Officials Called 'Redmen' a Racist Mascot. Then Voters Weighed In.

[SummerMadness]

Officials Called 'Redmen' a Racist Mascot. Then Voters Weighed In.

In July, the school board in a small Connecticut town called Killingly took what local officials said was a long-overdue step: removing the name of the school mascot, Redmen, which some Native Americans have deemed racist.

Students did not seem to rebel against the change, even agreeing in the fall to adopt a new name, the Redhawks.

But then the adults had their say.

Residents, apparently angered by the removal of the Redmen mascot, flocked to the polls in November and gave Republicans control of the town council and school board.

The new school board quickly voted to rescind the Redhawks name. And this week, at a contentious five-hour meeting, the board voted 5 to 4 to reinstate Redmen, which first became the school mascot in 1939.

The board turned aside pleas from students, administrators and Native American residents. No constituents favored the Redmen name, people at the meeting said.

Some folks love to die on the hill of racism and bigotry.

 

[topher694]

And some people make it an idol

 

[durangodawood]

"Redmen".... good grief, I'd be embarrassed.

Whats with these adults? Why sooo attached to a high school mascot? Let it go!

 

[Deus Vult!]

Officials Called 'Redmen' a Racist Mascot. Then Voters Weighed In.


Some folks love to die on the hill of racism and bigotry.

Who is the racist here though? I guess I do not get it... if a school had a mascot of "Whitemen" and it was like a colonial dressed up man with a musket I would think that was pretty cool. If it was part of the schools history since 1939 then I do not understand really why it was ever proposed to remove it. Was this because it was offending the delicate sensibilities of people that do not even live there but need to impose their ideas from sea to shining sea?? lol.

 

[grasping the after wind]

Officials Called 'Redmen' a Racist Mascot. Then Voters Weighed In.


Some folks love to die on the hill of racism and bigotry.

I am confused by the last sentence in the quote from the article.

"No constituents favored the Redmen name, people at the meeting said."

I don't see how that can be the case if the school board was elected to change the name back to Redmen.

I don't understand why people get so attached to these names for their school teams. We had a similar situation near me where the school teams all had the name Indians and it was changed but some people were very upset at the change. I can't see it as people really wanting to be offending first nation people and being mad at not being able to do so. Nor do I think it is about people really wanting to tell the world they are racist bigots. Nor can it possibly be a way to insult anyone as these teams are held in high regard and the names are considered by those that revere them to be something that honors the school not something that makes fun or disparages anyone. There is something else going on, subconsciously perhaps, that I do not get.

 

[Aldebaran]

I don't understand why people get so attached to these names for their school teams. We had a similar situation near me where the school teams all had the name Indians and it was changed but some people were very upset at the change. I can't see it as people really wanting to be offending first nation people and being mad at not being able to do so. Nor do I think it is about people really wanting to tell the world they are racist bigots. Nor can it possibly be a way to insult anyone as these teams are held in high regard and the names are considered by those that revere them to be something that honors the school not something that makes fun or disparages anyone. There is something else going on, subconsciously perhaps, that I do not get.

People have become more "enlightened" these days to the point that they're finally realizing that they're supposed to be offended by just about anything at all. That, and the fact that they get a feeling of power over others by using their hurt feelings to make someone else do something. It's a form of bullying that some groups actually find acceptable, all the while denouncing bullying and talking about being tolerant of those we don't agree with, and co-existing with them. IOW, a total double-standard that gives them the advantage. Point it out to them, and they'll accuse you of being a racist, a bigot, a homophobe, or whatever other name they can come up with in order to label you instead of seeing their own double-standard.

 

[iluvatar5150]

I can't see it as people really wanting to be offending first nation people and being mad at not being able to do so.

It's not that they want to be deliberately offensive. It's that they want the freedom to be incidentally offensive without being challenged.

 

[civilwarbuff]

Officials Called 'Redmen' a Racist Mascot. Then Voters Weighed In.


Some folks love to die on the hill of racism and bigotry.

