Last week, in a case about the Asian-American band The Slants, the Supreme Court ruled that the government could not refuse to register a trademark it deems offensive. As the New York Times points out, this probably means that the Washington Redskins is going to win its fight to retain federal trademark protection, which has been going on for years. Since the controversy started, the Washington Post has been at the forefront of the fight to compel the American football team to change its name, which is why a few months ago it commissioned a poll that asked American Indians whether they were offended by the team’s name. Of course, the expectation was that the overwhelming majority of respondents would answer the question in the affirmative, but alas it turned out that 90% of them didn’t give a shit. (Note that, as the article points out, another poll had already found the same thing in 2004.) This will only be surprising to social justice warriors, who automatically assume that every minority activist who claims to speak on behalf of the group he belongs to is actually representative of what the members of that group think, but it’s still pretty funny.
If you don’t want to read the whole article, which is kind of long although interesting, here is what I take to be the most revealing passage:
Those interviewed highlighted repeatedly other challenges to their communities that they consider much more urgent than an NFL team’s name: substandard schools, substance abuse, unemployment.
I guess American Indians need to be educated by white liberals until they understand what really matters. (In the jargon of social justice warriors, “educated” means being brainwashed until you have been turned into a clueless imbecile, so that you assent to propositions that are manifestly false. If you want to hear people who are very educated, just listen to Black Lives Matter activists, who are probably the most educated people in the US.) I, on the other hand, would just summarize the article like this: “The vast majority of American Indians in the US, unlike the activists who claim to speak for them and the white liberals who use them to assuage their pathological guilt, are not brainless morons.” But I guess that’s because I’m thoroughly uneducated.
I haven’t read this post but your headline in your email :
“American Indians don’t give a shit about the Redskins, but that’s because they don’t know what really matters”
is somewhat extreme and does not take into account that like some French people in your vast ethnic group, some Asian-Australo-Melanesians (that happen to make up the American Indian population) happen to be extremely intelligent — even to the extent of knowing “what really matters.”
I would say if I didn’t know you better that you are a racist. Of course, because you do know what really matters, I can only assume that the headline was meant to be provocative.
I suggest, from now on, that you offer (in your emails) a dual heading, one in French, one in English translation, so that we can look at the French to understand the worthwhile nuances that you are trying to convey.
As James pointed out, you should read the post. I’m actually saying that, unlike some activists who claim to speak for them, the vast majority of American Indians do know what really matters.
Next time read the post? The headline is sarcastic and meant to paraphrase the opinions of some activists on this issue.
I’m not surprised by this, though as a personal matter, I would prefer teams not use ethnic groups for their sports mascots, but don’t support using legal means to do so. One of the points that seems overlooked a lot is pointed out in the book, Dancing at Halftime, is that historically, non-Indian Americans have long had a complicated and very often favorable view of Indians. This is often the double-edged sword of the noble savage, but Indians are viewed as strong, honorable, and brave. The American Boy Scouts use Indian idealization in its program. Many white Americans whose ancestors have been in this country a long time claim (perhaps accurately) some Indian ancestry. And one of the effects of the Wild West shows was the invention of the Mardi Gras Indian phenomena among New Orleans African-Americans, and the Mardi Gras Indians are awesome. I don’t believe Indian football mascots were adopted to demean Indians.