Author Topic: Cleveland Indians are dropping their name...  (Read 29863 times)

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Cleveland Indians are dropping their name...
« on: December 13, 2020, 09:56:45 PM »

Online Roy H.

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... the Indians are no more.

Personally, I never found “Indians” to be offensive.  Chief Wahoo, yes.  Seeming slurs like “Redskins”, yes.  But names like “Seminoles”, “Sioux”, and the more general “Indians” weren’t inherently offensive to me.


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Re: Cleveland Indians are dropping their name...
« Reply #1 on: December 13, 2020, 10:48:22 PM »

Offline rocknrollforyoursoul

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I think all sports teams should follow the Washington Football Team model, so that absolutely no one gets offended by anything.
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Re: Cleveland Indians are dropping their name...
« Reply #2 on: December 13, 2020, 10:54:07 PM »

Offline Ogaju

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I think all sports teams should follow the Washington Football Team model, so that absolutely no one gets offended by anything.

Hard for The Washington Football Team to offernd anyone with their losing tradition.

The only people the Washington Football Team offends are its fans.

Re: Cleveland Indians are dropping their name...
« Reply #3 on: December 13, 2020, 10:54:47 PM »

Offline Moranis

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I don't think the name is necessarily the problem, but much more so the mascot.  And I don't just mean Chief Wahoo, but any mascot you come up with is going to be problematic.  It is always going to border on offensive.  Same with the Chiefs, which is why they have the KC Wolf (and Warpaint, the horse, ridden now by a Chiefs cheerleader) instead of anything resembling Native American history (they got rid of that stuff in the 80's). 
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Re: Cleveland Indians are dropping their name...
« Reply #4 on: December 13, 2020, 10:59:23 PM »

Offline slamtheking

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I think all sports teams should follow the Washington Football Team model, so that absolutely no one gets offended by anything.

Hard for The Washington Football Team to offernd anyone with their losing tradition.

The only people the Washington Football Team offends are its fans.
agreed, on both counts, as a fan and as someone who's part Native American.  :(

Re: Cleveland Indians are dropping their name...
« Reply #5 on: December 13, 2020, 11:42:59 PM »

Online Roy H.

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I don't think the name is necessarily the problem, but much more so the mascot.  And I don't just mean Chief Wahoo, but any mascot you come up with is going to be problematic.  It is always going to border on offensive.  Same with the Chiefs, which is why they have the KC Wolf (and Warpaint, the horse, ridden now by a Chiefs cheerleader) instead of anything resembling Native American history (they got rid of that stuff in the 80's).

You think so?  I don’t follow the debate enough to know what’s considered offensive, but I would think that many mascots could be dignified.  A silhouette of a Native on a horse?  The more genetic arrowhead or feather?  For instance, I saw this concept:



To me, that’s fine.  But Wahoo, yeah.  That was problematic.





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Re: Cleveland Indians are dropping their name...
« Reply #6 on: December 14, 2020, 12:20:52 AM »

Offline CelticsElite

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I think all sports teams should follow the Washington Football Team model, so that absolutely no one gets offended by anything.
George Washington was a slave owner. So it’s only a matter of time until they’re offended by the name “Washington football team”

The slippery slope was created by the perpetually offended, and it was enabled by the people who give them legitimacy by granting their wishes

Re: Cleveland Indians are dropping their name...
« Reply #7 on: December 14, 2020, 12:27:29 AM »

Online Roy H.

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I think all sports teams should follow the Washington Football Team model, so that absolutely no one gets offended by anything.
George Washington was a slave owner. So it’s only a matter of time until they’re offended by the name “Washington football team”

The slippery slope was created by the perpetually offended, and it was enabled by the people who give them legitimacy by granting their wishes

Can’t even go with the District of Columbia Football Team.  Columbus was a genocidal maniac under today’s norms.


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Re: Cleveland Indians are dropping their name...
« Reply #8 on: December 14, 2020, 05:12:51 AM »

Offline Kernewek

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The Cleveland Wypipo has a pretty good ring to it. Perhaps they should go with that.
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Re: Cleveland Indians are dropping their name...
« Reply #9 on: December 14, 2020, 06:50:47 AM »

Online kraidstar

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Chief Wahoo was blatantly offensive imo. If that isn't a racial caricature,  I don't know what is.

With that being said, this is largely an empty gesture. The US government will continue to give pennies on the dollar to satisfy its treaties with Native Americans.

The poverty and neglect will remain, and so will the underlying disgrace. Meanwhile everyone can argue online and be outraged about their respective grievances. It's really America in a nutshell.

Re: Cleveland Indians are dropping their name...
« Reply #10 on: December 14, 2020, 06:58:53 AM »

Offline Birdman

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Stupid!! I’m part Indian and I’m not offended by the name..Grandma was Cherokee..
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Re: Cleveland Indians are dropping their name...
« Reply #11 on: December 14, 2020, 07:57:04 AM »

Offline Neurotic Guy

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I think all sports teams should follow the Washington Football Team model, so that absolutely no one gets offended by anything.
George Washington was a slave owner. So it’s only a matter of time until they’re offended by the name “Washington football team”

The slippery slope was created by the perpetually offended, and it was enabled by the people who give them legitimacy by granting their wishes

Not such a slippery slope really.  I believe the offended in this case have been told "no" for decade upon decade.   It may be a credit to the offended that persistence eventually paid off - but in all honesty if you have to persist for decades to be heard, not sure if it doesn't feel like a hollow victory.

Should we put onus solely on the offended to not take offense, or do offenders have some responsibility to try not to offend?   Like most things, there's balance -- it's likely that the best landing spot is that people need to have a reasonably tough skin while also having thoughtfulness about the impact of what they say and do on others.   

Absolutely society shouldn't jump to the whims of the overly sensitive any more than it should allow free reign to those who couldn't care less who they offend.

Re: Cleveland Indians are dropping their name...
« Reply #12 on: December 14, 2020, 08:45:26 AM »

Offline Birdman

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Cleveland Spiders?? Blah..that’s what rumor is or what the Cleveland reporter is saying..
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Re: Cleveland Indians are dropping their name...
« Reply #13 on: December 14, 2020, 08:51:26 AM »

Online Roy H.

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Cleveland Spiders?? Blah..that’s what rumor is or what the Cleveland reporter is saying..

They should bring back more of the 19th century nicknames, haha.

I’m not sure that Spiders is particularly marketable, though.  Lots of folks have an aversion to them, and might not want pictures of spiders on their clothing.  But who knows, I guess.


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Re: Cleveland Indians are dropping their name...
« Reply #14 on: December 14, 2020, 09:17:08 AM »

Offline OhioGreen

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Remarkable to me that so many millions of people who hate this country and everything it stands for remain here!  I think the best money our government could ever spend would to give free "one way" airfare to everyone that wants out!