Happy Columbus Day! Today, we take time to remember our whitewashed version of the "discovery of America" and celebrate a man who systematically enslaved and slaughtered the indigenous peoples of a land he, ostensibly, thought was fucking Asia.
Much too late, we are beginning to realize that "oh yeah, that guy sucks" and are slowly (very, very slowly) transferring attention and praise away from this murderous psychopath and back towards the people who, you know, lived here for tens of thousands of years before we showed up. But as much as we'd LIKE to give them the recognition they deserve, we're far more content "honoring" them through racial stereotypes and epithets. Namely, through using the term "redskins."
Indeed, we are still using this fucking term, despite the fact that it is 2015 and that the word literally means "Native American scalp." This is the equivalent of naming a team "Beheaded American Journalists" and shrugging when people ask what the hell is wrong with us.
And that's exactly what Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder is doing. Although he is taking it a step farther and outright defending his offensive bullshit as "heritage." (Where have I heard that argument before....I'm sure it'll come to me eventually.) In a letter penned in 2013, Snyder defended the name, citing that "we cannot ignore our 81-year history." Eighty one whole years! How could any opposing group ever top a number as high as that?
Snyder and his fans (read: racist mob) go on to bemoan their hurt feelings and how offended they feel to be called racists. Because god knows it's the accused racists that deserve the benefit of the doubt. Snyder's position is, quite obviously, stupid and despite his citation that "most Native Americans" don't find the name offensive (a study conducted in 2004, by the way), it still desperately needs to be struck from our national lexicon.
California has done just that. Yesterday, in an overwhelming majority decision, the California State Assembly passed a law banning the use of the term "redskins" as a mascot name. Cool! Awesome! We are progressing, right?
Tulare Union Principal Michelle Nunley says she brought the letter when she went to Sacramento with some students to lobby against the bill.
“People feel very passionate about it, and the fact that we’re all Redskins,” says Nunley. “We don’t want to lose that opportunity to remain Redskins here at Tulare Union.”
Oh, for fuck's sake. Yes, because the world spins on axis made entirely of fecal matter dribbling from the mouths of a million racist morons, someone in a position of authority and power has a fucking problem with this entirely reasonable and long-due decision. Tulare High School cites heritage as well as the high cost of renovation as their reason to sticking to their feather headdress-adorned guns. Native Americans cite thousands of years and the complete decimation of their population due to disease, war and displacement as their reason. Who's to say who has more of a leg to stand on?
Look, it's great that California is dragging its population, kicking and screaming, into a world where we don't go around using racially offensive terms. But it is very little, very late. For starters, this is the only state in the union to do so as of yet. (It is still legal in 49 states to dance around in fake Native American attire and call yourself a redskin.) Furthermore, and far more offensive, we still treat Native Americans like absolute shit. 28.2% of Native Americans live under the poverty line, many of which are living in overcrowded housing with insufficient access to healthcare (Native American lifespans trail the average by about 5 years) and jobs.
The native people of this land are still feeling the shockwaves of the absolutely horrifying shit our country's forefathers inflicted on them for hundreds of years, yet we're worried that a few thousand drunk sports fans that can't bear the thought of having to throw out all their racist memorabilia and learn to chant a different name at football games might have their feelings hurt? Not to mention, we're still celebrating murderous psychopaths via holidays and currency.
There is a startlingly wide gap in our national mindset concerning the native populations that causes this issue to pass by us daily without so much as a glance in its direction. The fact that a national sports team (in our nation's capital no less) can preserve its highly offensive name with very little consequence thus far shows just how unwilling we are to address this problem. This is due to a mixture of misconception and conscious apathy.
In short, stop being an ignorant asshole and change the goddamn name already.
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