The 'Redskins' Nickname ... What Can We Do With It?
Posted
Roger Grossman, Lake City Radio-
One of the things my wife and I have been working toward in parenting is consistency. We want to be on the same page when it comes to discipline, decisions on right and wrong and how to treat others. I work really hard to make sure I am consistent at work, at home, at church – everywhere. So after watching with great emotion as the Confederate Battle Flag was lowered for the final time on the courthouse lawn in Columbia, South Carolina last week, another situation has come to the front of the line that we need to deal with: the school nickname “Redskins.” I have never cared that much about this issue personally, to be 100 percent honest. It was annoying to me that every seven or eight years a group came forward to allege “racism” in the name “Redskins” because I never really believed they cared as much as they claimed. I felt, and still do, that those groups were looking to get their names in the news, and for the most part it worked. But it has hit home locally as Goshen High School’s school board heard passionate testimony from patrons on both sides of the issue Monday night, and while they didn’t vote on it, they are going to soon. “I cannot be offensive to that many people,” board member Bob Duell said, referencing the large population of Native Americans in northern Indiana. “My vote would be to change it.” “As a Christian, and as a person that believes we need to treat everyone equally, we need to really consider this and what has been said by Native Americans,” said board member Jane Devoe. If you can read, you understand that Goshen is going to have a new nickname within the next few years. But should they need to get one? I still am not passionate about this subject, and maybe I am wrong in that. But another board member said after Monday’s meeting that no matter what they do, it’s time for them to quit kicking the can down the road and make a decision. That applies to me too. So let’s work this thing out. I have read all of the arguments, and here are the two that seem to be at the dividing line of the two sides: 1) the name “Redskin” is offensive because it refers to Native Americans in a derogatory way. 2) Goshen High School has a long tradition of being the Redskins and people are proud to be a Redskin. I have problems with both, which is why I am still planted firmly on the fence of this deal. I would like for a leader of the Potawatomi Tribe, the preeminent Native American presence in northern Indiana to come forward, hold a press conference and say “this is not OK with us and we would appreciate it if schools quit using it.” For me, that would settle a lot of this. But we don’t hear that. Some groups actually LIKE having their tribal names included in teams. “Redskins” is NOT a tribal name and I certainly understand why it would be a problem to some. But in the end, I would like to see a more forceful, united stance against it to make removing it be more obvious. On the other side, the worst argument you can EVER use in ANY debate is “well that’s what we have always done!” I am as traditional a person as they come. I love Notre Dame football because of its tradition. I also love that the university put in field turf. It was long overdue. Opponents of turf said “we’re Notre Dame Football and we have always played on natural grass.” Players also used to play with leather helmets that had no face masks, but not anymore. Doing things because you’ve always done it that way is faulty thinking. We as humans should be constantly examining our lives – what we do, why we do what we do and how we do those things – to see if they are the best way for us. If we all lived by that “ALWAYS” philosophy, you would tuck in your kids at night onto grass mats by candlelight and cook over open fires. We would walk everywhere and everyone would wear robes and sandals. That same line of thinking is what drove the losing argument in the Confederate Flag debate. Just because 154 years ago that flag was the symbol of the South’s quest for freedom from what they claimed was “Union oppression”, doesn’t mean it’s relevant in 2015. This is where the consistency of how you live your life and how you raise your kids kicks in. Why do you do what you do? Why do you belong to the church you belong to, or the non-profit group? Why did you give money to the charities you support? Why do you wear the clothes you wear and what does it say about you? What does how you operate your business say about you as a person, or how does the way you live and act affect how people look at your business? Do you have anything in your life that doesn’t add up with something else? Do you do one thing in one setting but then do something COMPLETELY different around another group of people? If you do, you could be a two-faced hypocrite, or you just may never have thought about it to realize you have a contradiction to untangle. One thing needs to be said here: The only nickname I am referring to today is “Redskin.” For fans at Wawasee who are proud Warriors, I have no problem with that and would not support them making a change. The “Redskin” nickname, however, IS different. I think I would be OK if it went away.
