Should the Washington Redskins Change Their Team Name?

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South Pender
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sj-roc wrote:Some media people have already indicated they will no longer use the word. But I wonder, if another sharper tactic might be more effective. What if these people started actively using the phrase "R-words" in their coverage? I think this would stick more with the audience. People would be forced to consider, "Wait, why is he saying 'R-words' instead of 'Redskins'?", rather than not have it enter their consciousness at all that the latter word isn't being used. It would help underscore the argument that the word isn't acceptable anymore, that you have to self-censor — "go 'N-word' on it", if you will — just so you can discuss the team. I think this could be more effective in stigmatising the word by taking this more active approach. Just passively omitting to use a word doesn't make it offensive. But if you're using a replacement term like "R-word" in a context in which it would have once been commonplace to use the word deemed more offensive, isn't this making the point more strongly? "RGIII is looking to get Washington back into the playoff race." "RGIII is looking to get the R-words back into the playoff race." Which of these sends a stronger message about the word 'Redskins'?
Too awkward and potentially confusing, I think. And I don't think play-by-play and color guys see it as their role to educate the public on the negatives of objectionable team names--and, in fact, I'm sure that some of them think that it's a tempest in a teapot (or a "storm in a teacup," I suspect, for you sj-roc! :wink: ). I do agree, though, that simply referring to the team by their location, rather than team name, probably goes largely unnoticed.
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sj-roc
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South Pender wrote:
sj-roc wrote:Some media people have already indicated they will no longer use the word. But I wonder, if another sharper tactic might be more effective. What if these people started actively using the phrase "R-words" in their coverage? I think this would stick more with the audience. People would be forced to consider, "Wait, why is he saying 'R-words' instead of 'Redskins'?", rather than not have it enter their consciousness at all that the latter word isn't being used. It would help underscore the argument that the word isn't acceptable anymore, that you have to self-censor — "go 'N-word' on it", if you will — just so you can discuss the team. I think this could be more effective in stigmatising the word by taking this more active approach. Just passively omitting to use a word doesn't make it offensive. But if you're using a replacement term like "R-word" in a context in which it would have once been commonplace to use the word deemed more offensive, isn't this making the point more strongly? "RGIII is looking to get Washington back into the playoff race." "RGIII is looking to get the R-words back into the playoff race." Which of these sends a stronger message about the word 'Redskins'?
Too awkward and potentially confusing, I think. And I don't think play-by-play and color guys see it as their role to educate the public on the negatives of objectionable team names--and, in fact, I'm sure that some of them think that it's a tempest in a teapot (or a "storm in a teacup," I suspect, for you sj-roc! :wink: ). I do agree, though, that simply referring to the team by their location, rather than team name, probably goes largely unnoticed.
I actually prefer the alliteration of the former term if we're getting into teapot idioms LOL.

I should have been clearer on this and I can see that I wasn't... but I was referring more to media outside the immediate broadcast coverage... more like, sports highlight anchors, and the beat reporters whose words are mostly seen in print. I agree it might be... shall we say, too political, for folks like Phil Simms to go my prescribed route but for the rest of those who cover the NFL and aren't quite as close to the league, they wouldn't be sticking their necks out as much to do so. I've spoken before about the topic of "stickiness" (in the Heath brothers sense of the term) and this would certainly be the "stickier" way to go.
Sports can be a peculiar thing. When partaking in fiction, like a book or movie, we adopt a "Willing Suspension of Disbelief" for enjoyment's sake. There's a similar force at work in sports: "Willing Suspension of Rationality". If you doubt this, listen to any conversation between rival team fans. You even see it among fans of the same team. Fans argue over who's the better QB or goalie, and selectively cite stats that support their views while ignoring those that don't.
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notahomer
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Be interesting to see this game this week.....SEAHAWKS versus Washington. Leaving the whole name issue aside (not saying its important or not important) I really enjoyed these teams battling in the playoffs a few seasons ago but their teams/organizations/QB's have headed in opposite directions, IMO......

Poor RG3 really has struggled with injuries and high expectations. He'll be back one day under centre but it'll be awhile yet whereas, Wilson went on to have two good years and a Superbowl win

I want the Seahawks to win but wonder if some of the issues surrounding their opponents this week :wink: will be enough to have them win......
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notahomer
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The owner of the Washington team sure has it made for the month of October. I had no idea this family (with his wife being a survivor, IIHC) was the driving push behind the pink awareness in the NFL around breast cancer......
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Major protest in Minnesota over Washington name
Posted by Mike Florio on November 2, 2014, 12:10 PM EST

The bus accident is new. The controversy over the name isn’t.

But an unprecedented protest apparently is unfolding in Minnesota against the Washington name.

The protest is “bigger than I expected,” notes Tom Pelissero of USA Today on Twitter. Mike Wise of the Washington Post, a leading voice in opposition to the team name, writes that “[t]his is the scene of the largest ever physical gathering against the Wash. NFL team.”

Wise’s twitter feed has plenty of photos and quotes that will serve as a reminder that the issue, which has been simmering throughout much of the season, isn’t going away. It also should put to rest conclusively the idea that few if any Native Americans are offended by the name.

Today’s protest shows that they are. And it’s likely not something that will be going away.
________________________________________________________________

The reference to the bus accident:

Washington’s team buses crash into each other on way to stadium
Posted by Josh Alper on November 2, 2014, 9:58 AM EST

The trip to the stadium is rarely a perilous part of the day for an NFL team, but there are always exceptions.

The Redskins experienced one on Sunday morning. Two of the buses ferrying players, coaches and team officials to Sunday’s game against the Vikings got into an accident on the way to the stadium when the team’s police escort missed the exit they were supposed to take off of the highway.

According to a report from Dianna Marie Russini of NBC Washington, the first bus stopped after the missed exit and the second one crashed into it from behind. Russini reports that some players are shaken up, there are not believed to be any major injuries as a result of the fender bender and there will be no impact on the start time of the game as a result of the accident.

As you can see in the picture at right, shared by Redskins wide receiver Pierre Garçon, the same can’t be said for one of the buses.
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notahomer
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Yup that was a nasty looking fenderpender. The right side of the windshield is just shattered.......

Silas Redd apparently will be sitting it out with back spasms.......
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Toppy Vann
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Minnesota protests Redskins name...lol. That's rich coming from fans of the VIKINGS.

A little history of how they were slave traders/runners should suggest that name in America is precisely one MOST associated with bad things for blacks than the Indian mascot names.

http://www.history.com/news/history-lis ... he-vikings

Let's get this Vikings name gone ASAP.... but most Americans probably weren't aware of the slave trade.

From a team concept, Vikings weren't unified..lol
5. Vikings were active in the slave trade.
Many Vikings got rich off human trafficking. They would capture and enslave women and young men while pillaging Anglo-Saxon, Celtic and Slavic settlements. These “thralls,” as they were known, were then sold in giant slave markets across Europe and the Middle East.

10. Vikings were never part of a unified group.
Vikings didn’t recognize fellow Vikings. In fact, they probably didn’t even call themselves Vikings: The term simply referred to all Scandinavians who took part in overseas expeditions. During the Viking Age, the land that now makes up Denmark, Norway and Sweden was a patchwork of chieftain-led tribes that often fought against each other—when they weren’t busy wreaking havoc on foreign shores, that is.
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Toppy Vann
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PenderHarbour will love this video.

"Here is the full 24 minute documentary of the production of Sonny Sixkiller Buys the Washington Redskins! We want to thank the Witnessing Our Future Project and Northwest Indian College for sponsoring the play and documentary."

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sonny-Si ... 4842694701
"Ability without character will lose." - Marv Levy
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