Should sports fanaticism trump race relations?

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

Poll question: Should sports fanaticism trump race relations?

[GOPisEvil]

1. Not only no, but hell no.

Interesting that some white men are telling people of color when and why they are allowed to be offended. Same trip a lot of white men pull on women.

[billbuckhead]

2. Reminds me of ther Skull&Bones using Geronimos's skull as a trophy

"We beat them so we can use their cultural symbols anyway we like."

[Waya]

10. You're wrong, billbuckhead.....

.....we aren't beaten, conquered or vanquished. Not by a longshot.
We're still here, despite all the things done to us in the past.
What didn't kill us made us stronger - remember that!

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

3. Looks like the trolls don't know that admin can track their votes to their

user names :evilgrin: BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

[GOPisEvil]

5. Hahahahahaha!!!

:evilgrin:

So, you're coming to DC now! :bounce::woohoo:

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

6. yep

Looking forward to it :D

[GOPisEvil]

7. Me too! It's gonna be hugh!!!111

BTW, I'm heading down to SA this weekend. I'm thinking La Fogata.

/hijack

[LynneSin]

16. You know I wasn't going to mention this unless they did

:crazy:

:D

[Waya]

8. Amazing....

...how it seems to upset some people that Native Americans aren't honored by some guys wearing fringed clothing, wearing colorful finger-paint on their faces, dyed chicken feathers in their hair, doing a Tomahawk Chop. Names like 'Savages' and 'Redskins' don't exactly make us feel honored, respected and revered either in light of how they were used in the past.
It upsets some people so much that they have public rants on their radio Sports Show, going on about how stupid Native Americans are for not wanting their names used for Sports Teams and their Mascots - and how 75% of all Native Americans are alcoholics anyway, so why would we care how we are depicted?
Yep, KTCK - AM, Dallas, Texas, Sports Radio 1310 THE TICKET, The Dunham and Miller Show was the culprit for that one.
Of course, I wrote them an email forthwith and posthaste, to rub their noses into their ignorance and racial bigottry and to suggest a few other racial ethnic groups they could 'honor' by naming Sports Teams after them - but so far not much of a response.
Imagine my shock!

[GOPisEvil]

9. Dallas sports radio is a festering sewer.

Welcome to DU.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

4. Racism and adolescent vulgarity are American traditions.

[sundog]

11. i don't give a fuck about sports teams, so you know my answer

:D

love the new sig btw :hi:

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

13. thanks

it was hard giving up my trademark Vonnegut sig line, but I had to temporarily...I just had to.

[sundog]

41. yeah...

minutemen = 21st century klansmen (sorry to go off subject, but that was floating in my head yesterday)

[dhinojosa]

12. Definitely not....

I like the NFL like the next guy, but I can do without the name Redskins. Washington will love whatever team they name them.

P.S. I don't get the nazi, confederate flag thing...What does it mean?

[havocmom]

39. Picture is from a thread yesterday - showing "Minute Man" rally to be what

they really are about

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4297156

[Ladyhawk]

14. I didn't realize that this was a touchy subject until I posted about it

last year. At the time I felt it was PC gone overboard, but if ethnic groups feel offended, change the team name. :shrug: The name "Redskins" doesn't seem very progressive.

I'm not a huge sports fan, anyway. At my college, I got very little financial support even though I was valedictorian of my high school class and was carrying a 4.0 GPA. Athletes from my school got full-ride scholarships. We were all middle-class and white, so it was (in my opinion) very unfair. I fear colleges are becoming athletic rather than academic institutions.

Still, I didn't anticipate chronic illness...I wish I could do something productive with my life. Maybe there's still time.

[Mutley]

19. My college spent $30mil on a new stadium

while the building in which I have most of my classes is crumbling away and severely overcrowded. Oh, and the chairs and desks are out of the 70s. I think your fear is correct.

[WeRQ4U]

38. I went through a similar situation

A benefactor gave 100 million dollars to our school, however, he used 89 million of it to build a hockey arena. Granted, we now have the most lavish Hockey arena in college sports, but I think we could have purchased some comfy chairs or something instead.

[Ladyhawk]

45. Sad, isn't it...maybe this deserves its own thread? :( n/t

[Kickin_Donkey]

15. I didn't vote in the poll, but ...

there's another angle that came to mind when I read your opening title.

Sports fanaticism is what got J.C. Watts, a black football star at the University of Oklahoma, elected to Congress from a presumably racist Oklahoma.

Sports trumped race in that instance, which may be seen as a good thing, although Watts was a Republican –– and a stupid one at that (oxymoronic).

