Reposted from: https://endracebasedlaw.wordpress.com/2016/10/17/cbc-race-baiting-yet-again-2/
As most Canadian sports fans are aware, the Toronto Blue Jays are playing the Cleveland Indians in the American League championship. And, of course, nothing can happen in Canada any more without a ‘contribution’ from the Aboriginal Industry – this one incited by Canada’s government-funded broadcaster, the CBC:
‘Indigenous’ {‘Siberian settler’} activist files human rights complaint against use of Cleveland’s name, logo’
“‘Indigenous’ {race} activist Douglas Cardinal…is demanding the team name and its ‘Chief Wahoo’ logo be banned from use in Ontario.
“In an application with Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice and in complaints filed with Ontario’s human rights tribunal, Cardinal argues the branding is ‘racist’ and ‘discriminatory’, a news release said Friday.
“Mr. Cardinal, who has long fought for the {race} rights of {so-called} ‘indigenous peoples’, has simply had enough {!},” the activist’s lawyer, Michael Swinwood, said in the release. “Canadian law clearly prohibits discrimination of this nature.”
{Utter nonsense. No one is being discriminated against. This is just more race bullying. We challenge you to quote this fictitious law…}
“Cardinal, who is of Blackfoot descent, wants a ban on the use of the branding of the team by ‘Major League Baseball’ and ‘Rogers Communications’, which owns the ‘Rogers Centre’ and the Toronto Blue Jays, and broadcasts Blue Jays games.
“Major League Baseball is a unique product but that does not give baseball teams license for such ‘wanton discrimination’,” Swinwood said.
“At the beginning of this season, Cleveland’s owner Paul Dolan told a local newspaper that the ‘Chief Wahoo’ logo had officially been demoted to secondary status, but would remain part of the team’s identity.
“[We have] no plans to get rid of Chief Wahoo. It is part of our history and legacy,” Dolan told the ‘Cleveland Plain Dealer’.
“The logo was removed from the team’s road cap in 2011 and the home batting helmet in 2013.
“The legal push to ban the Cleveland baseball team’s name and logo came ahead of Game 1 of the American League Championship Series between Cleveland and Toronto on Friday.
“Pop culture critic Jesse Wente, who spoke out about the “utterly inappropriate and racist” mascot earlier this week, told ‘CBC News’ on Friday he hopes his comments played some role in inspiring Cardinal to file the complaint.
{The CBC deliberately fails to mention that he’s their employee, and that this is part of the CBC’s politically racist agenda. This is the 4th story they’ve done on this already. Wente can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/jesse.wente }
“Since speaking about the branding on Tuesday, he says he and other ‘indigenous’ people have faced mixed reaction.
“These are difficult conversations {They are “difficult” because of your racism…} and they challenge a lot of the ‘privilege’ and ideology that ‘colonialism’ has placed over all the people that inhabit {fictional} ‘Turtle Island’,” Wente said.
{This is the type of idiocy that we are forced to pay taxes for… And, of course, we’re NOT an island!}
“I understand some of the anger but I won’t let that distract me ultimately from the goal and that is for these mascots, these nicknames, these logos to be gone forever.”
{It’s always about tearing down something…}
“A hearing is expected to be held at Ontario Superior Court on Monday.”
— ‘Indigenous’ activist Douglas Cardinal files ‘human rights’ complaint against use of Cleveland’s name, logo’,
CBC News, Oct 14, 2016
http://www.esquire.com/sports/a17594/chief-wahoo-cleveland-indians-0113/
“The team’s front office claims that the Indians name honors an old “full-blooded Native American” named Louis Sockalexis, who played for the club in the late nineteenth century…
“Sockalexis died on Christmas Eve, 1913, at the age of 42, on an Indian reservation in Maine. The ‘Plain Dealer’ called Sockalexis
“the greatest natural baseball player that ever lived.”
“But they go on:
“Flattery and homage turned the head of the aborigine: he fell into bad habits and became utterly beyond the reach of discipline…”
“No baseball player should be immune to the barbs of his hometown press box. But Sockalexis was treated differently because of his race, even when he was great, and especially when he was bad. When Cleveland’s sportswriters were polled in 1915 to pick a new name for the team, did they honor Sockalexis out of nostalgia for an exciting couple of months of play—or was it out of guilt for the way they treated him? … Sockalexis was a failed prospect… Still, his very presence in the majors was and is still—and I think rightfully so—seen by many as heroic. In “Louis Sockalexis: The First Cleveland Indian”, David L. Fleitz calls him
“the Native American version of Jackie Robinson.”
