Washington Redskins Name Controversy is Just Another Distraction

The political correctness warriors have recently had their target coordinates set upon forcing the NFL's Washington Redskins football franchise to change it's name as it is offensive to a certain aggrieved demographic - the American Indian. Not that the US government gives a damn about Indians, the genocidal mass slaughter of the nation's only true indigenous people during the era of western conquest and Manifest Destiny doesn't get much play from the corrupt national government nor in their pocket media. Nor does the ghettoizing of American Indians onto reservations and the institutional racism of broken treaties and stolen land but when there are political points being scored, all of the sanctimonious sacks of shit across the fruited plain (primarily Democrats in an election year) are outraged - yes indeed, outraged at the sheer immorality of the DC area's professional football franchise's nickname. Just more of the same hypocrisy in a slightly different package.

Not that there are more important things to spend taxpayer dollars on than frivolous crusades involving sports teams and figures, remember how the US Congress dragged numerous professional baseball stars before them to grovel over alleged steroid usage but the same US Congress couldn't be bothered with the ongoing series of illegal wars, torture, holding Wall Street looters accountable to the law or reigning in the NSA Stasi. Kicking around guys like Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens who are basically helpless makes for good television and does not piss off campaign donors. So once again, while Iraq is on the edge of total anarchy and Obama is ready to double down on Bush-Cheney's war crimes by sending the troops back in and bombing the hell out of even more innocent civilians - murdering them as if they are are as expendable as the American Indians once were - the time and money of the American taxpayer continues to get pissed away on lame horseshit like today's government intervention to strip the Redskins of their trademark.

In an action that portrays the most petty abuses of big government meddling the US Patent Office has formally stripped the Redskins of their trademark protection. According to a story in The Guardian entitled "US patent office strips Washington Redskins of 'offensive' trademarks":

The US Patent and Trademark Office announced on Wednesday that it is to cancel six trademark registrations belonging to the Washington Redskins, ruling that the NFL team's name is disparaging to Native Americans.

In a landmark decision, the offices's trademark trial and appeal board found that the name cannot be trademarked under federal law, which prohibits the protection of names that “may disparage” individuals or groups, or “bring them into contempt or disrepute”.

“We decide, based on the evidence properly before us, that these registrations must be cancelled because they were disparaging to Native Americans,” the board wrote in its ruling.

Amanda Blackhorse, who brought the case against the team, called the ruling a "great victory for Native Americans – and for all Americans".

The team said on Wednesday that it would appeal the decision and insisted that its right to protect its trademarks was not affected by the ruling, which would not take effect until the appeals process is complete.

The weeping and gnashing of the teeth by Democrats - 50 US Senators led by the soon to be Minority Leader Harry Reid recently sent a formal letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell basically demanding that he intervene on behalf of the Democratic National Committee (not officially worded as such) to force the name change - primarily more out of the need to be a fundraiser for the Jackass Party's 2014 election hopes which are dismal and to fire up their base.  No Republicans were asked to sign Reid's silly letter - although that doesn't excuse them from being a pack of disgusting racist bastards - making it evident that this is just another political stunt. Like the Democrats don't have anything better to do, perhaps holding their dear leader Obama accountable for the unconstitutional spying rampage of his NSA would be a start or stopping the incompetent idiot before he starts World War III. But that isn't the way that the Democrats roll, choosing to manipulate Hispanics, women, gay people and any other identity based demographic for political gain in as cynical a manner possible. The crusade to force the Redskins to change their name is a perfect example.

To his credit - and I don't readily offer up much to a shameless, four-flushing, arrogant sleazy rich prick like him - team owner Daniel Snyder correctly took a stand and told the cynical culture warriors to go and fuck themselves. In comments made by NFL broadcasting king Al Michaels during a recent interview with sports talk host Jim Rome the longtime icon not only expressed his own sentiments but offered those of Snyder. I excerpt the following from the Washington Post sports blog story entitled "Al Michaels says Redskins name debate ‘is nuts’":

Anyhow, NBC “Sunday Night Football” play-by-play man Al Michaels was on Jim Rome on Showtime this week, where he was featured on the Front Row segment. Rome asked Michaels whether he thought Daniel Snyder would hold on to the name.

“It seems to me as if he is going to hold on,” Michaels said. “I mean all of the sudden — I mean, for 70-some odd years this was a zero issue, and then it became an issue. I understand we live in this politically correct environment. It’s crazier than ever; you know, senators want to weigh in on this, like there’s nothing better to do in Congress. This becomes a big issue. I mean, I just think it’s nuts. And I do know, I’ve talked to Snyder about it — not recently but when we were in Washington last year — and he basically said “over my dead body.’ ”

And today, in the aftermath of the actions by the US Patent and Trademark Office the feeding frenzy is akin to those annoying shoppers stampeding to the free samples tables at Costco.  The scrum is on with the feckless wonder Harry Reid, former Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann (he of the famous broken leg) to the millionaire radio degenerate Howard Stern are racing the cast of thousands to jump on the bandwagon. Wouldn't their outburst of energy be better channeled in opposing the fact that Barack Obama (who himself has trashed the Redskins nickname for political gain) not commit the USA!, USA!, USA! to a historical disaster with another incursion into Iraq?

