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Is Redskin a slur? [W:282]

Is Redskin a slur?

  • Total voters
    96
Verax said:
I'm curious what percentage of people think Redskin is a slur separate from whether or not the team's name should be changed.

I think a lot of people are so used to the Redskin name they don't even think of it as a slur because they see it simply as a descriptor of Native Americans or of its heritage and never thought of it as an insult.
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When I hear Redskins I think football and nothing more. There are so many things out that that can be taken offensively if a person wants to take it that way. You could simply state the sun rises in the east and there will be some out there who would take offense to it. Here is the history of their name:

The Washington Redskins were originally known as the Boston Braves. In 1933, co-owner George Preston Marshall changed the name to the Redskins, possibly in recognition of the then–head coach William Henry "Lone Star" Dietz, who claimed to be part Sioux. On July 6, 1933, the Boston Herald reported that "the change was made to avoid confusion with the Braves baseball team and the team that is to be coached by an Indian (Dietz)... with several Indian players."[6] Dietz's ancestry has been questioned by some scholars, as a birth certificate and census records recorded his parents as white. This does not preclude his having had Sioux ancestry as well.[7] In 1933, the Boston Braves moved from Braves Field, which they shared with baseball's Boston Braves, to Fenway Park, already occupied by the Boston Red Sox. John F. Banzhaf III, Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University Law School, cites a newspaper article from 1933 in which Marshall is quoted as saying the name was selected only to save money by not having to change the logo of the Braves, and not to honor Dietz or the Indian players.[8] There was however, no logo on the Braves football uniform of 1932. The Washington Redskins current logo, which was inspired by Native American, Walter Wetzel, former president of the National Congress of American Indians, was introduced in 1972.[9]

More info on the Washington Redskins can be found here:

Washington Redskins name controversy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
CRUE CAB said:
The United States of the Offended. You should join them.
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This thread isn't about my feelings and whether I am offended, it is about whether it is a slur or not.

Its real easy for people to complain about political correctness when it never involves them as the target.
 
Im not sure, is honky or cracker a slur?
 
Verax said:
This thread isn't about my feelings and whether I am offended, it is about whether it is a slur or not.

Its real easy for people to complain about political correctness when it never involves them as the target.
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I am Italian, you think I have never heard a derogatory slur? You think my last name has never been butchered? Come on man, no one has a lock on getting offended.
Take your fake BS outrage somewhere where people care. Even the vast majority of the American Indian tribes have no issue with it.
 
Perotista said:
When I hear Redskins I think football and nothing more. <snip>
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Me too. That could be because I'm a Giants fan and the mere mention of their name sets me off.

The original team name and the name today were never intended to slur or denigrate Indians.
 
PoS said:
Im not sure, is honky or cracker a slur?
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I never took them as such. In fact for many, many years our AA Southern League baseball team here in Atlanta was known as the Atlanta Crackers. In fact when the Negro leagues were flourishing our Negro league team was called the Atlanta Black Crackers.
 
Verax said:
This thread isn't about my feelings and whether I am offended, it is about whether it is a slur or not.

Its real easy for people to complain about political correctness when it never involves them as the target.
Click to expand...

Woah. Who isn't part of some group that has been the target of some slur or denigrating comment?
 
Perotista said:
When I hear Redskins I think football and nothing more. There are so many things out that that can be taken offensively if a person wants to take it that way. You could simply state the sun rises in the east and there will be some out there who would take offense to it. Here is the history of their name:

The Washington Redskins were originally known as the Boston Braves. In 1933, co-owner George Preston Marshall changed the name to the Redskins, possibly in recognition of the then–head coach William Henry "Lone Star" Dietz, who claimed to be part Sioux. On July 6, 1933, the Boston Herald reported that "the change was made to avoid confusion with the Braves baseball team and the team that is to be coached by an Indian (Dietz)... with several Indian players."[6] Dietz's ancestry has been questioned by some scholars, as a birth certificate and census records recorded his parents as white. This does not preclude his having had Sioux ancestry as well.[7] In 1933, the Boston Braves moved from Braves Field, which they shared with baseball's Boston Braves, to Fenway Park, already occupied by the Boston Red Sox. John F. Banzhaf III, Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University Law School, cites a newspaper article from 1933 in which Marshall is quoted as saying the name was selected only to save money by not having to change the logo of the Braves, and not to honor Dietz or the Indian players.[8] There was however, no logo on the Braves football uniform of 1932. The Washington Redskins current logo, which was inspired by Native American, Walter Wetzel, former president of the National Congress of American Indians, was introduced in 1972.[9]

More info on the Washington Redskins can be found here:

Washington Redskins name controversy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Click to expand...

This thread is about the word, not the football team, that is a separate issue.
 
CRUE CAB said:
I am Italian, you think I have never heard a derogatory slur? You think my last name has never been butchered? Come on man, no one has a lock on getting offended.
Take your fake BS outrage somewhere where people care. Even the vast majority of the American Indian tribes have no issue with it.
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So I guess you'd be ok with the Florida Guineas as a football team? What about the Miami Greaseballs?