“…Half a century after Sockalexis, Indians owner Bill Veeck hired a kid named Walter Goldbach, 17, who designed the caricature. Goldbach, who worked for a local ad agency, defends Chief Wahoo to this day. He explains that
“it was the last thing on my mind [to] offend someone”.
“After some alterations in 1951 (less nose, more red), the Wahoo image became the version we see today…
“Chief Wahoo” was actually a fairly common nickname for any generic Indian character. In fact, there was a popular newspaper comic strip called “Big Chief Wahoo” that ran from 1936 to 1947. The main character, a naïve, helpful fellow, looks little like the Indians’ Wahoo image, but the name may have been influential. “Wahoo” was also a popular baseball cheer in Cleveland…”
–‘THE SECRET HISTORY OF CHIEF WAHOO’,
Brad Ricca, Belt Magazine, June 19, 2014
http://beltmag.com/secret-history-chief-wahoo/
http://alchetron.com/Louis-Sockalexis-1228937-W
“The Cleveland Indians may have demoted Chief Wahoo to “secondary status” a few years ago, but the team’s mascot and name are “utterly inappropriate and racist”, said ‘CBC Radio’ pop culture critic Jesse Wente…
“As the two teams get ready to open the ALCS on Friday, the issue of {so-called} ‘indigenous’ {‘Siberian settler’} names and images being used by sports teams has once again come to the fore {Only because once again, the CBC is creating a news story rather than reporting on one. In other countries, it’s commonly known as ‘Propaganda’ when done by a government-funded media outlet}…
“After Cleveland beat the Boston Red Sox on Monday to advance to the league championship, and Wente’s appearance on CBC’s ‘Metro Morning’, the hashtag #notyourmascot began trending in Toronto, as did another hashtag: #ClevelandNotIndians…
“He noted that when the Cleveland team changed its name in 1915, both the Canadian and United States governments were engaged in ‘assimilationist’ policies, including removing ‘First Nations’ residents from ‘their land’ and banning ‘indigenous’ ceremonies. The residential school program in Canada was also well underway {And Siberian settlers were, for the first time, being taught to read and write}…”
–‘ALCS matchup sparks another round of criticism of Cleveland’s name, logo’,
Andrea Janus, CBC News, Oct 11, 2016
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/programs/metromorning/cleveland-team-name-debate-1.3799987
“I do think ‘indigenous’ {‘Siberian settler’} logos are racist, because they’re a byproduct ultimately of colonialism,” Wente told CBC Radio’s ‘Metro Morning’.’’
{There then ensued a CBC ‘Forum’ (One-sided, dishonestly-moderated…). The following are Wente’s comments}:
“…the first Prime Minister of Canada espoused such beliefs before starving ‘indigenous’ people in order to remove them from being an impediment to colonial expansion. Should I talk about the small pox blankets, residential schools, the pass system, etc etc.?”
“‘Indigenous’ people have spent the last 400 or so years watching others co-opt their culture {?}. Our speaking out now is a product of us being able to, but is also meant to disrupt the continuation of those power structures…”
“Let’s start be looking at that history as being thousands of years, and that it starts with ‘indigenous’ people, not the arrival of settlers.” …
{But YOU are the descendant of Siberian settlers…}
“Sorry, i know it’s hard, but Canada has to recognize it’s colonial past and it’s history of colonial violence.” {But Siberian settlers don’t have to ‘recognize’ their own history of violence toward one another…}
“My people didn’t lose our mascots to colonialism, we lost our land, or culture and our lives.”
“Political correctness has become a term used by the oppressor to support continued oppression.”
“…the notion of ‘indigenous’ people as mythical is the goal of colonialism and the societies they produce {It is aboriginal culture that tries to make itself ‘mythological’: i.e ‘Caretakers of the land’, or ‘Turtle Island’}. The stated desire of both Canada and the United States was to eliminate the ‘indigenous’ people of the land. Many mascots were created to commemorate our expected extinction. {!?!}”
{Remember – all of this one-sided, bigoted crap is coming from a CBC employee!}
COMMENT: “It can be a fine line between what is offensive and what is sympathetic. I’m not sure it’s fair to do a clean sweep of every reference to ‘indigenous’ peoples and call it ‘racist’. Going into battle with facepaint was a human trait around the world and is still practiced…
“Mainstream fashion often picks up traditional symbols and sympathetically adopts them. The cross, for example, is now included in jewelry across a wide swath of cultures. The headdress started to be included, as well…. I don’t think its fair to tell me if I want to wear an eagle feather for the properties it represents, that I can’t do so respectfully. There is no exclusivity in symbols.”