[NMMNG]

17. No

And welcome to DU Waya! :hi:

[Beware the Beast Man]

18. As a sports fan (namely football), absolutely not.

Every spring here in Cleveland, I get to hear every whackjob fan justify the Indians' name and "Wahoo" mascot. If a team has a regional name that truly honors the heritage of said tribe or society in a tasteful manner, then I wouldn't have a problem with it, but they don't. Portraying Native Americans as savage, war-mongering subhumans doesn't really qualify as honor in my book.

[progmom]

20. nope

never. x(

[Waya]

21. THANKS.....

...for the welcome, guys. It's great to be among people who have sense.....:hide:

[Beware the Beast Man]

22. Welcome to DU, Waya!

:toast:

[progmom]

23. Waya - thanks for joining us here

I look forward to hearing more about you. :)

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

29. Welcome...I read your post upthread yesterday

but hesitated to post (don't know why) Anyway, I do think it's pretty pitiful that people would defend this obvious typecasting so many years later.

[JimmyJazz]

32. Welcome to DU

:hi:

[sniffa]

24. shouLd sports fanaticism trump poLitics?

i know many DUers can put aside their poLitics when it comes to their sports teams.

edit: e.g. - "i can stiLL root for curt schiLLing, because i don't bring poLitics into sports"

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

30. Well I wouldn't want to see a Dem player discriminated against for

his politics, so on the field, I can appreciate Schilling...on the campaign trail I don't...but I support his right to speak out as much as I support Bruce Springsteen's

[Hosnon]

25. Definitely not but a few on this board have suggested that it is ok for

this to be a thread where 'whites' get bashed and it is considered PC.

[sniffa]

26. on other threads?

[Waya]

28. Bashing Whites?

I haven't seen anyone bashing 'Whites' in this thread. Which message are you referring to?
:wow:

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

31. Where? And is it not white people for the most part defending

these stereotypical team names?

I have simply stated that white people are not the arbiters of what is offensive to other races.

[Shell Beau]

27. If it is offensive to a group of people b/c of their

race, then it should stop.

[Name removed]

33. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[progmom]

34. that's incredibly rude

are you 12 years old?

[Misunderestimator]

35. You voted yes because you don't like NSMA?!?

:wtf:

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

36. Sort of a verite performance act on the amount of reflection involved in a

yes vote.

Oh and on the personal stuff...WTF...can't win em all ;) Don't even want to

[jonnyblitz]

42. people who speak out on the issues always have their detractors

fuck "em. i know i could give a rat's ass...it's only the internets. :shrug: :hi:

[WeRQ4U]

37. I'll vote no on this one, and pose a different scenario.

What about those names that are not slurs? I went to the University of North Dakota. Our Mascot is "The Fighting Sioux". This topic comes up at least once every few years. It came up while I was at school. What seemed to end the debate was Ralph Englestad (an alleged Nazi racist himself) gave 100 million dollars to the school, but conditioned his charity upon the name staying the way it was. He was alumni and wanted it to stay the same.

What happened next was quite interesting. The University actually polled the local Lakota tribe members (Sioux is synonymous with Lakota?) and found that a majority of them had no problem with the name. They then commissioned a Native American artist to redesign a more compassionate mascot symbol. This new design was incorporated into everything on campus. They thought the issue was dead. Now it's back. What do you do in this situation?

Now before you get all up in arms over what I just said, just realize that I could give two shits less whether they change the name or not. I just thought that this was a different scenario than the "Redskins" or "Braves".

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

43. The individual schools have the right to challenge the decision

on an individual basis, and I would venture to guess that if they challenged based on your facts and with a statement from the tribe, they might very well be able to overcome the decision.

[Waya]

46. RE: Different scenario.....

Well, it is the same with this issue as it is with any other - even among Native Americans. Some are for Native Americans Mascots, some are against it and some just don't give a rat's behind.
If, as in the case of North Dakota U, the local Lakota (Lakota isn't synonymous with Sioux - the Lakota are just part of the Sioux Nation. There are the Dakota Sioux, the Hunkpapa Sioux, the Minneconjou Sioux etc, etc) were asked and didn't object - fine. If the Mascot isn't offensive in any way - fine. No problem.
The problem would then only lie with others who also have Teams named after Tribes who weren't as sensitive as North Dakota U and didn't ask the neighborhood Tribe if they had a problem with it. They would scream that 'North Dakota doesn't have to change theirs', so why 'do we have to change ours'? What's racist and what isn't - what's offensive and what isn't. It will start a huge mess all around, get dragged into court and generally tied up for years to come - a waste of money and time that could be put to much better use.
So maybe it is better to just ban Native American names and Masots for Teams altogether - that way nobody feels discriminated against (poor choice of words, I know)
;-)

[redqueen]

40. No, but it seems the world of sports is usually the last to pick up

on setting matters of ethics straight.

[Chovexani]

44. I can't believe I'm quoting Whitney Houston

Hell to the naw.

Seriously, that this is even an issue for debate is just fucking sad. So depressing.