Before we start, if your first question is going to be "Well how much Indian are you?" let me stop you right there. I'm not going to defend myself against your blood quantum requirements; I get plenty of that from the federal government. I will just say: enough. I am enough.
Argument 1: But it's about honoring their strength/spirit etc...
The historical context of the slur is debatable. The fact that it is a slur is not. One theory is that the term originated from scalping. Baxter Holmes writes about the call for the brutal scalping of Penobscot Indians, in a chilling piece for Esquire:
"Spencer Phips, a British politician and then Lieutenant Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Province, issued the call ... for, 'His Majesty’s subjects to Embrace all opportunities of pursuing, captivating, killing and Destroying all and every of the aforesaid Indians.' They paid well – 50 pounds for adult male scalps; 25 for adult female scalps; and 20 for scalps of boys and girls under age 12.
These bloody scalps were known as 'redskins.'
The mascot of the Washington Redskins, if the team desired accuracy, would be a gory, bloodied crown from the head of a butchered Native American."
Fucking terrible, right? This is not about the strength and power of a native person, this is about the strength and power of the white person who killed them.
Another theory is that the term refers to the reddish (I guess?) tone of native peoples' skin, or the red paint some tribes used on their faces. Native people may have coined the term to differentiate themselves from their white murderers or their white murderers may have started calling native people redskins first. Regardless, the imagery of Indians with red skin made it's way into popular culture and never in a positive way (Peter Pan, anyone?) You are not talking about the accuracy of a native warrior's arrow or the strength of an elder's spirit; you are talking about skin tone, as in, "not white."
Argument 2: But there are Native schools that call their team "Redskins" ...
This argument is as old as the reappropriation of slurs itself. Oh, are you the type of white person who thinks that because black people can use the n-word you should be able to as well? The type of straight person who thinks that gay men calling each other the f-word gives you license to? If you think marginalized groups taking back negative terms, stripping them of their power to hurt, and incorporating those terms into their own culture's vernacular should give you free reign on those terms yourself,fuck off please reevaluate your philosophies and get back to me.
Oh also maybe watch this:
Argument 3: Why haven't native people cared about the team name before?
Because it's really difficult for the poor and disenfranchised to find the time for "luxury causes" such as this one, that's why. Reservations are dealing with a poverty rate six times the national average. The land is crap. Tribes that were disbanded by the government are fighting for recognition. Tribes have been dealing with high suicide rates and a predisposition to alcoholism. This shouldn't be news to you, but things have been pretty shitty for Native Americans. Matt Calkins breaks this down further here.
Recently, things have been looking up for tribes. With casino money, reservations are slowly digging themselves out from below the poverty line. Native American scholarships are providing better access to education for young Indians. Native people are finally at a point where they can do more than just try to survive. It's not that they never cared before, it's that they didn't have the luxury to care before.
Argument 4: Why haven't YOU cared before, Marcia, hmmmm?
To be honest, I didn't really care about football at all. It was easy to ignore. It was always sort of an abstract thing: sports teams were sometimes racist. Now that I actually take an interest in my local sportball team, all of those racist mascots and logos are staring me in the face. And it pisses me off. Also I've been thinking a lot about my cultural identity (or lack thereof) since my dad died. Also, the world has been falling apart, I don't know if you noticed. I was busy dealing with that--
--oh wait, are you trying to attack me personally to distract from the validity of the cause? Yeah, I thought so. Moving on.
Argument 5: Well then we'd have to change the Braves, the Indians, the Chiefs ...
YES. We would. Change them all. Fucking change all of them.*
The Washington Racists are just the most prominent and offensive in a long line of offensive team names.
Fucking change them all and stop holding onto your bullshit white privilege, the same white privilege that allowed rich white men to caricaturize several hundred races of people, AFTER other white men murdered them and stole their land. Oh poor sports fans, you'll to buy new overpriced officially licensed sportball gear and you wont be able to wear that feathered headdress anymore. I don't fucking care. Stop being a racist asshole.
Why is the red man red? Because Walt Disney was at his racist best.
Any way you slice it, the racial slur "redskin" was meant to be derogatory and Redskins or Redmen or any other incarnation of the term used by white people is paying homage to the white men who called them that and nothing else. Even if you did have the purest of intentions in wanting to honor native tribes, it's not working. So stop.Argument 2: But there are Native schools that call their team "Redskins" ...
This argument is as old as the reappropriation of slurs itself. Oh, are you the type of white person who thinks that because black people can use the n-word you should be able to as well? The type of straight person who thinks that gay men calling each other the f-word gives you license to? If you think marginalized groups taking back negative terms, stripping them of their power to hurt, and incorporating those terms into their own culture's vernacular should give you free reign on those terms yourself,
Oh also maybe watch this:
Argument 3: Why haven't native people cared about the team name before?
Because it's really difficult for the poor and disenfranchised to find the time for "luxury causes" such as this one, that's why. Reservations are dealing with a poverty rate six times the national average. The land is crap. Tribes that were disbanded by the government are fighting for recognition. Tribes have been dealing with high suicide rates and a predisposition to alcoholism. This shouldn't be news to you, but things have been pretty shitty for Native Americans. Matt Calkins breaks this down further here.
Recently, things have been looking up for tribes. With casino money, reservations are slowly digging themselves out from below the poverty line. Native American scholarships are providing better access to education for young Indians. Native people are finally at a point where they can do more than just try to survive. It's not that they never cared before, it's that they didn't have the luxury to care before.
Argument 4: Why haven't YOU cared before, Marcia, hmmmm?
To be honest, I didn't really care about football at all. It was easy to ignore. It was always sort of an abstract thing: sports teams were sometimes racist. Now that I actually take an interest in my local sportball team, all of those racist mascots and logos are staring me in the face. And it pisses me off. Also I've been thinking a lot about my cultural identity (or lack thereof) since my dad died. Also, the world has been falling apart, I don't know if you noticed. I was busy dealing with that--
--oh wait, are you trying to attack me personally to distract from the validity of the cause? Yeah, I thought so. Moving on.
Argument 5: Well then we'd have to change the Braves, the Indians, the Chiefs ...
YES. We would. Change them all. Fucking change all of them.*
The Washington Racists are just the most prominent and offensive in a long line of offensive team names.
Fucking change them all and stop holding onto your bullshit white privilege, the same white privilege that allowed rich white men to caricaturize several hundred races of people, AFTER other white men murdered them and stole their land. Oh poor sports fans, you'll to buy new overpriced officially licensed sportball gear and you wont be able to wear that feathered headdress anymore. I don't fucking care. Stop being a racist asshole.
Peter Pan reference.... Ugh...... That scene always bothered me. But it's a classic! To which I say, please go look up the definition of "classic" and reevaluate your adjective.
ReplyDeleteWords to pass around. Will do. Great explanation.
ReplyDeleteGod, Chief Sits-On-Dick was the absolute worst.
ReplyDelete