Fake BS outrage? :roll: There is no outrage here, I simply wanted to talk about whether Redskin is a slur, I happen to think it is. If this angers you maybe you should leave the thread.
 
tres borrachos said:
Woah. Who isn't part of some group that has been the target of some slur or denigrating comment?
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How many team names use a white slur that refers to race?
 
tres borrachos said:
Woah. Who isn't part of some group that has been the target of some slur or denigrating comment?
Click to expand...

In post 51 I just posted where the name came from: But to keep it simple as I firmly believe in the KISS principal here it is again:

The Washington Redskins were originally known as the Boston Braves. In 1933, co-owner George Preston Marshall changed the name to the Redskins, possibly in recognition of the then–head coach William Henry "Lone Star" Dietz, who claimed to be part Sioux. On July 6, 1933, the Boston Herald reported that "the change was made to avoid confusion with the Braves baseball team and the team that is to be coached by an Indian (Dietz)... with several Indian players."[6] Dietz's ancestry has been questioned by some scholars, as a birth certificate and census records recorded his parents as white. This does not preclude his having had Sioux ancestry as well.[7] In 1933, the Boston Braves moved from Braves Field, which they shared with baseball's Boston Braves, to Fenway Park, already occupied by the Boston Red Sox. John F. Banzhaf III, Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University Law School, cites a newspaper article from 1933 in which Marshall is quoted as saying the name was selected only to save money by not having to change the logo of the Braves, and not to honor Dietz or the Indian players.[8] There was however, no logo on the Braves football uniform of 1932. The Washington Redskins current logo, which was inspired by Native American, Walter Wetzel, former president of the National Congress of American Indians, was introduced in 1972.[9]

It is very possible the name was chosen to honer their coach and several Indian players the Boston Braves football team had at the time. Which became the Boston Redskins and later moved to Washington. Also interesting is who the current logo came from of the screaming Indian with a Mohawk.
 
The libs are at it again, never thinking past the moment. So, what about all the other teams with a name that a handful of people will go out of their way to get offended by? Indians, Braves, Redskins, Blue Devils, etc... Should Kraft or whoever stop selling white crackers?

I must say, I also have never heard "Redskins" ever used as a slur in any way.
I like Mark Levin's idea; drop "Washington" from their name, it is more offensive.
 
Surely we have more significant things to concern ourselves with. I do.
 
Anthony60 said:
The libs are at it again, never thinking past the moment. So, what about all the other teams with a name that a handful of people will go out of their way to get offended by? Indians, Braves, Redskins, Blue Devils, etc... Should Kraft or whoever stop selling white crackers?

I must say, I also have never heard "Redskins" ever used as a slur in any way.
I like Mark Levin's idea; drop "Washington" from their name, it is more offensive.
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Indians, Braves, Blue Devils(are we attacking smurfs here?), are all fine because they are not racial descriptors.

White crackers? seriously? That doesn't even make sense... we're talking about racial epithets. If Kraft had a picture of a white slave owner on their Saltine boxes then sure but... wtf?
 
Verax said:
This thread is about the word, not the football team, that is a separate issue.
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I do not think it is possible to separate the two, this whole brouhaha was caused by a federal government agency trying to dictate to a football team to change their name by revoking their patent. If this didn't happen we would not be talking about this and you would not have started your thread. But if it pleases you, I will vacate the thread.
 
Verax said:
Yeah it is, notice there are no teams named as such.
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But there are products called:

vwjUt4b.jpg
 
Verax said:
Yet you needed to make this comment.
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I did feel the need. Yes. Now I'm done. I feel better, and sadly, I don't give a rat's ass how you feel. Sorry. It's just all about me today for me. I have those days.
 
Perotista said:
In post 51 I just posted where the name came from: But to keep it simple as I firmly believe in the KISS principal here it is again:

The Washington Redskins were originally known as the Boston Braves. In 1933, co-owner George Preston Marshall changed the name to the Redskins, possibly in recognition of the then–head coach William Henry "Lone Star" Dietz, who claimed to be part Sioux. On July 6, 1933, the Boston Herald reported that "the change was made to avoid confusion with the Braves baseball team and the team that is to be coached by an Indian (Dietz)... with several Indian players."[6] Dietz's ancestry has been questioned by some scholars, as a birth certificate and census records recorded his parents as white. This does not preclude his having had Sioux ancestry as well.[7] In 1933, the Boston Braves moved from Braves Field, which they shared with baseball's Boston Braves, to Fenway Park, already occupied by the Boston Red Sox. John F. Banzhaf III, Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University Law School, cites a newspaper article from 1933 in which Marshall is quoted as saying the name was selected only to save money by not having to change the logo of the Braves, and not to honor Dietz or the Indian players.[8] There was however, no logo on the Braves football uniform of 1932. The Washington Redskins current logo, which was inspired by Native American, Walter Wetzel, former president of the National Congress of American Indians, was introduced in 1972.[9]

It is very possible the name was chosen to honer their coach and several Indian players the Boston Braves football team had at the time. Which became the Boston Redskins and later moved to Washington. Also interesting is who the current logo came from of the screaming Indian with a Mohawk.
Click to expand...

In the other thread, I also posted about Lone Star Dietz.

Redskins aren't using that name as a slur. What exactly is the "slur" anyway?
 
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