Bingo.
Costas's essay on Native American team names was a very well thought out piece of journalism, which was obviously disconcerting to those who are more comfortable with the usual inane football commentary.
Bingo.
Costas said it perfectly; there is a difference between honoring somebody with a name and prodding them with a name. There's nothing flattering about 'beloved patriot', never has been and never will be.
It should have been changed decades ago. The simple fact that it hasn't yet been doesn't mean that it should be kept permanently.
Teams and stadiums get name changes fairly regularly and for far more meaningless reasons than cultural sensitivity.
His diatribe was making a mountain out of a molehill. It really wasn't about "cultural sensitivity" because you don't hear American Indians making a big deal about this. In fact, I recall some years back when a big stink was made about Florida State calling themselves the Seminoles and how they needed to change it. Finally the Seminole tribe in Florida had to step in and say that they really didn't have a problem with it.Bingo.
Costas's essay on Native American team names was a very well thought out piece of journalism, which was obviously disconcerting to those who are more comfortable with the usual inane football commentary.
My buddy has probably no less than about $20K worth of beloved patriot crap
It was much easier to change the name of the Bullets, than to actually change the association it had with Washington's horrible crime problem. A problem that the city still has to this day, by the way.
I doubt our vocabulary would be stunted by getting rid of a couple dozen words of which their entire existence was to disparage. There are about 170 thousand words in the English dictionary. If someone believes that rejecting a few bad words means they can't communicate as a human being, I highly suggest going back to class.
As a society there are times where we have to decide whether to take the low road or the high road, and the excuse of "well, that's how we've always done it" becomes a drain. I'm in agreement that sometimes it can be a bit much to be PC, but we aren't talking about a few people on the corner talking to each other. We are talking about an NFL team that represents a major block of fans in and around our nations capital. Is it really too much to ask to pick the high road, when so little is lost by doing it?
Since "negro" is just the Spanish word for black, why not change the name to the Washington Negroes? After all...it would reflect the majority population in the DC area...and remember, as has been said numerous times in this thread, "Negro" may have once been considered a racial slur, that has gone out of common use...and is now just a word...that means black in Spanish...Or, the Washington Black Skins.
I AM "blanket-ass" feather Indian. The use of "beloved patriot" for the team doesn't offend me, but I understand why it might offend some people.
if you really want to talk about offensive team names...how about the Washington Senators? That will REALLY offend some people.
(yes, I remember the baseball team(s) by the same name)
OH MY GOD I'M SO OFFENDED!
WHEREFORE ART THOU, BOBBY?
1. The meaning of words (whatever they may be) depends on context. "Negro" in the U.S. has a far different meaning than "negro" in Spain, as you noted.
2. My post above was merely advocating for the fact that perhaps it is worth considering that racially offensive terms that have developed a secondary non-offensive meaning need not be "banned" from use. "Negro" as used in the U.S. language, has no secondary non-offensive meaning. At least not to my knowledge. So you are really comparing apples and oranges. The term "beloved patriot" might be unique, in that it likely is the only English racial slur that has developed a non-offensive secondary meaning. That said, if it were shown at some future date that the term "negro" had developed a secondary non-offensive meaning, I would not have a problem with using the term as a team/business name. Would I support that business/team? Probably not. But that is far different then demanding that they change their name.
I recognize that my viewpoints are often unpopular, and I'm not asking anyone to subscribe to them. What I am asking is for people to think logically about a problem before leaping to a conclusion.
Costas should keep his fuckin mouth shut. I don't know why they keep that piece of shit on the air. He adds nothing to the football game..
And insensitive idiots should stick to stormfront for their racist fix.
I heard the Redskins *were* going to change their names....
...but the Washington 'FuckYouInTheAssWithAPostHoleDiggerBobCostas' doesn't fit on their Jerseys.
And you huggy/feely jackasses should stop pussifying this country; turning us into a nation of fucking cry babies
If not condoning racist terms as team names makes me a huggy feely jackass then guilty as charged.
I just want to know, how many white people say they are caucasian? Or do you call yourselves white?
Because that's really just a comment about skin color too.
And in the case of Bob Costas, he's actually almost ghostly white with all of the pancake makeup they slather on him. Embrace your color Bob.
If not condoning racist terms as team names makes me a huggy feely jackass then guilty as charged.