The Pecan Park Eagle

“HAIL TO THE REDSPINS!”
~ BY ALLOWING RED SPINNING TOPS TO BECOME THE NEW MASCOT OF THE WASHINGTON NFL CLUB.

Will the Washington Redskins eventually bow to the pressure of political correctness and change their hallowed and historical nickname from “Redskins” to something that doesn’t offend those with an ounce or two of Native American blood in their veins? Of course, I’m also one of those people who’s got so much Irish blood rampaging through my body that hardly anything offends me along these lines about Ireland or Irishmen.  If enough of us Irish-Americans were so offended, we would have stormed the academic and athletic walls of Notre Dame University long ago.

Fighting Irish? You bet!

I do very much get the Native American objection to the skin color reference in the Washington mascot name, even though I really think that any racist intention behind the word “Redskin” disappeared long ago, but that doesn’t matter. What was once intended still brings dishonor and hurt – to those who caused it – and those it targeted. The word is literally offensive to many Native Americans and, for that reason, not political correctness to keep from getting yourself or company in trouble, but you really don’t care, anyway, the name needs to go. We are fifteen years deep into the 21st century now and everything we can do to stay vigilant and oppositional to racism in any expressed form is important. The trick is to accomplish just and fair change without trampling all over freedom of speech. It isn’t easy to do when two causes like racism and the heritage identity of an old NFL franchise collide, but the matter still needs positive and active resolution.

As anyone who’s been to UT Law School knows, Former Chief Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes once said: “Your freedom to throw your fist ends where my chin begins.” That’s a long time rule of thumb on culpability in issues of physical damage and emotional assaults that extend to slander, libel or harassment, but  Holmes would have a damnable time keeping it as simple today. He and the courts of his time didn’t have to deal with the Internet, Facebook, and Twitter – to say nothing of political correctness zealotry.

Let’s simply try not to lose our respectful sense of humor or freedom of speech in the process – and that’s what Sunday’s column here is all about.

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The “Proposal”

There is a way for Washington to almost keep their treasured nickname by changing the “k” in “Redskins” to a “p” – a move that alters the word to read “Redspins” – their suggested new nickname for the spinning red tops that now shall serve as their new team spirit bearer. The featured graphic is little more than an inartistic graphic of how the helmet logos and team flag will appear once the transition to the full name of Washington Redspins is fully approved, functional, and in stores for commercial use on all new retail merchandise.

How wonderful are those red tops as a new mascot? Just as wonderful as the delusion that anything in Washington that gets set in motion could ever move forth with great and united energy in one for-the-good-of-the-people direction toward a national success that is enjoyed by everyone. Remember, anything that starts in Washington with strings attached is never free to move under the force of its own expedited energy. It can only spin for the ambiguous and misleading reasons it was set in motion by politicians in the first place – and it will only spin for as long as it takes the public to forget whatever it was set in motion to help people dis-remember from the git-go.

“Hail to the Redspins” would be the new fight song – with lyrics similar, but appropriately different from the ones that were in place for the original:

Original Lyrics ~ Hail to The Redskins

Hail to the Redskins!

Hail, victory!

Braves on the warpath!

Fight for Old D.C.!

Scalp ’em, swamp ‘um — We will take ‘um big score

Read ‘um, Weep ‘um,

Touchdown! — We want heap more

Fight on, Fight on – ‘Til you have won

Sons of Wash-ing-ton. Rah!, Rah!, Rah!

New Lyrics ~ Hail to The Redspins

Hail to the Redspins!

Hail, Re-cov-e-ry!

Tops on the Table!

Spinning – for old D.C.!

Borrow from the future, yes – but we want a whole lot more!

Twist ’em up, Turn  ’em down,

Touchdowns? Absolutely none!

But keep on spinning ’till our credit’s done!

Sons of Wash-ing-ton. Rah!, Rah!, Rah!

Hail to the Redspins!

Hail, Re-cov-e-ry!

Tops on the Table!

Spinning – for old D.C.!

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Fortunately for us Houston sports fans, people who live here, or come here, seem to be happy to call themselves “Texans” in the “Space City” where “Rockets” are revered and where baseball lovers seem to enjoy following a team that is named innocuously for some kind of extraterrestrial space material that most of us had never even heard about prior to 1965. Try rubbing two sticks together and building a fire for mascot name changes in Houston in the name of political correctness, but, if you do, don’t hold your breath waiting for the smoke to rise.