After witnessing the controversy at University of Illinois almost five years ago, I have a major issue with the recent Buzzfeed article "11 Reasons The Redskins Should Be Called 'The Hogs'". Not only is it lacking actual substance but it is also lacking consideration to a robust argument. Your final bullet seems to try and present the entire "serious" reasons for a name change. But in all honesty, it sounds contrived, uninformed, sensational, and mostly it just reeks of someone trying to ride band wagon of vicarious racism. While your empathy to those who are truly offended is commendable, an article of this stature should not attempt to address a serious issue like this with such levity.
In a thoughtful and informed letter, the Redskins' President released a letter supporting the teams firm stance against changing monikers. He addressed multiple points not limited to the fact that statistics overwhelmingly show that most Native Americans are not offended by the name. Also, there is an argument for keeping the name around to preserve the historical relevance of the Native American culture. I think we are all mature enough in today's day and age not to take the name Redskin as a serious way to address people of Native American descent.
Furthermore, as a person of Irish descent I am not offended in the least by the fighting Irish of Notre Dame that is both a caricature of the culture and portrayed as violent, instead I take a mascot as it should be, a history, an icon, and a label. To assume that we are causing Native Americans harm by having a Professional team name themselves the Redskins we aren't giving enough credit to our own society. Unlike storied derogatory terms usually thrown around by pro-name change advocates, Redskin is not and has not been used in a seriously damaging way for quite a while in the collective memory of Americans.
To those offended, please read a summary of the President's remarks here http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/24057400/snyder-pens-open-letter-to-skins-fans-holds-firm-on-nickname
For Native Americans who are offended by the name I hope you understand or at least comprehend how a name change could be more damaging to your culture than the status quo. Also, while you may be offended, the minority and in this case a vast minority does not have the right to demand change to change an established organization that takes not only an interest but a concerted effort to guarantee that they are not offending the vast majority. If you do not support the title or find it offensive I can empathize but please attempt to look beyond the name and instead to what it means to be the representative of an NFL team. Not only is it a tribute to the culture it is a public and widely viewed symbol that paints the Native American culture as proud, brave, hard working, and most importantly a group to be admired. Consider for a second that not only are we doing the opposite of marginalizing a people by having an NFL team named in their honor, our national capital chose to bear their likeness as a tribute to their place as the true Americans. To forbid oneself to see past the name itself, which is far more innocuous to the public than those offended would like to believe, is to surrender to a hypersensitive culture that thrives on controversy and can only preach justice after it has created the injustice in the first place.
To those attempting to defend Native Americans, while I appreciate your demand for social justice please weigh the societal harm done now to that in a post-name change era, more specifically those laid out by the President and actual Native American representatives who speak not for everyone but for a majority of those affected. The willingness for a large portion of the public to stand up for those who are marginalized and who truly face injustice is as admirable and truly inspiring as it gets. That said, there is no justice to be found. Instead, we now have people who try so hard to find injustice that it inflates offenses into calamities and creates a contrived sense of injustice while, hypocritically doing damage to those it is intended to protect.
In closing, while there is certainly nothing wrong standing up for those unfairly portrayed by our society and the general public, this situation reeks of a shallow attempt to create racism from a cultural icon intended (and for 90% of Native Americans) to portray a certain culture in a positive light. Nobody can blame someone for defending oneself but to go looking for a fight discredits the entire pursuit of justice.
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