What is considered offensive? Is it considered offensive to use obscenities around children? According to many people in the United States, it is sport team names and mascots that depict a certain group of people are considered offensive. People around the United States are trying to get professional sport teams to change their names and mascots because they feel it depicts their certain race in bad way. Teams should have to change their mascot and their name if they are named after a certain group of people.
Aside from professional sports teams having offensive names, high school and college teams also have offensive names. In Greenly, Colorado at the University of Northern Colorado, their mascot is the Fightin’ Reds. Of course, this name sounds very racists, depicting Native Americans in a very harsh manner. Students on the basketball team renamed their team, The Fightin’ Whites. They were trying to depict the 1950’s style of the average American male. Their slogan for their team is “Every thang’s going to be all white.” By making this new mascot and new slogan, the basketball team was trying to get their city council to talk about the insensitive team mascots that their school, along with thousands of other schools have. In Eaton, Colorado the people who live there are amazed by all the madness that is going on about the school’s mascot. They are perfectly happy with the mascot, and to them it seems like it would be breaking tradition if someone were to change their mascot. Even though there are many people who hate the school’s mascot and vote for it to be changed, there are also some people who love it and do not want to be changed. Some people think it is a honor for a school’s mascot to be named after their culture. But the number of people for the mascots do not even compare to the number of people opposed to the mascots. (Cart, A12)
In Sacramento, California there are crusades to get rid of school’s with Indian team mascots. There are other offensive team mascots aside from Indian mascots as the Imperial Valley College Arabs and the Hollywood High Sheiks. (Bustillo, 1). People from California are trying to pass a bill AB 2115 that would rid public schools of any racial or ethnic groups. (Boghossian, 1). This has been a issue since the late 1960’s. The National Congress of American Indians has been trying to rid team sports from ...
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... sensitive...for decades we had the Washing Bullets and Abe Pollin on his own changed the name in 1997 because of the high murder rate in D.C. Guess What? The world did not spinning.” (qtd in Sports The Indian Wars, 4). So just because a team name changes does not mean the violence that goes along with my name, and my feelings toward the teams will change as Schwartz implied. The world does not adapt to traditions being changed. If the world feels a certain way about something, they will go on feeling that way no matter what happens.
Team mascots that depict a certain type of group is wrong and should be changed. It is degrading and hurtful to far too many people to keep them from staying the same. Native Americans or any other race or ethnicity should not be stereotyped in a way that degrades them in any way. All teams that have mascots that are named after a certain race or ethnicity should be changed.
Works Cited
"The Indian Wars" Sports Illustrated
http://www.si.com/vault/2002/03/04/319584/the-indian-wars-the-campaign-against-indian-nicknames-and-mascots-presumes-that-they-offend-native-americans--but-do-they-we-took-a-poll-and-you-wont-believe-the-results
This can be supported by this statement from Laurel Davis’ article, “Native American mascots create a hostile climate for many Native Americans, and sensitive non-Natives, in the schools and communities with these mascots. It is hard to feel comfortable in and committed to a school/community, and perform to the best of one 's ability in school or work, when constantly surrounded by stereotypes that offend” (13). Native American’s lives are negatively impacted because they are made to feel uncomfortable and are presented with a hostile environment when they attend sporting events that use Native American images as their team’s mascot. Native Americans should not be made to feel uncomfortable because they are being disrespected while trying to be members of their community as a result of sports teams’ degrading use of images of Native American heritage as their team’s mascot. Many non-Natives do not view the use of Native American mascots as disrespectful, but their opinions cannot ensure that everyone will not feel disrespected. Many Native Americans are made uncomfortable in public settings because of the use of mascots thus negatively impacting their lives. If those of Native American heritage feel disrespected and degraded because of the use of mascots, and they clearly do, action should be taken to remove the issues that are causing
I enjoyed reading your post. I agree with you that offending people should be avoided at all costs. I feel that all words and images regarding American Indians or any race should be banned from being affiliated with any sports teams and mascots. I put this in my original post, but you do not see sports or mascots using any other race. According to Racismagainstindians.org (2002), “interchange the name of any race with the Indians and it immediately becomes clear that we cannot have teams called The Negroes, The Asians, or The Jews”. Today, there are less than 1,000 American Indian mascots used for sports teams (“Anti-Defamation,” 2015).
