Sometimes it takes something simple occurring to help you see the bigger picture. For the last year or so the ridiculous, archaic Washington NFL team’s nickname ‘The Redskins’ has been up for debate at louder levels than heard previously. While Washington’s front office and a few other stragglers kick and scream about change and their objection to it, most forward thinking people agree that to have a team’s nickname as the color of a people’s skin is just not right in this day and age.
It should be a simple question of picking a nickname that doesn’t offend an entire race.
Of course, the powers that are fighting this have a lot of cash and sway, and they are going down swinging, so it will take a few more small momentum swings before we see sense and a new nickname (mark my words, it will happen, and if you are sitting there thinking ‘No way!’ then you would probably have thought ‘No way blacks will be allowed in white bars!’ back in the 1950s).
One way to completely confuse supporters of the racist Washington nickname is to ask them if they would accept a similar nickname for another race. To that end, let’s have a look at the news today that DeSean Jackson has joined Washington, however let’s do so with a little added flavor. See if you can spot what we did…
Breaking News!
The Washington Blackskins have landed much sought after gang-member/Wide Receiver DeSean Jackson in a dramatic free agent signing that has brought the Blackskins to the fore of this free agency period. Financial terms of Jackson’s contract with the Blackskins have not been revealed yet, but ESPN reported it was a three-year deal.
One thing is sure, DeSean Jackson is now a Blackskin, and will wear the Blackskin helmet logo, a silhouette of Jay Z holding a smoking glock with what we can only assume is Beyonce sitting at his feet, with great pride. Jackson said ‘I am excited to be a Blackskin, I can’t wait to see how many records I can break as a Blackskin, I’m gonna bring the Blackskins and their famous old, racially insensitive logo to the Superbowl, and you will all be wearing Blackskin merchandise this time next year!’
Okay, we will stop it there, point made. Can you for one second imagine if there were a team called ‘The Blackskins’?
Do you think that nickname would be acceptable?
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