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
“@CBCToronto Yes the one representation of ‘indigenous’ peoples in mainstream culture should be banned. Well done, heroes. People like this are hilarious!!”
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
“Mr. Wente, at 12:42 today you said that “… the stated desire of Canada was to eliminate the indigenous people of the land…” In an earlier comment (still being moderated???) I asked you to tell us when and where Canada made that statement. With all due respect, please answer my question. Thank you.”
{The question was never answered. Propagandists don’t answer awkward questions…}
–‘Should the sports world ban indigenous team names and logos?’,
CBC News, Mar 10, 2016
http://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/forum-indigenous-sports-teams-1.3486135
“CBC Radio pop culture critic Jesse Wente spoke out Tuesday morning against the use of ‘indigenous’ {‘Siberian settler’} names and symbols by sports teams, in response to a recent story in the ‘Toronto Star’.
“The story, by Star columnist Rosie DiManno {see below}, followed efforts by a group of Ontario school board officials known as the ‘Equity Summit Group’ to ban schoolchildren from wearing clothing that bears “pejorative ‘indigenous’ names, logos and mascots”.
“DiManno criticized such efforts in Ontario and elsewhere, by “professional taste inquisitors”, to scrub such imagery from the sports world…
“DiManno says in her column that we’re all allowed to borrow because no one owns history, and I fundamentally disagree with this argument… Many of these names were designed a hundred or so years ago, a point when it was logical for the people that were making these names to think they’d never have to encounter ‘indigenous’ resistance to these names, because both governments north and south of the border were actively involved in ‘genocide’ against ‘indigenous’ people…
“I’m here, not in the residential schools like my grandmother…”
–‘Indigenous’ critic Jesse Wente: ‘We are not your mascots, we are human beings’,
CBC News, Mar. 08, 2016
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/programs/metromorning/wente-racism-sports-mascots-1.3480910
“The Tribe has spoken. So has its chief.
“Cleveland Indians fans purchased more Chief Wahoo-insignia caps than any other variation last season. Nevertheless, the team’s owner sticks with the bland block “C” as the team’s primary logo.
“We have gone to the Block C as our primary mark,” owner Paul Dolan told the ‘Cleveland Plain Dealer’. “Clearly, we are using it more heavily than we are the Chief Wahoo logo.”
“The Great White Father’s words worked as no consolation to Native American activists… “We’re nobody’s mascot,” Philip Yenyo, ‘American Indian Movement of Ohio’s executive director, told ‘Fox 8 Cleveland’.
“He plans to protest the smiling logo by frowning outside of Progressive Field today as the Indians host the Boston Red Sox. Another Indian, albeit one of Elizabeth Warren’s tribe, plans to beat that big war drum in the bleachers. To each his own Opening Day ritual.
“We do have empathy for those who take issue with it,” Dolan insisted to the Plain Dealer. “We have minimized the use of it and we’ll continue to do what we think is appropriate.”
“But it’s not enough (it never is).
“This regressive problem has only one progressive solution: The Indians (and by extension, MLB) can no longer make money from Chief Wahoo,” explains Writes Like a Douche Bag, who goes by the name “Cory Collins” in his off-the-reservation job at the ‘Sporting News’. “Each day they do so is an insult. Not to political correctness, but to common decency. To the Native American history they have perverted for profit. To the Native American children harmed, psychologically, by such caricatures.”
“Why stop the crusade there? Save the Irish children from the winking half-court Leprechaun at the ‘TD Garden’ {Boston Celtics logo}. Shield the Swedish youth in the Twin Cities from ‘Ragnar’ {Minnesota Vikings logo}. Force USC to end its microaggressions against the Spartans by portraying them as bellicose.
“The alternative remains all those weeping, psychologically-scarred Irish, Swedish, and Greek children — afraid of their own shadows and constantly wetting their pants — haunting us for refusing to stand up for their civil right to not be offended.
