RedskinRat
09-19-2009, 01:33 AM
So the offensive level of a term is dependent upon the number of people who are offended by it?
You can't merrily cater to everyone, at some point people are going to have to grow a spine or get thicker skin.
That's interesting. So therefore a derogatory term would no longer be derogatory following an effective genocide of those people?
Cool! I'm on board. In honor of your idea we'll call it the 'For Coff Redskins' Project. Deal?
Redskins is NOT a racial slur. Never was. No Professional team has been named a derogatory term because you're trying to sell stuff and present an inspiring image. How would that make any sense?
So if one person finds something "offensive" then it is so? I think that's more interesting. In fact I find your screen name offensive. Please change it.
If you carefully review the logic of my statement, you'll find that is exactly what I'm NOT saying. You're reversing the syllogism, which is a fallible argument.
jsarno
09-19-2009, 03:09 PM
Unfortunately, we do live in a society that if one is offended we have to listen. Look at a joke at work for instance, everyone could laugh at it, but if 1 person finds it offensive, then all of sudden, it is.
I just have a feeling that even if we win this battle, eventually we will lose cause we as a society are getting more and more "touchy".
I personally feel this is a DUMB battle. The name should not offend anyone in my opinion, but it does cause some people just like to complain. They are miserable and they want others to be miserable. Fact is, by taking the name away, you are hurting MILLIONS upon MILLIONS of fans, while making a select few happy. Also, even though the Cowboys fans will laugh, most of them will be upset that they no longer have the "Cowboys vs Indians" rivalry.
In summation, you are hurting more than you're helping by getting rid of the name.
I would LOVE to pose the idea that the people trying to get the named abolished have to pay each and every redskins fan fair market value for all their redskins apparel and memorbilia. I bet this lawsuit would quickly disappear if they had to do that.
Who exactly are you speaking for?
Lifetime fans of the team, as in "As lifetime fans of the team, we don't want to see a name change." Maybe I'm being presumptuous, but I just assumed that no die hard fans ever want to see a name change. The bigger point I'm making is that to approach this topic from an objective standpoint rather than as Redskins fans may give us a different outlook, but that's not going to happen if people are more concerned with defending the team's nickname than discovering the true meaning of the word. Whether or not the term is offensive is hardly an argument. Redskin fans and many other people may not think it is, but lexicographers are pretty much in agreement. From Webster's to the American Heritage Dictionary, the term is labelled "offensive." I haven't been able to locate the definition through the OED, the be all and end all of English language dictionaries, but according to Wikipedia (admittedly not a credible source), the OED also considers the word offensive.
Look, I'm just being honest with myself; I can accept the opinion of objective experts who consider the term offensive while at the same time defend the team in keeping the name.