Asian or any other ethnic group is unthinkable, so why are Native Americans still fair game”? (Shakely 522) Jack Shakely, former chair of the los Angeles City/county Native American Commission as well as president emeritus of the California community Foundation, effectively argues that removing Native American names and mascots from college and professional teams is the right thing to do. Indian mascots for sports teams are offensive to many Native Americans because they are portrayed as savage cut-throats or act like fools. Jack Shakely argues his point in the article, “Indian Mascots- You’re Out!” by explaining his experience with Indians portrayed as mascots and how dignity and respect are not subject to majority rule. A fourth-generation Oklahoman of Creek descent, he is the author of “The Confederate War Bonnet”, a historical novel of the Civil War in Indian Territory. Shakely is mixed-blood Muscogee/Creek and his family has fought against Indian stereotypes. Being a known author, a leader of these important organizations, Native American, and personally dealing with his family fighting against Indian stereotypes makes Shakely creditable to argue his point effectively. I also believe that Indian names and mascot should be removed, because I would be offended if a sports team was named after African Americans and an African American mascot was dancing around like a fool. Some Native Americans believe that people are getting the wrong impression about them. Only %16 of Native Americans find Indian names and mascots offensive but Shakely states, “If 16% of a population finds something offensive, that should be enough to signal deep concern. There are...
The debate is divided into two sides. Those opposed to the use of Redskins and all Native American names in sports, and perceive the use of such terms and imagery as racist and derogatory towards Native Americans and those for keeping the name who cite the history of the team, its links to Native American players and coaches who were part of the team when it was create...
Native Americans are trying to take that next step. For the past 100 years Americans have stolen their sacred names and used them for mascots of high school, college, and professional sports teams. The National Education Association is one of the first to step to the plate by passing, Article I-41, which advises use of Prejudicial Terms and Symbols "The National Education Association deplores prejudice based on race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, age, disability, size, marital status, or economic status and rejects the use of names, symbols, caricatures, emblems, logos, and mascots that promote such prejudice. (92,94)" By having these practices they believe the rights of Native Americans are protected. Native American Mascots in sports need to change to protect and uphold the rights that are granted to them from the constitution.
Mascots are beloved figure heads for sports teams everywhere almost every sport team has a mascot of some kind; that said, sometimes instead of bring people together it can cause a rift between two cultures. Such as Washington’s D.C.’s football team the “Redskins” often the word redskin was a derogatory word used against the Native Americans and while it may seem as though paying homage to the Native American community the overall stereotyped actions of the fans themselves as well as the sugarcoating of the previously racial slur has done little to bring the two cultures together and instead created a larger disconnect between white and Native American. The name Redskin should be retired and replaced so that rather
In his Sports Illustrated article, “The Indian Wars,” S.L. Price argues that there is no easy answer to whether or not the use of Native American mascots by high school, college, and professional sports teams is offensive. “It's an argument that, because it mixes mere sports with the sensitivities of a people who were nearly exterminated, seems both trivial and profound -- and it's further complicated by the fact that for three out of four Native Americans, even a nickname such as Redskins, which many whites consider racist, isn't objectionable.” Whereas Price provides ample evidence that his claim is true, I disagree with the way it was presented and I still insist that Native American names and mascots are offensive.
There is considerable controversy that dates back to the 1960’s over sports teams’ names that reference Native American heritage. “The National Congress of American Indiana’s (NCIA) created a campaign in 1968 to eliminate stereotypes found in print and other media.” (ChangeTheMascot.org). The American Indian community has worked for many years to abolish the right to use Native American Names, spiritual and cultural symbols by professional sports teams (Teters) that they feel offensive. The Washington Redskins football team continues to battle a long standing controversy to change their name. Native Americans, politicians, fans of American football, as well as the general public all seem to have opposing viewpoints regarding if this team should be forced to change their name out of respect to those offended.
