Thursday, November 22, 2012

The war drum beat goes on...

This post was referenced using my world wide Web'sters contradictionary. What better to talk about on Thxgiving then Football and native Americans, and or both. The use of Native Americans being used for mascots and logos has been argued and lobbied against in recent times, with much debate in and out of courtrooms. The use of native american mascots seems to portray the culture as a thing of the past in which contemporary native american life is overlooked and misinterpreted, and on the flip side of that I myself own just about every sports team hat with a chief or an indian logo on it. I myself think it can be respectful to pay homage to a lost american culture filled with unfiltered spirituality, wardrobe, and lifestyle, as long as it is done with good intent and class. Ironically this way of life was "savagely" uprooted and reconditioned to A European way of living, and these logos and names sometimes offer a hint of stereotypical looks and beliefs of American Indians. The Redskins, are a great example of that, imagine if we had a football team paying homage to the black culture of America and the team was called the Blackskins, it could be deemed offensive to some. I'm just playing devils advocate for a topic that keeps getting pushed out of the supreme courts of America, but it still is a thorn in the side of certain Native Americans that see these stereotypes as another blockade in the warpath to prove to the world that there are still native american people here today working hard to prove to the world that not all natives have red skin, wear headdresses, have braided pig tails, live in teepees, but rather are business owners, military men, elected officials, students etc... After all sticks and stones may break your bones, but names will never hurt you! And, for arguments sake...my dad looks like the Washington Redskins logo and his favorite team is the Redskins, so that pretty much voids any point I was trying to make about that! Just wanted to ruffle a few feathers on turkey day to make some think and others mad! with that being said Happy Thanksgiving, at least it's a day to be thankful and celebrate with close friends and family!

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