PART I: Summary of Article
The bone of contention in this article is whether the Washington NFL team Red Skins should change its name Red Skins. It is clear from this article that the time has used this title for a long time. However, the use of this name has spurred opposition from various quotas due to the perception that the name Red Skins is offensive to the Native American tribe. ICTMT staff writes that some of the proponents of the fact that the team should retain its name have been the team’s director, Dan Snyder.
Snyder has been cited by different media outlets explaining that he would not let go of the name of his team. The opponents of the name Red Skins argue that the administrators the team should be considerate about the concerns that have been voiced over the name of their team. The administrators of the Red Skins should be open to the idea of changing the name of the team. Some of the commentators in this article argue that it is not only the Red Skins who should be targeted. There are other teams that use American Indian names for their teams. If the name changing exercise is going to be effective and worthwhile, then there should be a need for all these teams to change their names. On the contrary Simpson one of the commentators who is of the view that the Redskins should consider changing their name are of the view that the team should be named after heroes that have been part of the team or contributed to the team in give way.
PART II: Indigenous group discussed.
The indigenous community that is discussed within this article is the Native Americans. The name Red Skins is perceived by many people in the Native American fraternity as being insulting. The mascot and the name that is used by the Redskins paint American Indians as a people who are ‘barbaric’ and not up to date with the mainstream sense of modernity. The name is demeaning to a community as a whole. The meta-question in this scenario is whether it is necessary for the Red Skins team to give up their name for the purposes of appeasing a given ethnicity in the United States. The American citizenry are divided over this subject. There are those who are of the perception that it is not necessary for the team to change the name, while others are of the view that the concerns of the Native American community should be addressed by granting them their wish of eliminating the word redskins.
PART III: Personal Reflection
First of all, a community or society is greater than an individual. The welfare of a given society or community should ace the corporate ambitions of an individual. This means that the economic interests of Red Skins under Dan Snyder should not be used to insult the entire Native American community. Changing the name of a given team cannot change the profit margins that are generated from the enterprise. This means that Dan Snyder is going to be the same if he changes the name of the team or not. However, if the name Red skins remains unchanged it will continue to be viewed as an insult by many generations within the Native American community.
Works Cited
ICTMN Staff. "'A Name Change for the Redskins: Unpopular, Insufficient, and Necessary' - ICTMN.com." Native & American Indian News, Culture, Music, Art and More - Indian Country Today Media Network.com. 21 May 2013. Web. 29 May 2013. <http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/05/21/name-change-redskins-unpopular-insufficient-and-necessary-149440>.