“Alas, more pressing matters, like watching baseball (or even paint dry), keep normal people from lecturing sports fans on the morality of cheering on teams spurning anthropomorphic animal mascots for cartoonish human ones. Chief Wahoo maintains a healthy attitude about the controversy over his existence: smile and stare silently.”
–‘As Indians Diminish Chief Wahoo, Protestors’ War Whoops Grow Louder’,
DANIEL J. FLYNN, Breitbart, 4 Apr., 2016
“Produced by Cleveland’s ‘Shelf Life Clothing’, the “Caucasians” shirt seen on Ian Campeau in ‘A Tribe Called Red’s’ oft-used press photo has become an unlikely hit among those living on reserves in Canada.
“We have had over 3,000 shares on posts about the tee in the last month and have been working around the clock to keep up,” said ‘Shelf Life’s Brian Kirby to the ‘Toronto Star’ this week, noting that a full quarter of his orders for the shirt in the past month have come from Canada.
“We are selling tees to a wide range of customers – ‘indigenous’ peoples and Chief Wahoo supporters alike,” Kirby said. “Interpretation of the shirt ranges from a ‘reverse racism,’ ‘See how YOU like it’ intent, to a ‘See, I’m ‘white’ and it doesn’t bother me to be caricatured!’ attitude.”
–‘Cleveland ‘Caucasians’ shirt becomes a hit on native reserves’,
Lauren O’Neil, CBC, August 1, 2014
COMMENT: “Oh dear! I come from a long line of proud Caucasians, and now how can I possibly go on in the face of this kind of blatant racism! How demeaned I feel. How offensive! What a terrible affront to the history and culture of all proud Caucasians everywhere! Oh, how I hope my children don’t see the terrible racism of this t-shirt! Caucasians unite! We must mobilize and protest this horrible hatred, and stop these poisonous racists!….etc…etc… blah, blah, blah….”
{It should be pointed out that this was done years ago in the U.S. See ‘Fighting Whities’ below…}
“The Chicago Blackhawks crest is the most gorgeous team logo in sports, vibrant and proud.
“Only the bullies and bureaucrats of grievance could possibly find stereotyping offence in the noble profile of an Indian chief. Originally designed to honour an American army unit, the ‘Black Hawks Division’ formed in the First World War, in turn commemorating a Sauk and Fox Indian leader who actually fought against the U.S. government during the ‘War of 1812’.
“But of course, the professional taste inquisitors have taken umbrage because that’s what they do, if primarily to justify their existence, endlessly striving to homogenize the language and the landscape. Colour your world beige, bland and banal.
“Pejorative is in the eye of the beholder. Appropriation is up the nose of the stiff-necked.
“That would be, in this instance, the ‘Equity Summit Group’, a censorious cabal of school board officials who want students in Ontario barred from wearing clothes with “offensive” logos, demanding the provincial government reach right into private closets and sift out the purportedly injurious garb via formal dress code:
“A ‘no-go logo zone’ encompassing “the use of pejorative names, logos and mascots”, condemning the imagery and names as “exploitation of indigenous cultural, spiritual and intellectual identity, and in many cases, a ‘racist’ misrepresentation of that identity”, as per a letter sent last week to Education Minister Liz Sandals and other educational stakeholders.
“Not just the Blackhawks chief, but all sports teams names and depictions which allude to {so-called} ‘First Nations’ communities. So shame on you, Brockville Braves, Lorne Park Ojibwa and Mississauga Mohawks — among the 40 clubs across the province that feature ‘indigenous’ {‘Siberian settler’} nomenclature and iconography, according to the Ontario {Politically-correct} ‘Human Rights’ Commission. For heaven’s sake, Mississauga is an Anishnaabe word. Should the city be rebranded? How about Toronto, derived from an Iroquois term meaning “where there are trees in the water”?
“This is the fallacious point where {Partial} Truth and {One-way} Reconciliation becomes mistruth and retribution; where a bunch of self-anointed censors appropriate historical injustice and squeeze it through the sanitizing wringer.
“‘Racism’ is a term too easily thrown around, draining and diluting it of meaning. Since when has mere referencing of a tribe or an ‘indigenous’ character constituted ‘racism’, particularly if the allusion is affectionate or — pardon the buzzword — empowering?