When speaking of their own people in early interactions between whites and Indians the Indians frequently referred to themselves as 'redmen' noting the difference in skin color primarily because Indians wore minimal clothing while whites usually wore long pants, long sleeve shirts and broad brim hats.

 

[civilwarbuff]

Here is some more 'racism' for you.....
The Improved Order of Red Men
Notice it is chartered by Congress.....
Improved Order of Red Men - Wikipedia
Claims of racism seems to be analogous to the John Birch Society now days: There is a racist (communist) under every bed......

 

[SummerMadness]

Considering that local Native American groups consider the name offensive, it is far-fetched to counteract them by pointing to Wikipedia.

Moreover, some groups have names that utilize outdated words, like the NAACP... calling someone “a colored” is racist, even if that word is in the organization name.

There is also this weird thing people like to do when supporting racism toward another group. They look for one person that says otherwise, then pretend as if no racism exists then.

 

[grasping the after wind]

It's not that they want to be deliberately offensive. It's that they want the freedom to be incidentally offensive without being challenged.

Do they? Is that what they have told you in your conversations with them?

 

[iluvatar5150]

Do they? Is that what they have told you in your conversations with them?

Their behavior often makes it clear.

 

[grasping the after wind]

Their behavior often makes it clear.

In what way does their behavior make their motivation that clear?

 

[iluvatar5150]

In what way does their behavior make their motivation that clear?

It’s pretty clear from the near-constant bristling at “political correctness” or the thought of others finding offense in something they do or say, or even finding offense in something that they personally don’t find offensive. I’ll take most of them at their word when they claim to not want to be racist\sexist\etc, but when they don’t allow for others to hold different standards of decency and don’t allow for others to be bothered by things that don’t bother them, they communicate to others the supremacy of their own perspective, the illegitimacy of everyone else’s perspectives, and the message that their own supreme ideas must be prioritized above any offense they may cause.

 

[Larniavc]

I would think that was pretty cool.

No, that would be racist.

 

[SummerMadness]

No, that would be racist.

It would also be inaccurate, not every colonist was a white man.

 

[Larniavc]

It would also be inaccurate, not every colonist was a white man.

Yeah, but the idea of the Englishman in colonial times shooting people and stealing their country is fairly embedded in my mind.

But I do take your point.

 

[SummerMadness]

It’s pretty clear from the near-constant bristling at “political correctness” or the thought of others finding offensive something they do or say, or even something that they don’t find offensive. I’ll take most of them at their word when they claim to not want to be racist\sexist\etc, but when they don’t allow for others to hold different standards of decency and don’t allow for others to be bothered by things that don’t bother them, they communicate to others the supremacy of their own perspective, the illegitimacy of everyone else’s, and the message that their own supreme ideas must be prioritized above any offense they may cause.

In addition, things that are offensive to a minority group are usually not offensive to the majority group. What is sad is that when called out, these people often associate the bigotry of their views or mascot as being synonymous with their whiteness. It’s never whether they can hold onto cultural traditions that are Irish, Celtic, German, Italian, etc., it’s always about whether they can hold onto some racial slur that is now understood to be a slur because the targeted group now has a voice to speak out against the use of such slurs.

 

[Aldebaran]

Considering that local Native American groups consider the name offensive, it is far-fetched to counteract them by pointing to Wikipedia.

IOW, it's useless to try to counteract them at all if they already have their minds made up to be offended. The only option they offer is to cave in to their demands, or be labeled as a racist.

Moreover, some groups have names that utilize outdated words, like the NAACP... calling someone “a colored” is racist, even if that word is in the organization name.

And which group of people came up with that name that includes words you consider racist? That's right, it was the very people it refers to.

There is also this weird thing people like to do when supporting racism toward another group. They look for one person that says otherwise, then pretend as if no racism exists then.

No, that's simply the narrative that the "offended" use to justify their own circular reasoning.

 

[Aldebaran]

Calling Native Americans redmen is racist and they don’t like it. Pointing that out is not racist.

They aren't calling Native Americans redmen. They named their team mascot that name.