Anyway, given the collapsing state of the world this story is basically nonsensical bullshit which is my point to begin with, so just file it away in that category with all of the other weapons of mass distraction that our political elite so often use to keep the bewildered herd in exactly that state of perplexity.

Redskins Name Change is Another Silly Political Circus

Wars everywhere, massive and unfettered unconstitutional surveillance and data-mining programs, systemic government corruption, long-term structural unemployment, growing income inequality, global loss of prestige, crumbling infrastructure, the inability to compete in the global marketplace due to poor education, a huge for-profit prison system, paramilitary police goon squads, the death of the American dream, torture chambers at the US concentration camp at Gitmo, wanton criminality in every nook and cranny of the revolving door between Washington and Wall Street - No Problem at all! Forcing the Washington Redskins of the National Football League to change their name - Holy Shit! Scramble the crisis units and bring Senate business to a halt for this massive national emergency. Congress pulls this sort of crap all of the time, like dragging has been baseball players like Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire and others into their ridiculous tribunals instead of practicing legitimate oversight on real problems and focusing on doing their damned jobs rather than showboating.

The latest farce involves a letter submitted to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell this week asking him to consider changing the team name. According to a story in Sports Illustrated which now so often forays into the realm of national politics and pimping the government line - such as with covering up the state of martial law declared last year in Beantown by promoting the feel good tales of Boston Strong - the letter was dated May 21, 2014 and as I excerpt:

“The N.F.L. can no longer ignore this and perpetuate the use of this name as anything but what it is: a racial slur. We urge the N.F.L. to formally support a name change for the Washington football team.”

“We urge you and the National Football League to send the same clear message as the N.B.A. did: that racism and bigotry have no place in professional sports.”

That the letter perfectly capitalizes on the time of the NBA's stripping of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling for making racist comments that were secretly recorded and reek of a setup and that no Republicans were asked to sign it is just evidence that the entire thing is an election year charade. Not that the Republicans have the time to get onboard this ship of fools, they are too busy masturbating over the latest Benghazi dog and pony show.

Is it politically incorrect? Sure but only more so in an election year. Do the descendants of Native Americans have every right to be offended? I can't speak for them but I would think that having your ancestors fucking slaughtered by raving John Wayne hammerhead prototypes under the pretense of Manifest Destiny would be a far more serious grievance than what the hell some football team calls itself - and has called itself ever since the team relocated from Boston back in 1937. Jesus Christ - get a life people. The ginned up outrage is led by that sissified little twit Harry Reid, a wimp with an insatiable taste for the sand that has been kicked into his face like the weakling in that famous old advertisement cartoon for Charles Atlas. Go and sell that bullshit to the Fighting Irish in South Bend, Indiana Harry!

I would think that a larger problem is the National Football League's infatuation with militarism and the flag-sucking that is a part of every major broadcast - particularly in the current era of the endless wars after the day that changed everything. It is impossible to enjoy watching a game without being bludgeoned by the big red, white and blue club wielded by the networks and the league itself. Never is it more apparent than during the big nationally televised opener in September which always falls right around the anniversary of 9/11 and nationalism and war worship is crammed down spectator's throats from the pregame onward. There is always the obligatory military flyover, hope that the American taxpayers enjoy it because they are paying for it, the honor guard and on Thanksgiving day the nauseating tributes to our precious military.

If there was ever a sport that was made for America it is professional football, it is a 'sport' custom made for militarist American imperialism and the now fully mutated form of capitalism that a constant state of armed conflict needs to exist. Former NFL player Dave Meggyesy drew much criticism when he nailed it in a speech delivered at Syracuse University that “symbolically and metaphysically, big-time football represents our violent culture and the mode of authoritarianism. It has as its keynote competition and militaristic, organized violence.” This was in the seventies during the Vietnam war, a completely unnecessary and ruinous military misadventure in which over fifty thousand Americans and millions of Vietnamese were killed for nothing - besides the ability of greedy American corporations to now use the country as yet another one of their cheap labor havens to which well-paying jobs have been offshored by the millions since around the time that the twin towers fell.

No matter how much total horseshit that this name thing change is in the larger scheme of things, and again I do recognize that some of Native American descent are offended but if the Redskins do knuckle under and agree to renounce the nickname it will be far more out of the potential to make more money than any bowing to the political correctness Nazis. Just imagine how much coin can be made by selling all of that brand new, officially authorized NFL merchandise like shirts, jackets, dog sweaters and thousands of other items! It will be as if money rained down from the heavens on Roger Goodell and Redskins owner Daniel Snyder, a thoroughly slimy little prick who makes Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones look like the fucking Pope. The league itself will also shine in the same manner that it does when exploiting National Breast Cancer Awareness Month with special pink hued team apparel which the proceeds go to charity but the real prize - appealing to the female demographic is a matter of invaluable goodwill towards the NFL.

Perhaps a more appropriate team name would be the Washington Whores in honor of the pack of unprincipled and rapacious jackals who are our representatives.

  

(Image: Christian Science Monitor)