“‘Indian’ isn’t derogatory, not remotely comparable to the ‘N-word’; that’s preposterous. There’s no slur implied, contrary to the ‘human rights’ complaint recently filed by a Mississauga father who, predictably, proclaims himself “outraged”. These are expressions of respect, a borrowing of prestige and significance. And we are all allowed to borrow because nobody owns history, nobody has a patent on cultural imagery.
“The Cleveland Indians have endured withering criticism for clinging to their cartoonish ‘Chief Wahoo’ (actually a brave, one feather) emblem, though he’s been downsized in recent years, with the club emphasizing a blocky “C” on away uniforms. Naysayers object to the big nose and the red pigmentation, but he’s a caricature, and caricatures are always exaggerations.
“I don’t see where red skin is inherently racist, any more than black or brown. Nor are big noses a feature exclusive to any ethnicity. Yet, small groups of Native Americans have staged protests on Opening Day for the past two decades. And every year, polls show an overwhelming majority of Clevelanders opposed to ditching the grinning ’toon. Again, the alleged stereotype is in the eyes of the perceiver.
“There’s much to be said for institutional tradition and heritage, which means as much to fans of a sports franchise as it does, from the reverse angle, to ‘First Nations’ {race} activists who object to the co-opting of their ancestral lore.
“Some news organizations — including the ‘Cleveland Plain Dealer’, whose sports reporters came up with “Indians” when the club formally changed its name in 1914 — have called for the benching of Chief Wahoo. A few won’t even allow “Indians” — a word recently deleted from one of my own A2 columns {That’s the Toronto Star, all right!}, though both “Indians” and Chief Wahoo appeared in a piece by a sports columnist colleague on the same day.
“No sports franchise has come under more intense condemnation for “racist” terminology than the Washington Redskins. I understand why the name would offend many ‘First Nations’ people, taken on its surface merits or lack thereof. More than 100 groups, associations, human rights agencies, etc. have called for a switch, with even President Barack Obama {of course} urging a change. Owner Dan Snyder is adamant that he won’t.
“In an emotional 2013 open letter, he wrote:
“I respect the opinions of those who disagree. I want them to know that I do hear them, and I will continue to listen and learn. But we cannot ignore our 81-year history, or the strong feelings of most of our fans as well as Native Americans throughout the country. After 81 years, the team named ‘Redskins’ continues to hold the memories and meaning of where we came from, who we are, and who we want to be in the years to come.”
“If displeasure and derision translated to the turnstiles, no doubt Snyder would have a change of heart. But it hasn’t. He’s the owner, he can call the team whatever he damn well pleases.
“That’s a right the Equity Summit Group would co-opt for itself, as it rummages through your kid’s closet.”
–‘A reference — especially in a logo — needn’t be racism’,
ROSIE DIMANNO, Toronto Star, Feb. 28, 2016
“Ontario students should be banned from wearing clothing with offensive logos — such as the Cleveland Indians or Chicago Blackhawks — says a group of school board ‘equity’ officials who are now lobbying the provincial government and directors of education to change dress codes.
“The use of ‘pejorative’ ‘indigenous’ {‘Siberian settler’} names, logos and mascots is both an exploitation of ‘indigenous’ cultural, spiritual and intellectual identity, and in many cases, a {so-called} ‘racist’ misrepresentation of that identity,” says a letter sent Monday to Education Minister Liz Sandals and Ontario education officials.
“This extends to students wearing clothing of amateur and professional teams that bear the ‘pejorative’ and ‘racist’ names and logos. When this occurs, our schools across Ontario are fostering a learning environment that is asking ‘indigenous’ and ‘non’-‘indigenous children to tolerate {so-called} ‘racism’ and it must stop immediately.”
“The letter, from the ‘Equity Summit Group’, representing 26 school board ‘equity’ officers from across the province, says allowing such clothing, names or mascots violates the province’s own strategy on inclusive education and dealing with the issue is timely given the recent report of the ‘{Partial} Truth and {One-way} Reconciliation Commission’.
“The group notes that ‘Justice’ Murray Sinclair, who headed the commission, has publicly stated that such mascots
“have no place in a country trying to come to grips with racism in its past.”
–‘Ban kids from wearing clothing with offensive team logos, group urges’,
KRISTIN RUSHOWY, Toronto Star, Feb. 24, 2016
“Call me insensitive, but I don’t take offense to sports teams with Native American mascots that the politically-correct populace deem racist. From the ‘Indians’ to the ‘Redskins’ to the ‘Moccasins’ and the ‘Tomahawks’, professional and collegiate teams are littered with Native American-themed mascots, and that’s the way it should be. Team names reflect our great country’s history. Who are these so-called patriots to say what does and doesn’t qualify as U.S. history?