The NCAA and the Seminole Tribe of Oklahoma seem to find this as being racist and demeaning to the Seminole Tribe of Florida. The NCAA, at first, was against it for the previous reasons until they were aware that the Seminole Tribe was in favor of the mascot because it respects their traditions and displays a tribute to them. The NCAA went on to grant a waiver to the school and remove them from their list of colleges that use hostile or abusive imagery towards Native American groups. It is thought that using a mascot with references to certain Native American tribes or traditions is racist, but in fact it is really promoting the culture of the tribe and the traditions of the tribe. The Washington Redskins have seen the name Redskins under scrutiny by the public frequently, but when the president was asked about it he described the team name to be a courageous symbol, and that it shows the strength of the Native Americans. The reference to strength shows the respect they have for them because a football team wouldn’t want to be called something that wasn’t very courageous. It is a sign of respect from the organization using a Native American mascot to the Native American people. It also shows respect to the culture and promotes it letting more people become aware of the bright history of the American Indians. If a school would choose to use a mascot that has any
Issue of whether to keep Mascots in schools or not, started in late 1970’s and from then this debate is going on. Most of the schools have Indian Mascots in place for half a century and suddenly it become problem to use Indian Mascots. Over 500 Native American organizations also announced their support for the removal of those mascots and over 1200 schools across the United States have changed the name of their sports teams and some school refused to play with those schools using Indian mascots. But some school still think that using mascots are just paying homage to the Native peoples and it’s just another group claiming to be offended. Sports teams used those mascots to promote their team’s athletic powers, like wolf, lion and eagle etc. How portrait of an Indain wearing hat with feather or headdress can be offensive or racist? One thing which never be done up to now that is to view our history from Native eyes. First of all, learn about their culture and their living style from their new perspective not the one which is given in our history books. From last hundred years we taught our generations that this is our country and we had a very long war with Indians which won. We also tell different kind of stories like burning of Fort Pequot Indians because they had trade relationship with British company. Can stories like this possibly be related to mascot issue? Using mascots are really a problem or just a political incorrectness.
When it comes to my opinion when regrading how cultures affects communication, I think culture can affect how communication is received. Someone may come off as being offensive, depending on how you communicate with a particular culture. For example, in the National Football League (NFL), one team in particular, Washington Redskins, some cultures within the Native American's deem the term Redskins to be offensive. Most football fans, not all, view said offensive team named, not offensive. However, what right does someone have to tell another culture what should, or shouldn't be offensive? Personally, I think if said name offends a portion of the population, what harm is it to just change the bigotry name? As a result, some of the reports
Redskins, Seminoles, Tribe, Indians, what do they all have in common? They are all athletic team names under scrutiny by people who deem them as being racist. For years, people have argued over the fact that these names and/or mascots are being used in a negative way. Some have been changed while others are still being argued over. Teams with these mascots should not be forced to change their names because the majority of Native Americans are not even bothered by these sports names.
In the past few years, the controversy over Native American and other racial sport names or mascots have become an uproar. The main sport teams that are being targeted due to controversial mascots are programs having names dealing with Native Americans. Many teams are well known programs such as the Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, and the Washington Redskins. The Redskins are receiving the most heat from racial groups. According to Erik Brady of USA Today “The volatility surrounding such names has amped up in the year since Daniel Snyder, owner of Washington's NFL club, told USA TODAY Sports that he'd never change his team's name: ‘NEVER — you can use caps.’” (3). However, professional teams are not the only teams receiving negative remarks,
Cowboys and Indians is the popular game played by many children played as a game of heroes and villains. Natives are villainized in American pop culture due to the history being told by educational institutions across the nation. There are not many positive roles popular in the media about Native Americans. Many roles are even played by white people. The costume representation is not accurate either. The disrespect towards them is especially seem on Halloween, when people dress as Natives in cute and sexy ways that they think represent their culture. War paint, beads, feathers and headdresses are ceremonial accessories that represent their culture, it not a fun costume to wear. Only if they are being criticized and ridiculed, like they have been in the past. Racism has also been a huge problem when it comes to using creative names for sports teams, like the Redskins for example. Redskin is a derogatory and offensive term towards Native Americans and many white people do not see it as wrong due to the privilege they inherited throughout history. The disrespect towards them has grown and today it seems that if Natives were not getting ridiculed, they are for the most part ignored. The concerns that King describes in his book explains how the past has wired Americans to believing everything they have once learned. White people
Leonardo was born in a small town in Tuscany, Italy called Vinci on 15 April, 1452. Back then, not all people had surnames; only those who were rich and powerful deserved one. Therefore, when people today refer to him as “Leonardo da Vinci”, “da Vinci” actually means “from Vinci” in Italian. His talent for painting was recognized by his family and neighbors when he was still a boy, and he started his painting career at a very young age. At 14, he was sent to Florence by his father to learn from Verrocchio, who owned a leading workshop at the time. It is said that when he cooperated with Verrocchio on the Baptism of Christ, his skill was so much finer than his master’s that Verrocchio quit in the middle and never painted again for his whole life. 1