Friday, September 20, 2013

No, no! You have to be offended!!

“And I definitely don't know how I'll tell the athletes at Wellpinit (Wash.) High School -- where the student body is 91.2 percent Native American -- that the "Redskins" name they wear proudly across their chests is insulting them. Because they have no idea.

"’I've talked to our students, our parents and our community about this and nobody finds any offense at all in it," says Tim Ames, the superintendent of Wellpinit schools. '”Redskins” is not an insult to our kids. “Wagon burners” is an insult. “Prairie n-----s” is an insult. Those are very upsetting to our kids. But “Redskins” is an honorable name we wear with pride. … In fact, I'd like to see somebody come up here and try to change it.’

“Boy, you try to help some people …

“And it's not going to be easy telling the Kingston (Okla.) High School (57.7 percent Native American) Redskins that the name they've worn on their uniforms for 104 years has been a joke on them this whole time. Because they wear it with honor.

"’We have two great tribes here," says Kingston assistant school superintendent Ron Whipkey, ‘the Chickasaw and the Choctaw. And not one member of those tribes has ever come to me or our school with a complaint. It is a prideful thing to them."

"’It's a name that honors the people,’ says Kingston English teacher Brett Hayes, who is Choctaw. ‘The word “Oklahoma’ itself is Choctaw for “red people.’ The students here don't want it changed. To them, it seems like it's just people who have no connection with the Native American culture, people out there trying to draw attention to themselves.

"’My kids are really afraid we're going to lose the Redskin name. They say to me, “They're not going to take it from us, are they, Dad?'”’

“Too late. White America has spoken. You aren't offended, so we'll be offended for you.”

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9689220/redskins-name-change-not-easy-sounds

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