“How can Notre Dame’s ‘Fighting Irish’ mascot, a leprechaun with his hands cocked in a boxing position, not be considered insulting while a Native American mascot wearing moccasins and a feather is instantly labeled a problem?
“Where in the course of American history was the double standard created that makes Native American names virtually off limits, yet at the same time leaving every European ethnicity open for amusement? …
“Instead of running away from the Native American issue, the United States should embrace it. This is our chance to show the world that we are still the ‘progressive’, liberal country we once were. By having Native American mascots, the United States sports scene sets a precedent for owning up to national history.
“Languages evolve. The words “’redskins’” and “’Indians”’ no longer have negative connotations.
“You wouldn’t believe the type of upbeat, positive reactions I receive when I tell people I’m Indian.
“I’m here before you to argue for the return of the fierce, loud and intimidating ‘Lowell Indians’. Legalize the Indian pride of the Lowell sports fan and take honor in it. Last year, members of the notorious “’Sixth Man Club’” were criticized for wearing Indian war paint and headdresses and performing the infamous tomahawk chop.
“But, I ask you, are a bunch of ‘white’ people dressing up and pretending they are Native American any worse than an Asian kid wearing an ‘Ecko’ shirt and ‘Sean John’ pants, rapping the newest ‘Blackalicious’ song? Oh yes, the perennial double standard…
“The football program has taken a step in the right direction by placing stickers of two Native American-looking feathers on their helmets.
“So go ahead Lowellites, do the tomahawk chop and let the battle cry ring…”
–‘Anti-racist measures take culture away from sports’,
Michael Lazarus, Lowell Observer, Oct 19, 2006
http://thelowell.org/2006/10/19/anti-racist-measures-take-culture-away-from-sports-1006/
“The deliberately provocative intent was to make a mascot of ‘white’ people for a change, and see how they liked it. But ‘white’ people did like it. Instead of taking offence, ‘whites’ embraced the name, to the extent of creating a huge demand for ‘Fighting Whities’ merchandise.”
“To bestow a name on something we value, almost always is a gesture of respect. I can think of only one exception, and it backfired. This was about 10 years ago at the ‘University of Northern Colorado’, where students were among the first campaigners against Native American-themed team names. What offended them most of all was the ‘Fightin’ Reds’, a high school team that played not far from the university campus.
“As a gesture of protest, some of the students named their intramural basketball team the ‘Fighting Whites’, with a caricature of a nerdy-looking white guy as the logo.
“The team attracted national attention, but broadcasters kept calling it the ‘Whities’ instead of the ‘Whites’. ‘Fighting Whities’ stuck. By either name, the deliberately-provocative intent was to make a mascot of ‘white’ people for a change and see how they liked it.
“But ‘white’ people did like it. Instead of taking offence, ‘whites’ embraced the name, to the extent of creating a huge demand for ‘Fighting Whities’ merchandise. After signing a deal with a manufacturer, the team eventually would contribute to the university more than $100,000 in profits on the sale of ‘Fighting Whities’ T-shirts.
“Most of the money went to an endowment for Native American scholarships, so it was win/win, if you don’t count the backfired provocation.
“The ‘Fighting Whities’ are long since defunct, but their spirit lives on in continuing T-shirt sales, with a percentage still going to the scholarship fund. I can find no record of anyone taking offence…
“I always thought the Bedford Road Redmen’s Indian-head icon was a beautiful thing that only honoured ‘First Nations’, so I am among those sorry to see it abolished.
“My fear is that the Chicago Blackhawks will be likewise compelled to change their name and retire the most gorgeous uniform in the history of sports. That would be a cultural desecration worse than any offence the name might cause. Perhaps that’s why the Blackhawks have largely escaped the denunciations heaped on other teams with names and logos that reference ‘native’ {‘Siberian settler’} North Americans. The Blackhawks’ uniform is just too splendid to seriously offend anyone. A work of art can get away with what would not be acceptable in another context.
