How prevalent is the viewpoint among Native Americans that the sports team names are offensive?
My brother has been going to different reservations each summer for several years now and he's made a point to ask about it because he likes sports and was curious.
According to him the people he asked either didn't care at all or were fine with the team names.
Is there a large movement in the various tribes to get the names changed? I know the leftists want to get rid of them because they love being offended on behalf of others but is there a genuine thing there?
As I said before, it all depends on who you ask. We're just people, too. I already mentioned that my Great Uncle was, if anything, kind of amused about it. Also as I said, of the three tribes the university were forced to ask by court order, around 80+% of the Spirit Lake tribe was just fine with it. There were accusations of voter fraud, votes for pay and things like that (there was a company out of Las Vegas very involved with this), but there was a very vocal group in support of it from that tribe. Standing Rock, on the other hand, felt very strongly against it, and refused to even play along with anything. But in all honesty, it might have gone a long way had the university actually bothered to ask any of the tribes without needing a court order for it, or, once the order had been given, exceeding the requirements of it by asking all the other Sioux tribes. But they didn't. Instead they acted very entitled to that name, and that rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. This has also been an ongoing issue since the 1960s.
I'm pointing out what your argument comes down to. You do not have to spell something out to say it.
I'm just pointing out that now might not be the best time to push some sports fans into doubling down on racism; not when more and more people are on the brink of just not giving a shit anymore.
The irony of this is that white Americans, well, American culture and Western Civilization in general, are in the same position of being slandered in the same way. Well, the shoe is on the other foot now - how does it feel? One would think this might make you sympathize a bit, but it really hasn't. As for the timing - it's never the right time, is it? Again, this has been an issue for a very long time, and no one has ever bothered to listen, or pay any mind.
I'm not saying this to threaten you, or to imply that I approve of what they're doing; my reputation on this forum ought to attest to that.
I'm not calling your reputation into question - I am only trying to open your eyes to what you are basically saying.
Heck; I'm not a fan of sports either, so I'm also not coming at this from the perspective of a fan. My perspective is that (setting aside my freedom of speech issues with what's going on here) this is a Pyrrhic victory for you at best, and I don't see how you can see that as worthy of celebration.
Again, this isn't really a Pyrrhic victory - nothing has gotten any worse. Actually, it has gotten a bit better locally, because while there is still a dedicated group of obnoxious assholes, most of the people who were complaining have given up on it because the matter is settled and over. It's still the same team; they just have a different name now. Kind of a lame name that they passed over some pretty cool ones in favor of: Ice Dragons, North Star, and Barnstormers (this university has an aviation school) were among my favorites, but they seemed to want to avoid any names referencing the cold winters, northern location, or agricultural background of the region. So instead they're the Hawks now, and they paid a ridiculous amount of money for a very simple logo they could have hired one of their own art students to come up with, but that's just this university in a nutshell. Why not just waste money when the gubmint just keeps writing them blank checks?
In any case, it may not be much, but it's something. And you know what? I kind of enjoy listening to the assholes REE about it. It is very much the same feeling I get when the leftists whine about not being able to do something, because in the end, they only succeed in making themselves look worse. I also appreciate the irony that those leftists are largely responsible for bringing about this change, too. Talk about a clown world.