“There could be other reasons, too, why the Blackhawks have drawn almost no cultural fire compared to such as the Cleveland Indians, the Atlanta Braves and, especially, the Washington Redskins, along with college and high school teams across North America. Some sportswriters can’t even bring themselves anymore even to mention the Redskins’ name {for which, they should be fired…}, in spite of an independent poll showing that 91% of ‘Natives’ are fine with it.
“We have to poll minorities now, to find out what is acceptable, and then it still isn’t acceptable.
“An alternative theory proposes that the Blackhawks are allowed their appropriated symbolism because they don’t abuse it. They have never had a cartoonish Indian mascot, for instance, and their fans they don’t do anything like the tomahawk chop. Even so, it is a reach to imagine the famously-unruly fans of Chicago Stadium as exemplars of cultural sensitivity.
“It might help, too, that the Blackhawk name refers to an individual, and not a group. The team actually is named after a First World War artillery regiment that was named after a celebrated, 19th-Century Sauk warrior. Black Hawk’s name (sometimes written now as one word) also is attached to numerous places and teams at every level in the American northeast, along with a college, two high schools, four successive U.S. warships and a conspicuous military helicopter. It is hard not to see all that as anything but honour on top of honour.
“I also am a little worried about ‘Indian Motorcycles’. This is a great, old American marque, recently resurrected by ‘Polaris’. Indian Motorcycles, in the years leading up to the Second World War, were among the biggest and best in the world. Distinctive art-deco styling made their flagship models into works of mechanical art. ‘Indian’ all but vanished for decades until Polaris bought the trademark and last year {2013}, at great expense, introduced three new models, still American-made. As with the Blackhawks’ jerseys, maybe Indian motorcycles are just too good-looking for anyone to construe as offensive…”
–‘Offence is in the eye of the offended … or not’,
Les Macpherson, Saskatoon Starphoenix, March 25, 2014
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/sports/Offence+offended/9657590/story.html
{In what is becoming typical of many Canadian media outlets, this story was not archived on the Internet. One can only hope that it’s due to a lack of professionalism and not the result of attempting to bury politically-incorrect stories…}
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fighting_Whites
‘Fighting Whites’ Online Store:
http://www.cafepress.com/fightinwhite
“Plans to rebrand a Calgary high school’s aboriginal-themed sports team appear to have divided the very group officials say they’re trying to respect.
“Clarence Wolf Leg met with members of Western Canada High School’s ‘social justice’ {‘communist’} club in 2004 during a review of the Redmen athletics name and logo. He and fellow ‘First Nations’ members engaged at the time deemed the name appropriate as long as it was being used respectfully and only requested minor changes to the school logo, which features an aboriginal man with braided hair and red feathers.
“Wolf Leg said on Tuesday that he was surprised to learn of plans made public by the {politically correct} ‘Calgary Board of Education’ last week to change the Redmen brand, and said he had relatives who attended the high school, and they were also not offended.
“If I had a problem with it, I would have mentioned it a long time ago,” said Wolf Leg, a former nine-term councillor at Siksika ‘Nation’ {a ‘nation’ of 7,320 people}. “It didn’t seem offensive at the time and it still doesn’t.”
“Including Wolf Leg, ‘Metro’ surveyed seven ‘First Nations’ people from various backgrounds living in and around Calgary Tuesday and found a clear divide in opinions. Three expressed favour for changing the Redmen brand but the exact same number also opposed the move or deemed it much ado about nothing…
“CBE officials have said the brand will be changed but have not provided a timeline. But some Western students still appear keen on fighting the move. Brent Farrell’s “Keep Western Canada Redmen” Facebook page has already been supported by more than 1,300 people…
“It’s never been used as a derogatory (term), it’s always been about strength and pride,” he said, adding, “I just think it’s a non-issue. We’ve had it for so long and we take such pride in being Redmen and we’ve never used the name in a bad way.”
“Farrell said he’s seen support from self-identified ‘First Nations’ people on his Facebook page {No longer published…}.
“Some speaking out about the coming rebrand even fear it could have a negative effect by removing a conversation-starter of sorts for students.
“For me, as an aboriginal growing up with non-natives, bringing more of our heritage into society at schools is wonderful,” said Cheyenne Little Mustache, who hails from the Piikuni ‘Nation’ {a ‘nation’ of 3,566 people}.“
–”Calgary-area ‘First Nations’ appear divided on Western Canada High School’s ‘Redmen’ brand’,
Jeremy Nolais, Metro News (Calgary), March 11, 2014
Inside Sports 